Fuelwoods used in rural South Africa

This note presents the results of a study undertaken in 1994 to identify the timber species in a consignment of more than 800 fuelwood samples collected from communities in eight South African ‘homelands’. The objective of the study was to collect information on the tree species used and preferred for fuelwood by rural communities. The samples were collected in the former homelands of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei Gazankulu, KaNgwane, KwaNdebele, Lebowa, Transkei and Venda.

These communities use sixty‐seven different woody species. The ratios of indigenous to introduced (exotic) species used for fuelwood vary from region to region. The communities sampled in Gazankulu and KaNgwane use indigenous species only, whereas those in the Transkei use introduced species only. Some high‐value indigenous timber species, such as Stinkwood, Kiaat, Wild Olive and Tamboti, are currently used as fuelwood. In these areas the planting of alternative species for fuelwood should be encouraged and the high‐value indigenous trees utilised more effectively.

Notes

Timber Utilisation Programme, Division of Forest Science and Technology, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The author is grateful to the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs for funding; to André Scheepers for assistance with the samples: and to Colin Dyer for assistance with this report.