Household Energy Resources: Whose Priority?

This paper examines the different perceptions on deforestation and the household fuel crisis from the point of view of the development planners and the main user group of household fuels in developing countries — women. It is argued that afforestation strategies designed to deal with the environmental deterioration are not the most appropriate response to the household fuel shortage. It is suggested that this shortage, which in many parts of the world has reached a crisis, can only be adequately responded to by strategies which allow for the increased access to, and control over, productive resources by women.