Authors : M. Buyinza and J. Teera
Abstract: The vast potential of forests and forest lands as a major resource for development is not yet fully realized in Uganda. This study examines the benefits and costs of selected policy options for increasing fuelwood supplies or decreasing fuelwood demand in Hoima district, Uganda using a non-linear dynamic programming model. Our results show that tree-farming is one of the possible approaches to increase the supply of fuelwood (energy), while the woodstoves and kerosene substitution are policies that reduce the demand for fuelwood. This helps to alleviate the rural energy shortage and take some pressure off existing protected forest areas. The tree cover in the forest areas declined by 6% in the BASE scenario, 4.8% in POPG scenario and 4.7% in TECH scenario, indicating an overall trend of forest degradation in the Hoima district under each of these scenarios. Reductions in the population growth rate, introduction of improved agricultural technology and increase in the prices of major agricultural crops can help slow down the rates of forest decline. This study does not attempt to analyse the wider energy planning program that would be needed to understand accurately the various alternatives available in Uganda.
M. Buyinza and J. Teera , 2008. A System Approach to Fuelwood Status in Uganda: A Demand-Supply Nexus. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 3: 264-275.