Deforestation and biomass fuel dynamics in Uganda. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jagger, Pamela; Kittner, Noah
• Is Part Of: Biomass and bioenergy. Volume 105(2017:Oct.)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 9
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: Africa -- Biomass -- Deforestation -- Energy -- Fuelwood -- Uganda; Biomass energy -- Periodicals; Biomass -- Periodicals; Energy-Generating Resources -- Periodicals; Bioénergie -- Périodiques; 333.9539
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.06.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0961-9534

Abstract

Abstract: Forests are, and will remain for decades to come, a critical source of domestic energy for households in East Africa. Deforestation threatens to alter the supply of biomass available to households. We use remote sensing and longitudinal household data to understand the relationship between agriculture-led deforestation and household energy choices in Uganda. Our hypothesis is that rapid deforestation and associated biomass stock depletion affects the type, quantity, and quality of fuels used by households. We analyze land use changes characterizing deforestation and forest degradation at 500-m spatial resolution. Using two waves of survey data for 451 households, we describe changes in the type, quantity, and source of biomass fuels used. We estimate net losses of 4.51 billion kg or 26% of available air-dry biomass over an 8-year period in 5-km buffers surrounding the study villages. We estimate a series of panel mixed-effect regression models to test whether reduction in biomass availability affects fuel choice and find that lower biomass availability is associated with an increase in fuel sourced from non-forest areas, use of crop residues as a cooking fuel, and time to collect fuel. We find that households are transitioning from fuelwood sourced from forests to fuelwood sourced from areas with much less available and lower quality biomass. We find limited evidence that investment in tree planting is replacing natural forests as a source of high quality biomass fuel. Our findings have implications for both human and environmental health particularly in biomass dependent and population dense settings in sub-Saharan Africa. Highlights: Deforestation reduced biomass by 26% between 2003 and 2011 in parts of Uganda. Deforestation has increased the use of low quality fuelwood and crop residues. The health, welfare and climate impacts of low quality biomass fuels need policy attention.