Burning biodiversity: Woody biomass use by commercial and subsistence groups in western Uganda’s forests (original) (raw)
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Burning biodiversity woody biomass use
A B S T R A C T Woodfuels are the most heavily used energy source in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed the ecological impacts and modes of access of five user groups (domestic consumers, gin dis-tillers, brick manufacturers, charcoal producers, and tea companies) drawing biomass energy from natural forests in western Uganda. While domestic consumers use the most species for fuelwood (>50), their consumption is likely sustainable because they generally harvest fast-growing species from fallows on their own land or their neighbors'. Charcoal producers prefer old-growth hardwood species and are responsible for the greatest loss of natural forests. They access forests by finding landholders who, either willingly or through coercion, allow trees on their lands to be cleared. The impact of charcoal production is exacerbated by a license system that undervalues natural forests and rewards rapid harvests across large areas. The tea industry consumes mainly eucalyptus wood (Eucalyptus spp.) from corporate plantations, but they indirectly create pressure on natural forests by hiring immigrants who subsequently settle in and clear forest remnants. If such practices continue, forest remnants will soon be exhausted, leaving Kibale National Park as the last natural forest in the region. Forest remnants are a vital source of water, medicinal plants, and energy for local citizens and to protect them from over-exploitation, policy makers should target the charcoal and tea industry for reform. Support for local land management institutions governing access to fallows and successional forests will inevitably enhance the policy interventions.
Sustainability
Charcoal and firewood fuel biomass utilization is thought to be the main cause of deforestation in Uganda. Moreover, the practice of utilizing charcoal and wood fuel in Uganda is said to impact the health of many women and children in the region. The goal of this study was to comprehensively analyze charcoal and wood fuel utilization processes in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa and the environmental and socioeconomic dynamics and implications. The study equally intended to model out some possible improvements to wood fuel use while conserving natural forests. Both qualitative and qualitative approaches were used to study the charcoal and wood fuel energy situation in Uganda. The study collected field data (sample size: 199) which was subjected to descriptive analysis. The findings show that over 90% of households in Uganda and the sub- Saharan region use firewood and charcoal wood fuel, and that this fuel use creates social and environmental hazards. Our findings are also in agreement...
Fuelwood collection and its impacts on a protected tropical mountain forest in Uganda
Forest Ecology and Management, 2015
Local communities who live close to protected tropical forests often depend on them for woodfuel, their main source of energy. The impacts of fuelwood extraction in humid forests are rarely studied, yet the extraction of wood for fuel can impact forest structure, function and biodiversity. We assessed the effects of fuelwood collection on the forest of Mt Elgon National Park (Uganda). We interviewed 192 households about fuelwood use and surveyed dead wood in 81 plots inside the park. Forest was the most important source of fuelwood. People collected on average between 1.1 and 2.0 m 3 of fuelwood per capita per year. Other activities involving wood fuel extraction from the forest included illegal commercial fuelwood harvesting and charcoal making. Quantities of dead wood were affected by fuelwood collection up to at least 1000 m inside the boundary of the park. Depletion of dead wood inside the park was greater in the sites where the population was most dense. Nevertheless, people who planted more trees on their own land perceived land outside the park to be important and valued old growth forest less as a source of fuelwood. Highly-preferred tree species were most depleted, particularly when they were also valued timber trees, such as Prunus africana, Popocarpus milianjianus, Allophylus abyssinicus and Olea spp. Locally dominant species were less affected. Impacts varied among sites depending on the history of agricultural encroachment and locally-specific forest uses, e.g. harvesting of trees for poles or use of the forest land for grazing. Allowing the collection of dead wood in forests is double-edged as it creates opportunities for other activities that are more damaging. Demand for wood fuel from tropical forests is still likely to grow in the foreseeable future. Our results indicate that the forest may become more degraded as a result, with negative consequences for the people who depend on the forest and for conservation. Research into local ecological and cultural contexts and perceptions concerning costs and benefits can help devise more sustainable management options, including alternative sources of fuel.
This study documents natural resource use in a forest-adjacent western Ugandan village, and explains how what superficially appears to be a sustainable scenario is in fact quite unstable. Kibwona village is adjacent to Kasokwa Forest, comprised of a small Central Reserve owned by the National Forest Authority (NFA) and several contiguous community forests. Firewood and water collection is legal. However, empirical observations of women's daily activity budgets and details of resource acquisition show on average, women spent less than 5% of the time collecting natural resources. This is true for resources both in and out of the forest. This may be simply because firewood within household compounds, gardens and woodland-bush areas is abundant, accessible, and closer than the (also close) forest. However, two additional reasons for this behavior may, in fact, hinder long-term sustainability: (1) Many locals also plant eucalyptus trees for firewood, poles, and timber, which, although it is fast growing and makes good firewood, is water-draining and hard on the soils and thus a high cost to subsistence farmers. (2) Fears of harassment by NFA officials when collecting firewood inhibit local people from even entering the forest. Decentralized, collaborative forest management will not happen under oppressive and fear-based relationships, nor can a sustainable firewood supply be based on eucalyptus.
