The introduction of improved cookstoves is a means to reduce the consumption of cooking energy and, in the case this energy is consumed in the form of wood or charcoal, to reduce or slow down deforestation. Before introducing improved stoves data should be available concerning the fuel savings that can be expected from the improved stoves compared to the traditional cookstoves. March 2005

A swarm of desert locusts laying eggs in provinces of Mauritania has triggered fears of a major invasion at the peak of the harvesting season. Locusts were first spotted at Inchiri, a remote province