Woodfuel Flows

An overview of four studies

RWEDP Report No.30, July 1996

Table of Contents

This report is an overview of four studies on woodfuel flows that were carried out on behalf of or with support from RWEDP in India, Myanmar, Pakistan and The Philippines.

Woodfuel flows refer to the mechanisms by which wood, harvested from a tree, eventually reaches the end-users as fuel. Such flows involve the owner of the tree, the wood cutter, the transporter, and buyers and sellers of wood during intermediate steps, until it ultimately reaches the end-user. Though such flows can differ from area to area, the report shows that some general lessons can be learned from these four case studies. This fact is supported by additional sources of information from other countries.

However, at the same it is clear that the "woodfuel business" is often complex with intricate links with rural economies. Income generation from woodfuel flows goes well beyond the forestry sector and in many cases provides a safety net for poor and deprived people. It is shown that policies and interventions aimed at developing wood energy must, in order to be effective, be suited to local conditions and be based on a thorough understanding of local conditions and practices.

Table of contents
	Foreword
1.	Introduction and background
2.	Origin and sources of woodfuel
3.	Woodfuel flows, marketing and actors involved
4.	Review of woodfuel flows cum markets and concluding remarks
5.	Bibliography
	Annex 1 - 4

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