The influence of an improved firewood cookstove, Chitetzo mbaula, on tree species preference in Malawi

With fuelwood arguably being the most important product from local forests for rural people in developing regions, its scarcity is an issue of very real importance. One strategy to simultaneously alleviate pressures on forest resources and increase the sustainability of its use has been the promotion of improved cook stoves (ICS). While ICS have been promoted as a means to reduce indoor air pollution and improve health in rural areas, or to reduce demand for fuelwood as a means of halting forest degradation, there is a dearth of research that links the influences of ICS on preferences for firewood species. From a sustainable forest management perspective, this is an important area of inquiry. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the potential impacts of an ICS on firewood use and tree species preference in several Malawian study sites. From a sustainable forest management perspective, the results are intriguing. The introduction of an ICS - in this case, the Chitetzo mbaula earthen clay cookstove - in several villages in two southern Malawian districts/study sites appears to translate to a greater preference for slow-growing indigenous firewood species (e.g., Brachystegia spp.) over fast-growing exotic alternatives (e.g., Eucalyptus spp., Mangifera indica). A reasonable application of these results would be to assist rural people to plant a variety of firewood (and ideally multi-purpose) trees that offered a phased succession whereby faster-growing exotics would still be required and planted in the near term with a transition to slower-growing indigenous trees over the longer term.