Rwanda is a small country with a large population that depends on woody biomass as primary source of energy. The wood resources are limited and the demand for woodfuels is high, and increasing, as it is clear that in the short and medium term woodfuels will remain the only affordable fuel for the majority of Rwandese population. Kigali plays a dominant role in the national wood energy context, with a demand for charcoal that covers some 60% of the entire national requirement for such commodity. There is also no doubt that this great demand for fuelwood and charcoal, embodied by the constant flow of charcoalinto Kigali, exerts a considerable pressure on the wood resources of the country, giving rise to serious and widespread concern about the sustainability of supply. Securing essential energy levels and at the same time protecting the environment and the productive capacity of forest plantations, natural vegetations and farmlands represents a major planning challenge and the Ministry of Natural Resources, in the framework of Vision 2020 and of the National Forestry Policy, decided to launch the elaboration of the Masterplan for the Supply of Charcoal and Fuelwood of Kigali.