Fuelwood Consumption Patterns Research Articles

Spatial and temporal patterns of fuelwood consumption and its associated CO2 emissions in Muzaffarabad division, a western Himalayan region

BackgroundIn the Himalayan region, fuelwood serves as a critical energy source for rural communities. Being vital for meeting energy needs, fuelwood combustion is a source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and, consequently, global warming, as well as deforestation and public health damage. Therefore, quantifying fuelwood consumption patterns and its associated CO2 emissions is essential to understand the environmental impact and promote sustainable resource management.MethodsThis research conducts an evaluation of fuelwood burning patterns and the associated CO2 emissions in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), situated within the western Himalayan region. The study entails an extensive survey of 24 villages representing 240 households, equally distributed between the subtropical and temperate regions, each comprising 120 households. Data collection was executed through a combination of direct queries and the weight survey method, following standard protocols.ResultsIn the study area, the mean annual fuelwood comsumption per household amounts to 24.28 ± 3.1 Mg (or 3.195 ± 1 Mg capita−1). A variance was observed between subtropical and temperate zones, with the latter exhibiting higher consumption rates. The consequential CO2 emissions were assessed as 41.88 ± 4.5 Mg per household (5.51 ± 0.6 Mg capita−1). On a daily basis, households consumed an average of 66.52 ± 6.4 kg of fuelwood (8.75 ± 1.5 kg capita−1), resulting in a daily CO2 release rate of 114.745 ± 8.6 kg (15.095 ± 2 kg capita−1). The findings unveiled seasonal variations, indicating increased fuelwood consumption and emissions during the winter season. Statistical analysis shed light on the significance of altitude and family size in shaping the patterns of fuelwood use.ConclusionsThe results revealed the importance of prioritizing forest conservation and strategically implementing sustainable practices, including reforestation, afforestation, responsible harvesting, and actively promoting sustainable fuel sources. This research highlights the vital role of well-designed policies focused on preserving ecosystems and improving energy management. Policy intervention can ensure the sustainable stewardship of local and regional forest resources.

DETERMINANTS AND PATTERNS OF URBAN HOUSEHOLD FUELWOOD MANAGEMENT APPRAISAL IN BAMENDA III MUNICIPALITY NORTH WEST REGION, CAMEROON

Globally, more than three billion people depend on solid fuels, including biomass, to meet their most basic energy needs: cooking, boiling of water and heating. In Africa, large concentrations of people have no access to electricity and rely on traditional forms of energy sources to meet their basic energy needs. This study brings to focus the determinants and choices of fuelwood consumption patterns in Bamenda III Municipality. The study adopts both purposive and random sampling techniques in ten quarters with the used of primary and secondary data. Primary data focused on field observation, questionnaires and interviews, while secondary data were obtained from past literature reviews, internet websites and institutional reports. Data collected were analysed with descriptive approach with the help of Microsoft Excel version 2016 and Arcgis 10.3 software was used for spatial analysis. Findings revealed that, firewood (75%), and gas (37%) remain the main type of fuelwood used in Bamenda III Municipality. Whereas, diet type (49.43%), family size (28.41%), availability (6.82%), income level (6.2%), social status (6.25%) and household resident location (2.84) are the main determinants which influenced fuelwood consumption pattern. More so, the outcome discloses a gap in the fuelwood management policy that perturb users’ satisfaction and yield no income to state. Consequently, low income level highly impedes the urban households from adopting cleaner fuels options such as liquefied petroleum gas and pressure bag. Accordingly, this paper submits that, bioenergy development should be used to curtail firewood expense and could perchance be of great benefit to the community and institutions through job creation and rise in household income.

Potential of Agroforestry in Sustainable Fuelwood Supply in Kenya

Sub Saharan African (SSA) region rely heavily on fuelwood for their energy needs and will potentially increase in the foreseeable future due to increased population growth in the region. The continued utilization of fuelwood in the region subject to inefficient technology of energy conversion is projected to put more increasing pressure on forest cover and resources. The decline in forest resources is a precursor to exploration of other resources that may provide energy to human, in which agroforestry comes in mind. Therefore, the aim of this discussion paper was to review the status of fuelwood consumption patterns in Kenya, while highlighting the status and sustainability of fuelwood sector in the country. One of the approaches to deal with fuelwood problem is to enhance adoption of agroforestry, with an aim of reducing the harvest of wood and non-wood products in forests through sustainable planting of trees in the farms. However, the main constraints identified in adopting agroforestry for sustainable forest management were: Lack of suitable laws, legislation and policy framework, unavailability of planting material, inadequacy of research and extension services, long gestation time, access to credit, and finally land tenure and security. In order to expand the adoption of agroforestry for sustainable forest resource use, there is a need for logical approach aimed in promoting a multi-purpose agroforestry system under local farming systems where there is still large land capable of sustaining the practice.

