Rural households’ decision-making in fuelwood collection. A case study of natural forest margins in the tropics

Abstract

Households located in peripheral villages of the natural forests are heavily dependent on fuelwood for their primary energy source. Due to excessive use, the productivity of the remaining forests is at a critical stage. The study’s main objective was to assess the household decision-making behavior in fuelwood extraction from natural forests. Households’ decision-making behavior was tested using social, economic and physical factors. Five forest reserves were selected for the study where fuelwood dependency is pronounced. The study findings showed factors such as off-farm income, wealth, diversification index, agricultural efficiency and male–female ratio had negative and significant effects on fuelwood dependency. Income diversification, creating off-farm employment, augmenting household wealth and farming efficiency may be viable options for minimizing fuelwood dependency.

Keywords:

• forest dependency
• economic value
• energy
• fuelwood
• households
• natural forest
• technical efficiency