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Does community and household tree planting imply increased use of wood for fuel? Evidence from Ethiopia

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  • Gebreegziabher, Zenebe
  • van Kooten, G. Cornelis

Abstract

As a result of many years of deforestation, fuelwood scarcity is a critical problem in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government encouraged afforestation and tree growing at both the community and household levels as a policy to stem deforestation and degradation of agricultural lands. The rationale underlying the tree growing strategy is that some significant part of whatever is planted will be used as fuelwood, thereby reducing the demand for wood from native forestlands and use of crop residues and animal dung needed for soil improvement. It is incumbent, however, to ask: Does household or community tree planting indeed translate into greater use of wood for fuel? To address this question, fuelwood consumption in Ethiopia is examined using datasets from sample cross-sections of 500 households and 100 communities in the highlands of Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. The results of such an analysis provide important insights into the potential effectiveness of the tree growing or afforestation strategy as a partial remedy to the country's fuel problems. Findings suggest, however, that there may not be a link between tree planting and the use of such fiber for fuelwood.

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  • Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & van Kooten, G. Cornelis, 2013. "Does community and household tree planting imply increased use of wood for fuel? Evidence from Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 30-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:34:y:2013:i:c:p:30-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2013.03.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Yusuph J. Kulindwa, 2016. "Key factors that influence households’ tree planting behaviour," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1-2), pages 37-50, February.
    2. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & van Kooten, G. Cornelis & van Soest, Daan P., 2017. "Technological innovation and dispersion: Environmental benefits and the adoption of improved biomass cookstoves in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 337-345.
    3. Mekonnen, Alemu & Beyene, Abebe & Bluffstone, Randy & Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Martinsson, Peter & Toman, Michael & Vieider, Ferdinand, 2022. "Do improved biomass cookstoves reduce fuelwood consumption and carbon emissions? Evidence from a field experiment in rural Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    4. Mengistu, Mulu Getachew & Simane, Belay & Eshete, Getachew & Workneh, Tilahun Seyoum, 2016. "Factors affecting households' decisions in biogas technology adoption, the case of Ofla and Mecha Districts, northern Ethiopia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 215-227.
    5. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Mekonnen, Alemu & Kassie, Menale & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2020. "Household Tree Planting in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia: Tree Species, Purposes, and Tenure Security," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Beyene, Abebe D. & Bluffstone, Randall & Martinsson, Peter & Mekonnen, Alemu & Toman, Michael A., 2018. "Fuel savings, cooking time and user satisfaction with improved biomass cookstoves: Evidence from controlled cooking tests in Ethiopia," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 173-185.
    7. Dinh, Hoang Huu & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Hoang, Viet-Ngu & Wilson, Clevo, 2017. "Economic incentive and factors affecting tree planting of rural households: Evidence from the Central Highlands of Vietnam," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(PA), pages 14-24.
    8. Kulindwa, Yusuph J. & Ahlgren, Erik O., 2021. "Households and tree-planting for wood energy production – Do perceptions matter?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fuelwood consumption; Household and community investment in trees; Heckman selection model; Tigrai; Ethiopia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy

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