Fuelwood and fodder consumption patterns among agroforestry-practicing smallholder farmers of the lower Himalayas, India

Fuelwood and fodder consumption patterns among agroforestry-practicing smallholder farmers of the lower Himalayas, India

Variability of household fuelwood consumption in a rural Sudano-Sahelian context in Burkina Faso

Over 90% of the rural population in sub-Saharan Africa still relies on fuelwood as their primary source of household energy. In this context, recent robust data on fuelwood consumption in rural areas are needed to conceive and implement appropriate energy policies. This paper identifies the factors that determine fuelwood consumption variability in two villages in Burkina Faso, based on a two-year survey of 60 rural households of different size and wealth status. The women who made up the panel were surveyed at five-day intervals over a period of three months in the rainy season, one month in the cold dry season and one month in the hot dry season. Our results corroborate some fuelwood consumption patterns in rural SSA: fuelwood consumption per adult equivalent decreases both with the size of the household and with local wood scarcity. Conversely, it challenges the idea that the level of consumption is correlated with the level of household wealth. Finally, the most important result is that the scarcity of wood resources leads people to buy fuelwood from outside and adopt strategies to reduce their consumption by reducing the number of cooking cycles and certainly by wasting less energy, whatever the level of household wealth.

Assessment of fuelwood diversity and consumption patterns in cold desert part of Indian Himalaya: Implication for conservation and quality of life

Abstract A plethora of information is available on biomass utilization for household energy need in different parts of world; however such information in cold desert region is very limited. The present study is first of its kind to provide information on biomass utilization, fuelwood species diversity, their regeneration status, and likely impact of fuelwood harvesting in cold desert area of the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) in Indian part. Per Capita Fuelwood Consumption (PCFC) was maximum (5.4 ± 0.30 kg/capita/day) for villages at higher altitude (3800 m) as compared to low altitude (3000 m) village (2.2 ± 0.36 kg/capita/day) for present study. The energy values follow similar trend; maximum for higher altitude (106.4 MJ/capita/day) and minimum for low altitude (43.3 MJ/capita/day). The inhabitants use a total of 14 woody species (3 trees, 11 shrubs) as fuelwood in the cold desert part of KSL. Among these, with high Probability of Use (PU) Juniperus communis (0.86), Pinus wallichina (0.48) and Abies pindrow (0.47) emerged as preferred species and thereby having very high pressure. Likewise, the Resources Use Index (RUI) for fuelwood consumption remained high for Juniperus communis (759.5), Pinus wallichaina (479.2) and Abies pindrow (391). The regeneration status of preferred species and availability (i.e. density) of other species suggested that the long-term persistence of preferred fuelwood species in the landscape is in question. The study provides evidences that the exiting forests, alpine arid scrublands and pasture may face serious problem of degradation in near future if the current trends of fuelwood harvesting continues. This calls for policy and programme level interventions to protect the fuelwood resources and provide better options of energy to poor inhabitants of cold desert area in KSL part of India.

Impact of exclosures on wood biomass production and fuelwood supply in northern Ethiopia