Energy Policy, 2007
By lumping together charcoal and firewood consumption to determine the threats to forests from widespread use of woodfuel energy in sub-Sahara African, studies have greatly underestimated the individual impact of charcoal. Where high consumption levels are coupled with poor forest management and negligible regulation of the charcoal trade, the threat of an impending crisis caused by charcoal alone needs to be revisited. This study uses a survey of 244 households in six Tanzanian cities to determine whether current consumption levels, charcoal production techniques and forest management practices are sufficient to meet present and future charcoal demand. Projections to year 2100 were made to determine whether forests can continue to meet future demand under 24 scenarios that capture the numerous uncertainties that exist of converting charcoal consumption into forest needed. The findings suggest that the scenarios containing median consumption levels, low kiln efficiencies and low replenishment of harvested forests could deplete forests on public land by 2028. Best-case scenarios occurred when the opposite conditions existed. The study concludes that charcoal consumption is a real threat to the long-term persistence of forests in Tanzania and proposes policy interventions for alleviating forest loss. r
The charcoal trap: Miombo forests and the energy needs of people
Carbon Balance and Management, 2011
Background: This study evaluates the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas fluxes to the atmosphere resulting from charcoal production in Zambia. It combines new biomass and flux data from a study, that was conducted in a miombo woodland within the Kataba Forest Reserve in the Western Province of Zambia, with data from other studies.
Resources, 2019
Around the world, charcoal has persisted as an energy resource and retained unequivocal dominance in the energy consumption mix of some nations many years on since modern alternatives were invented. Furthermore, it has secured unyielding significance as a commodity on local and international markets and remained an aggressive competitor to electricity and gas for cooking. Here, we analyze the charcoal supply chain and highlight the rudimentary production techniques common within the sub-Saharan region, using Uganda as an example. Top global producers, importers, and exporters are discussed and, based on fieldwork from ten locations in Uganda, we describe common trade practices, economic contributions and the realities of charcoal consumption in areas with concentrated grid and electricity coverage. Indeed, forest degradation and deforestation in the charcoal trade is indiscriminate and the world’s top producers and exporters of charcoal do not necessarily have vast forest resources....
Firewood use in Bulamogi County, Uganda: species selection, harvesting and consumption patterns
Biomass and Bioenergy, 2003
This study was carried out in Bulamogi, Uganda, with the main objective of determining preferred ÿrewood species, their harvesting and consumption patterns. Data collected through household and key-informants interviews, using open-and close-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, showed that 48 plant species in 36 genera and 20 families are used as ÿrewood. These plants have other uses as herbal medicines and in traditional cultural rites. There is almost total dependence on ÿrewood for domestic cooking and small-scale industries. Firewood is used to ÿre bricks (55%), distil spirits (26%), cure ÿsh (10%), cook food in restaurants (6%) and to produce charcoal (3%). Firewood for domestic use is collected mainly by women, and largely comprises of dead wood. The distances travelled to ÿrewood collection areas are short and little time is spent. The harvesting of ÿrewood for domestic use may have a lower direct impact on the native ora, than the harvesting of fuelwood for commercial use by small-scale industries and to make charcoal, which requires large amounts of wood that is often green. According to the community response, ÿrewood is abundant but declining. This decline may be related to increasing demands generated by the growing human population of Bulamogi, and growing national need for charcoal. Cultural taboos that have hitherto played an important role in plant conservation appear to be weakening. There is limited trading of ÿrewood in the community.
2021
Wood charcoal (WCH) is a sustainable biofuel for rural and urban users because of its higher energy density and emission of marginal smoke when compared with firewood. Besides helping the poor majority who cannot afford kerosene, electricity or liquid petroleum gas (LPG), WCH is a key source of income and livelihood. This work aimed at quantifying the volume of WCH production as well as appraising its socio-economics, including environmental impacts, especially the impact of long-term deforestation and forest degradation in Africa. Historically robust data from the databases of UN-FAO, FAOSTAT, International Energy Agency (IEA), United Nations Statistics Division, UN-DESA energy statistics yearbook, and the Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) were used. The data analysis involved descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis, and geospatial techniques. The result revealed that East Africa had the highest average wood charcoal production which was 32,058,244 tonnes representing 43.2% o...