In the past 15 years, finding fuelwood has become a physical and economic burden to Sahelians inhabiting both rural areas and urban centers. This has led to a poor man's energy crisis, the scope of which is reviewed. Increasing demands on fuelwood have had negative socioeconomic effects. Non-commercial substitutes of fuelwood, though widely used, are not keeping up with demands. Commercial energy sources are not affordable due to their high cost. Overall, it is concluded that the substitute for wood is wood. So far, fuelwood plantation projects in the Sahel have suffered from a noticeable lack of economic and financial analysis. Popular investment decision criteria in forestry management are presented and evaluated. Given a eucalyptus growth function, current market prices, production costs, and interest rates, a model has been developed to solve for the optimal rotation age. The results showed that fuelwood plantations could be financially feasible. Site quality and interest rates are important in determining the size of the optimum criterion as evidenced by the sensitivity analysis performed. The paper surveyed a few econometric studies dealing with wood products. Based on the linear and double-log static models, consumption functions for fuelwood demand projections have been derived for seven countries of the Sahel. Based on these equations and different statistical tests, it was found that population is the single most important factor determining fuelwood consumption in the Sahel. Another significant variable is the woodland area. Income as represented by GNP did not have any effect on fuelwood demand. On the basis of these findings and the overall study, the following measures are recommended: (1) Population control should be implemented as a high priority to help curb the increased and increasing fuelwood demands; (2) More plantations should be undertaken to increase the exhausted supplies. Meanwhile, the management of existing natural forests along with the introduction of affordable fuelwood substitutes should be implemented. (3) More leadership is needed to involve the local people into development projects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/183906 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | AW, OUMAR. |
| Contributors | Ffolliott, Peter F., Hutchinson, Charles, Fogel, Martin, Lehman, Gordon, Slack, Donald, Thames, John |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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