Fuelwood scarcity in Swaziland

SYNOPSIS

In Swaziland policies to alleviate fuelwood shortages have been low on the list of development priorities, as much of the land has extensive bush and tree cover. There are, however, major social and geographical imbalances in biomass resource supply—some areas of Swazi Nation Land are barren due to increasing population pressure and the subsequent demand for fuelwood. This paper will show, in detail, the methodology for the survey which was carried out in Swaziland to investigate the importance of accessibility in linking potential supply to demand.

Physical location, land tenure and management practices are generally recognised as important factors to take into consideration when converting potential resources into realistic amounts of fuelwood supply. Guesswork, however, is often used to estimate the impacts of these factors on biomass supplies. A nation-wide study was made in order to obtain more information on the accessibility of resources on privately owned land; results of a household survey which was carried out in an area of Swazi Nation Land severely affected by fuelwood shortages, show the reactions of homesteaders to declining natural bush on their land.

The findings of the research will be useful in rural energy policy, especially when integrated with the work already planned by the ministries in Swaziland; consumption studies have already been embarked upon and there are plans for an indigenous forest inventory (both to be funded by the German organisation, GTZ). It is imperative that these studies to be done in the ministries and the South African Development Coordinating Committee (SADCC) “Fuelwood Study” (based on satellite imagery) do not stand on their own but are linked, by the accessibility of supplies. There is little point in discussing huge potential supplies which are locked by land tenure or by certain management practices; it is only the resources that are actually available to people in a particular location which may then be utilized by them as fuelwood for cooking and heating.

Results of the household energy survey show that when problems of accessibility to resources on private land in Swaziland are considered, policies must come mainly from within the Swazi Nation Land itself. Agroforestry (or at least small groups of trees rather than woodlots) and high efficiency stoves are among policies advocated. It must be stressed that to achieve any form of success, the local people must be involved in their own fate. Proper training and dissemination of technologies must be provided.