Energy disruptions stemming from the Iran war are reversing years of government investment in cleaner cooking fuels across Africa and South Asia, forcing families back to charcoal and firewood while simultaneously undermining wildlife protection programs and tourism-dependent economies.
In Nairobi's Kibera settlement, resident Brenda Obare has abandoned cooking gas for charcoal burned outside her tin-roofed home, illustrating a widening trend. "We don't have many options," Obare said. "You use what you can afford." The shift reflects a fundamental economic reality: as fuel costs rise, price-conscious households revert to the cheapest available options, regardless of government policy preferences.
Governments across the region had invested substantially in promoting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other cleaner fuels, driven by health concerns—air pollution killed 2.9 million people five years ago according to the World Health Organization—and conservation objectives. That effort is now unraveling under economic pressure.
The Market Reversal
The switch away from LPG represents a significant setback for conservation policy. Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Nairobi-based WildlifeDirect, identified the core problem: "The first conservation risk from an energy shock in Africa is not abstract. It is household fuel switching." When cleaner fuels become unaffordable or unavailable, families with incomes below subsistence levels have little choice but to return to traditional biomass fuels.
In India, the world's second-largest LNG importer with about 60% of its supply coming from the Gulf region, a similar pattern is emerging. Social workers in New Delhi's Bhalswa neighborhood report that families earning below $3 daily can no longer afford LPG cylinders and are reverting to firewood stoves or returning to villages where wood is more accessible. "Things are very, very bad," said Rama, a social worker in the area.
Charcoal demand is climbing noticeably. According to charcoal seller Munyao Kitheka, demand in Nairobi's low-income settlements is rising as residents seek the most economical fuel source. Charcoal, produced by slowly burning wood in kilns, is already one of sub-Saharan Africa's most widely used cooking fuels and a major driver of deforestation.
Conservation and Economic Consequences
The fuel crisis is creating cascading effects across multiple sectors. Mayukh Chatterjee, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's co-chair for its conflict and co-existence specialist group, warned of accelerating deterioration: "The longer this debacle runs, the harder it is going to hit conservation."
Increased demand for biomass fuels degrades watersheds and wildlife habitats as people venture deeper into previously undisturbed forest areas. Rising diesel prices and higher fertilizer costs simultaneously threaten farm productivity, reducing yields and increasing food insecurity across vulnerable regions.
The tourism sector, critical to funding conservation efforts, faces significant headwinds. Airlines are cutting routes to Africa, while rising fuel prices increase travel costs. Even modest drops in visitor numbers can have outsized effects in countries where wildlife tourism is central to the economy. Tourism contributes approximately 14% of GDP in Kenya and Tanzania, directly funding park management, anti-poaching patrols, and community conservation initiatives.
Kahumbu noted the direct link between tourism revenue and conservation capacity: "Less tourism means less income for conservation initiatives, fewer rangers and more opportunistic poaching." Rising food and fuel costs simultaneously push more people toward bushmeat as an affordable protein source, intensifying pressure on wildlife populations.
Operational Disruptions
Conservation fieldwork in remote areas depends on regular vehicle access, often via motorbike. Higher fuel prices directly disrupt these operations. Chatterjee emphasized the time-critical nature of human-wildlife conflict response in South Asia: "Rapid deployment of forest staff and conservation teams is critical to secure the area, manage crowds and safely guide or tranquilize animals before situations escalate." Fuel shortages slow response times, increasing the risk of injury or death on both sides.
The burden falls disproportionately on vulnerable populations. Neha Saigal, a consultant with environmental startup Asar Social Impact Advisors, noted that women and girls spend hours daily hunting for fuel, limiting time for work or school. "Years of work went into making LPG aspirational. But a global issue like this can reverse some of those gains," she said.
Chatterjee cited specific losses, including an elephant conservation project in India's northeastern Assam state where eateries had reduced wood use. "That all risks going back to square one," he warned.
Why This Matters:
This energy shock reveals the fragility of conservation policy when disconnected from market realities and household economics. Government programs promoting cleaner fuels succeeded only as long as those fuels remained affordable and available. The Iran war disruption demonstrates how external economic shocks can rapidly reverse years of conservation investment and behavioral change. For countries like Kenya and Tanzania, where wildlife tourism generates roughly 14% of GDP, reduced visitor numbers directly reduce conservation funding and ranger capacity. The shift back to biomass fuels accelerates deforestation, degrades ecosystems, and increases human-wildlife conflict. Meanwhile, rising fuel and fertilizer costs threaten agricultural productivity and food security. The crisis illustrates why conservation strategies must account for household economics and energy affordability—and why supply chain disruptions in critical resources carry consequences far beyond energy markets.