Rural wood fuel consumption and deforestation in Tanzania: A case of two selected villages in Mvomero district

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the study which focused on rural wood fuel consumption and deforestation in two selected villages in Mvomero District. The objectives of study were to examine types and amount of wood fuel consumed by households, and to determine the extent to which wood fuel consumption cause deforestation. Stratified random sampling method was applied to select 90 households for interviews in the study area. The study established that in the year of study, the two study villages' annual fuel wood consumption was 50,838.2 m3 and 1,202.04 tons of charcoal. As a result of this rate of consumption, about 1,056.88 hectares of forest were cleared to meet the wood fuel demand in the study area. The study concludes that wood fuel consumption in the study area is very high and environmentally unsustainable in such a way that if continues unchecked, will result in devastating situation of deforestation. It recommends that immediate and long term measures should be undertaken to rescue the situation. Immediate measures include promotion of the use of wood saving stoves and use of alternative sources such as solar energy, biogas and briquettes made from biomass. The long-term measures include implementation of reforestation and rural electrification programmes.