Woodfuels, livelihoods, and policy interventions: Changing Perspectives

SummaryIn the 1970s, it appeared that fuelwood use was growing rapidly, and this could have major adverse impacts on the resource and poor users. By the mid-1980s, revised assessments indicated that there was less of a problem than had been foreseen, and much less of a need for forestry interventions to maintain supplies. As a result many of the latter were sharply scaled back. Additional information and analysis that has become available since the 1980s support the view that there is no need for large scale interventions devoted just to provision of fuelwood. However, declining access to supplies or markets can raise significant problems in some areas, and for particular categories of user. Growing urban demand for charcoal can also cause local problems, in particular in Africa. The potentials for appropriate forms of intervention are discussed.