Household adaptations to fuelwood shortage in the old Brahmaputra downstream zone in Bangladesh and implications for homestead forest management

Abstract

Fuelwood is the principal source of energy, especially in rural households in developing countries like Bangladesh. Due to over-use and unsustainability of fuelwood production, it has become a scarce resource in many poor countries. To understand reasons for household fuelwood scarcity and adaptation techniques, an exploratory survey was carried out in rural households in the downstream zone of the Old Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh, from November 2008 to February 2009. The majority (94%) of households experienced fuelwood scarcity. The high price of fuelwood was the main reason in 49% of households, followed by unsustainability of the fuelwood use (14%), and fragmentation of homestead land (almost 13%). The households experiencing fuelwood scarcity adapted to using other resources such as leaves and twigs, cow dung, rice husks and rice straw and by optimising the duration of fuelwood burning. The study confirms that smaller family size, higher literacy rate, higher total land ownership and higher income of households determine the use of environment-friendly adaptation options. The study gives recommendations for more sustainable homestead forest management, specifically focusing on institutional support and active participation of all stakeholders in the planning process. This will be important for developing future forest and agricultural policy in Bangladesh. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.