Philippines   

Wood Energy Situation Policies and Programmes Wood Energy Data Further Reading RWEDP Focal Points

Wood Energy Situation

The total energy consumed in the Philippines in 1994 was 965 PJ. Biomass fuel consumption accounts for 47% of total energy consumption and woodfuel shared 31% of the total. Most biomass fuels are consumed by the residential and commercial sectors. A total of 87% of all biomass fuel for industry comes from bagasse, whereas woodfuel accounts for only 7% of all biomass fuel. These figures may point to incomplete woodfuel data since woodfuel is believed to account for as much as bagasse in providing industrial fuel.

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Policies and Programmes

The Philippines was among the first RWEDP-member countries to have firmly established a National Advisory Committee on Wood Energy, and a National Wood Energy Working Group, as well as a work plan for wood energy development activities. Wood energy issues have been taken up, particularly by the dedicated staff of the Non-Conventional Energy Division of the Department of Energy (DOE). Its network of Affiliated Non-Conventional Energy Centres (ANECs) has spread across the country.

The Energy Plan 1994-2010 is now available, and this includes bagasse as a biomass fuel. The Forest Management Bureau supports the objective of integrating wood energy into energy planning, and takes a strong interest in options for providing alternative woodfuels like the briquetting of sawdust. In the meantime, preparations are being finalised for the Energy Plan 1996-2020, which will fully incorporate wood energy, although it will be under the heading of 'waste'.

Furthermore, renewable and rural energy planning is being taken up in area-based planning activities and these will in turn be incorporated into national energy planning exercises. It is likely that the area-based studies will pinpoint localised woodfuel scarcities as well as areas of untapped wood/biomass energy resources. In 1993, a well-known study in the Philippines was supported and published by RWEDP on the "Patterns of Commercial Woodfuel Supply, Distribution and Use in the City and Province of Cebu". The study addressed a number of important issues regarding woodfuel problems and policies, particularly in urban areas, and may provide an inspiration for further studies in the region. Further case studies are being undertaken e.g. in tobacco growing areas on Luzon, with support from RWEDP.

In March 1995 the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) published a paper on The Bank's Policy on Forestry. The paper takes stock of recent developments in sustainable forestry, including UNCED 1992, and formulates a new and differentiated strategy. On fuelwood issues, however, ADB does not make use of up-to-date information. The policy paper seems to be based on the 'supply gap' theory developed in the 1980s. The 'gap' stemmed from comparisons between wood consumption and calculations of sustainable forest supplies. The basic assumption made was that all wood came from forests. Along the same lines, the new ADB policy paper states that the removal of wood for fuel is the main drain from forests, and that the inappropriate removal of fuelwood from forests continues to be a major cause of deforestation. The statements were amplified in the media where it was reported that fuelwood collection was among the chief threats to Asia's tropical forests. RWEDP, invited by ADB, presented a paper on 'Misconceptions about Wood Energy' in an internal ADB seminar.

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Wood Energy Data

Notes:
Population and land use data from FAO (FAOSTAT), GDP per capita from World Bank. Energy consumption data from various sources.
Potential wood energy supply estimated by RWEDP, based on available data for land use, wood productivity and estimates on availability of wood for energy use. For forest land, other wooded land and agriculture areas, the potential supply is based on average annual yield estimates, assuming a sustainable use of resources (Sust.: sustainable). Wood waste from deforestation refers to wood potentially available from natural forest land cleared due to commercial logging, expansion of agriculture land or other reasons. The estimates are based on aggregated national data, which can hide local variations, ranging from scarcity to abundance. For detailed calculations and estimates for 2010, see FD50, chapter 8

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Further reading:

	Woodfuel in the Philippines - Production and Marketing -, Baguio City, Philippines, RWEDP Report No. 41, 1998
	Regional Study on Wood Energy Today and Tomorrow in Asia, Field Document 50, 1997
	Chapter 13 in Review of Wood Energy Data in RWEDP Member Countries, Field Document 47, 1997
	Report Woodfuel Flows: An overview of four studies, RWEDP Report No. 30, 1997
	Biomass Energy in Asean Member Countries, 1997
	Patterns of Commercial Woodfuel Supply, Distribution and Use in the City and Province of Cebu, Philippines, Field Document 42, 1993
	Part III "Rural-Urban Dependence on Wood Energy in a Selected Area in Laguna Province, Philippines: A Rapid Rural Appraisal" in Woodfuel Flows, Rapid Rural Appraisal in Four Asian Countries, Field Document 26, 1991
	Wood Based Energy System in Rural Industries and Village Applications - Philippines, Field Document 12, 1989

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RWEDP Focal Points in Philippines

Focal points are the main contacts for RWEDP in a member country. Generally, in each country, there is one focal point in the energy sector, and one in the forestry sector.

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