In the Ethiopian highlands, communal grazing lands are one of the major land uses, and are source of livelihood for the rural people. Free and uncontrolled grazing in the communal grazing lands is the dominant grazing system. The traditional uncontrolled and free grazing system has caused severe degradation of the grazing lands. As a result, communities have started to establish exclosures and support the restoration of degraded communal grazing lands. Studies have shown that exclosures are effective to restoring degraded communal grazing lands and improving ecosystem services. However, studies that investigate the changes in aboveground biomass following the establishment of exclosures and compare it with fuelwood demand of the beneficiaries in our study area is lacking. Therefore, our study aimed at: (1) quantifying yearly biomass accumulation in exclosures and compare it to fuelwood demand of households that manage the exclosures; (2) assessing household energy sources and their consumption levels. To monitor changes in biomass production with over time, replicated (n = 3) 5 and 10 year-old exclosures were sampled. To investigate fuelwood sources and consumption patterns, household surveys, key informant interviews and focus group discussion were conducted. Our results demonstrated that total biomass production increased with exclosure age. In both exclosure, biomass production from Vachellia etbaica was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than that from Euclea. racemosa. Average daily fuelwood consumption per person was (0.63 ± 0.2) kg day−1. This means that the total biomass (27.5 Mg year−1) obtained from 114.6 ha of exclosures covers only 9.4% of yearly fuelwood demand of the residents who manage the sampled exclosures. Nearly all respondents (95%) confirmed that they travel more than 10 km day−1 to gather fuelwood from surrounding degraded forest patches. We recommend plantings of fast growing native tree species within exclosures and around homesteads to provide a sustainable fuelwood supply and using improved stoves to address the problem of fuelwood shortage. District agricultural offices could provide seedlings of native plant species, while communities provide unpaid labour for planting and managing plantations.

Calorific value and fuel wood consumption patterns of a forest plantation made by villagers at Kahinure (Distt Mau), Uttar Pradesh, India

In the present study, calorific value of different fuel wood biomass and its consumption patterns of the plantation forest in rural area of Kahinure (Distt Mau) Uttar Pradesh, India had been evaluated. A questionnaire survey of random sampling method was employed for 180 households to understand socio-economic conditions and energy use pattern for cooking purposes in the study area. The study reveals that fuel wood was largely utilised as noncommercial and cheap source of energy, followed by dung cake and agriculture residue. The highest calorific value was estimated by Prosopis juliflora (22.56 MJ/kg) followed in Terminalia arjuna (21.63 MJ/kg) and Pithecellobium dulce (20.67 MJ/kg), whereas the lowest value was found in Streblus asper (17.32 MJ/kg). About 65% of household energy consumption was in form of wood biomass fuel derived from the plantation forest. The cow dung was used by 22% households and agriculture residue by 12%. About 1.3% people used kerosene for cooking. Average cooking time was estimated at 4.46 h/day/family, and average value of fuel wood consumption was estimated at 4.5 t/family/year, whereas average market value of annual consumption of fuel wood had been calculated as Rs 8,700.00 per households. Due to poor socio-economic situations in the village, a significant amount of fixed carbon of plantation forest was used for cooking of food which could be saved by providing them renewable source of energy for cooking or cooking gas cylinders.

Fuelwood consumption patterns by semi-nomadic pastoralist community and its implication on conservation of Corbett Tiger Reserve, India

The local folk of Himalaya have natural coexistence with the forests and depend on these bounty natural resources for their livelihood. The present study was carried out on semi-nomadic pastoralist for the study of forest use patterns. The main source of livelihood was found to be homogeneous (pastoralism) within each settlement. The study records 26 tree species preferred for fuelwood consumption. Overall average fuelwood consumption was 20.09 ± 0.7 kg day−1 family−1. The average per capita fuelwood consumption was 2.77 kg day−1. Average fuelwood consumption by very large families is significantly higher than small families. The principal component analysis explain lopping, extraction and anthropogenic activities for biomass extraction as a major factor of disturbance in forests. We also examined the present forest wood consumption rate and its implications in terms of potential deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases. The findings in the paper could form the basis for designing appropriate technologies and management policies in the region.

The impact of a locally managed coppice system on fuelwood harvesting and consumption patterns, and associated time and financial costs

The impact of a locally managed coppice system on fuelwood harvesting and consumption patterns, and associated time and financial costs

Fuelwood consumption patterns and resilience in two rural communities of the northwest Patagonian steppe, Argentina

A comparative ethnobotanical study was carried out in two rural communities in northwest Patagonia. The methodology involved semi structured interviews and free listing, through which richness and use patterns of fuel species were registered, as well as socioeconomic factors and alternative fuel sources such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and animal dung. Firewood was found to be a subsistence resource, complemented with the purchase of other firewood resources and the use of alternative fuels. A total of 21 species were registered, of which 18 were native species and 3 exotic; 12 fuel species were used by both communities. The species with highest use consensus were Berberis microphylla (michay), Lycium sp. (montenegro) and Senecio subulatus (romerillo) in the Laguna Blanca community, and Salix sp. (sauce) and S. subulatus in Comallo. Collection is mainly carried out on foot. Whereas the inhabitants of Laguna Blanca cover large distances in order to collect native woods, in Comallo this is made easier by the use of prunings from urban tree planting, obtained closer to dwellings. This is an interesting result since the recycling of biological products to supplement firewood, together with forestation practices, could contribute to the resilience processes of inhabitants of these arid, hostile environments. We propose that the use of multiple fuel resources could be an indicator of ecological–social resilience processes.

