The Woodfuel Scenario and Policy Issues in India

Field Document No.49, April 1997

by N.C. Saxena
Centre for Sustainable Development
LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie

Table of Contents

Woodfuels play an important role in India as they do in many other parts of Asia. Annual consumption in the country as a whole is estimated at 220-300 million tonnes, worth some nine billion US dollars, and this amount is increasing. At present, woodfuels account for 20-30 per cent of all energy used in India, and more than 90 per cent of this is in the domestic sector.

However, woodfuel is more than just a commodity being consumed: it is being supplied, processed and traded. This has many implications, economically, socially, environmentally and otherwise. Furthermore, India is a vast sub-continent with widely varying geographical, agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions, and therefore aggregate data can tell us little.

The complexity and heterogeneity of woodfuel-related issues in India present policy-makers with major challenges because they are associated with a range of intricate problems, particularly involving small farmers and the landless poor. At the same time, however, the potential of wood energy extends beyond subsistence, providing sound and viable options for modern development and applications. The central questions are then: to what extent and in what manner can woodfuel be subject to policy making? who should make the policies? and on whose priorities should they be based?

Table of Contents
	Foreword
1.	Woodfuel as a Source of Energy
2.	Wood - Largely Traditional, But Not Phasing Out
3.	People Involved in Fuelwood Collection and Use
4.	Estimates of Demand for Fuelwood
5.	Prices
6.	Sources of Supply
7.	Government Programmes in the Last Two Decades
8.	The Role of Other Agencies in Wood Production
9.	Economic Aspects of Wood and Fuelwood Under Different Production Systems
10.	Fuelwood Markets
11.	Charcoal Markets
12.	Fuelwood Production Policy in Perspective
13.	Summary of Recommendations for Different Categories of Lands
14.	Glossary
15.	Abbreviations
16.	References

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