Women Fuelwood Carriers and the Supply of Household Energy in Addis Ababa

Abstract

In Ethiopia, about ninety-three percent of the energy requirement is in the form of firewood, charcoal, dung, and crop residues. Of an estimated annual per capita consumption of 205 kilograms of oil equivalent, only 6.5 percent comes from petroleum products (United Nations Development Programme / World Bank 1984). The gross energy supply in the country, based on 1982 estimates, is about 8.9 million tonnes, and the final consumption is 8 million tonnes. The domestic sector consumes 92.8 percent of the energy (7 436 000 tonnes in 1982) whereas industry and transport take 6.5 percent. In 1980 about 24 million cubic metres of fuelwood was consumed whereas the national allowable annual cut was estimated to be only 13 million cubic metres (Tekele Haimanot 1984). The deficit is covered by forest clearing and overcutting. The impact of such an accelerated rate of deforestation on the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the society is far-reaching. At present, the city of Addis Ababa is faced with a serious fuelwood shortage. Considering forests within a radius of one hundred kilometres of Addis Ababa, the demand for fuelwood exceeds the supply by about seventy-five percent (Ethiopian National Energy Committee 1981). To date, this imbalance has resulted in an accelerated destruction of the poorly managed forests around Addis Ababa. This deteriorating situation will aggravate the problems of shortage and cost of woodfuels for household cooking in the city. The supply of fuelwood to the city comes from both the state and the private sectors. The government transports fuelwood from a radius of various distances and distributes it to city dwellers, using depots located at different zones in the city. The private suppliers include not only peasant associations around the city who own and manage the forests but also fuelwood carriers who either buy or collect biomass fuels and supply the city and private stores in various kebeles (sub-districts). Thus, while the Wood and Charcoal Products Processing and Marketing Enterprise (ECPPME) under the Community Forest and Soil Conservation Development Department (CFSCDD) supplies about twenty percent of the city's requirement, using its thirty-five depots, the major supply of fuelwood to Addis comes from fuelwood carriers, peasants, and licensed traders. Therefore, these fuelwood sources needed to be studied properly.