Fuelwood consumption patterns in Chumriey Mountain, Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia

The study was carried out to explore fuelwood consumption rate for different activities, such as cooking, boiling water, preparing animal feed and burning to protect cattle against insects; species preference; and to examine the characteristics of cook stoves. Approximately 96% of sampled households depend on fuelwood as a primary source for cooking, boiling water, preparing animal feed and protecting cattle against insects. Average fuelwood consumption for cooking and boiling water in very large families is significantly higher than that with very small families. Overall average fuelwood consumption for cooking and boiling water per family per day is 5.21 ± 0.11 kg and 2.82 ± 0.11 kg. Households with a high number of cattle or pigs consume a higher amount of fuelwood for producing smoke to protect cattle against insects or preparing pig feed. The average fuelwood consumption rate is approximately 5.60 ± 0.11 kg day−1 family−1 for repelling insects to protect animals and 3.90 ± 0.19 kg day−1 family−1 for preparing pig feed. The most preferred species is Shorea obtusa followed by Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Xylia xylocarpa, Cratoxylon prunifolium, and Dipterocarpus tuberculatus. Two models of improved cooking stoves (the New Lao Stove and the Korng Rey Stove) are the most frequently used stove type in the study area.

Fuelwood consumption patterns in Fakot watershed, Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand

Biomass is one of the key energy sources in rural India and constitutes 75% of the total energy consumption. In the tough mountain terrain, the consumption pattern depends on the availability of the resources as well as socio-economic conditions of the people. The present study is conducted at Fakot micro-watershed in Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. The present paper explores the variations in fuelwood consumption pattern in the watershed level at different altitudes with respect to family size. In the present study, the fuelwood consumption in the watershed is in the range of 455–2388 gm/person/day. Absence of serial autocorrelation in the seasonal fuel consumption data is observed. Season specific models for fuel consumption are proposed.

Fuelwood consumption pattern at different altitudes in rural areas of Garhwal Himalaya

The use of fuelwood as a primary source of energy for domestic use is causing severe deforestation in Garhwal Himalaya. In the present study fuelwood consumption patterns have been studied in six villages; two each in tropical (Ganga Bhogpur and Kunow), sub-tropical (Bhainswara and Ghargoan) and temperate (Dhaulana and Chunnikhal) regions under various ecological and socio-economic conditions. The total average fuelwood consumption in the present study was observed to be highest for Ganga Bhogpur (2.52 kg per capita per day) in the tropical region, whereas, lowest for Ghargoan (1.63 kg per capita per day) in the sub-tropical region. The labour energy expenditure for fuelwood collection was greatest for Dhaulana (146.62 MJ per capita per day) in the temperate region, and lowest for Ganga Bhogpur (88.80 MJ per capita per day) in the tropical region. The fuelwood consumption rate oscillated considerably across the different seasons. The tree and shrub species preferred by the inhabitants for fuelwood were Holoptelea integrifolia , Anogeissus latifolia and Lantana camara in the tropical region; A. latifolia , Acacia catechu and Carissa spinarum in the sub-tropical region; and Quercus leucotrichophora , Myrica esculenta and Pyracantha crenulata in the temperate region, respectively.

Fuelwood use by different tribal and non‐tribal communities in north‐east India

This paper analyses the fuelwood consumption pattern by different tribal and non‐tribal communities ofMeghalaya in north‐east India. The total fuelwood consumption including all activities such as cooking, rice beer preparation, room and water heating and festival celebration, ranged from 4.7 kg/capita/day for the Garos to 2.1 kg/capita/day for the Nepalese. The total energy expended for fuelwood collection was highest for the Nepalese (0.23 MJ/capital day) and least for the Garos (0.12 MJ/capital day). The present information on fuelwood consumption patterns by different tribal and non‐tribal communities could form the basis for designing appropriate technologies for energy plantations in the region. Besides this, some other technologies such as the introduction of fuel efficient devices at the village level and recycling of resources through biogas could be appropriate.