Tree planting for wood fuel

Abstract

SUMMARY • Wood fuel is the principal source of energy, accounting for 91 per cent of the total energy consumed in Tanzania. • The dependency on wood fuel is expected to continue for the foreseeable future but the supply of wood fuel is dwindling in all regions. • The Government has accorded high priority to the production of wood fuel and to environmental protection. • Evidence suggests a number of factors influencing overwhelming dependence on wood fuel: poor availability of alternative sources of energy and escalating prices of the available non-wood fuels. • Effects of these factors are exacerbated by poverty among the community. • NAFORMA (2015) reported the consumption of wood exceeds the sustainable supply, causing an annual wood deficit of 19.5 million m3 (MNRT, 2015). • Lusambo (2009) found that 36% of the wood fuel (round wood equivalent) consumption was in the form of charcoal, while 64% was in the form of firewood. • Household fuel consumption in the study areas was found to be unsustainable: heavy dependency on wood fuel was found to be responsible for net deforestation rate of 12.48 ha/day, translating to 45% of total deforestation in Tanzania (Lusambo, 2009). • Several technologies for tree planting for wood fuel exist: establishment of communal woodlots, combination of land reclamation with wood fuel production, central and individual nurseries, use of cuttings and self-germinating seedlings, individual tree- planting based on agro-forestry and intensification of women involvement in tree planting programmes. • This presentation focuses on extent of wood fuel consumption, tree planting, constraints and opportunities for engaging in tree planting