WOOD ENERGY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

Woodfuels (firewood and charcoal) comprise the predominant source of energy for rural populations in developing countries, and are likely to continue to do so. Increasing depletion of locally available wood supplies can lead to reductions in energy available for cooking and heating, increasing diversion of agricultural residues to fuel use, and deterioration of physical environments dependent on tree cover. This paper examines different ways of dealing with the problem and argues that attention must be paid to means of alleviating demand for woodfuels in the short term by using existing supplies more efficiently, as well as to increasing their supply over the longer term.