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Title of Journal: Energ Ecol Environ

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Abbravation: Energy, Ecology and Environment

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Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University

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10.1016/0002-8703(63)90067-x

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2363-8338

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Fuelwood consumption patterns by seminomadic past

Authors: Aatif Hussain Sabyasachi Dasgupta H S Bargali
Publish Date: 2016/12/24
Volume: 2, Issue: 1, Pages: 49-59
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Abstract

The local folk of Himalaya have natural coexistence with the forests and depend on these bounty natural resources for their livelihood The present study was carried out on seminomadic pastoralist for the study of forest use patterns The main source of livelihood was found to be homogeneous pastoralism within each settlement The study records 26 tree species preferred for fuelwood consumption Overall average fuelwood consumption was 2009 ± 07 kg day−1 family−1 The average per capita fuelwood consumption was 277 kg day−1 Average fuelwood consumption by very large families is significantly higher than small families The principal component analysis explain lopping extraction and anthropogenic activities for biomass extraction as a major factor of disturbance in forests We also examined the present forest wood consumption rate and its implications in terms of potential deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases The findings in the paper could form the basis for designing appropriate technologies and management policies in the regionThe term biomass encompasses all energy forms derived from organic fuels of biological origins Biomass accounts for approximately 14 of total energy used globally and it is the largest energy source for the threequarters of the world’s population who live in developing countries Günhan et al 2005 In India rural households depend to a large extent on locally available resources collected from the forests to meet their domestic energy needs Firewood is the most attractive among the various forms of biomass and occupies a predominant place in the rural energy budget Kataki and Konwer 2002 The people of the Himalayan region have been fulfilling their energy needs almost entirely from forests Bhatt and Sachan 2004 Fuel wood has been identified as one of the most significant causes of forest decline in many developing countries Malik et al 2014 Firewood accounts for over 54 of all global harvests per annum suggesting a significant forest loss Osei 1993 Wahab et al 2008 The intense use of forest resource has put woody species in different regions of the world at risk DahdouhGuebas et al 2000 Medeiros et al 2011 Walters 2005 In various studies it has been found that countries with large rural populations make greater use of wood for heat and cooking fuel Miah et al 2003 MoranTaylor and Taylor 2010 Ogunkunle and Oladele 2004 Bioenergy is therefore nested at the intersection of three of the world’s great challenges—energy security climate change and poverty reduction—and has received an enormous amount of attention in the past few years FAO 2007 This scenario calls for proper biomass planning especially in the Himalaya as almost 90 energy demand is met with biomass resources Sharma et al 2009On the other hand without access to modern energy resources communities are dependent on traditional biomass such as fuelwood charcoal and animal waste for cooking and heating Kaygusuz 2011 Due to low connectivity with the urban areas of the country poor socioeconomic conditions skyrocketing prices and limited supply the commercial energy component formed only 141 of the total comprising of kerosene and electricity Bhatt and Sachan 2004 Kumar 2005 The rapid growth of population as well as decreasing forest areas have led to depletion of fuelwood resources around localities causing fuelwood shortage which has a direct impact on the poor such as extending fuelwood collection time increasing fuelwood prices and putting into risk a basic human need International Energy Agency 2006 Arnold et al 2006According to Kanagawa and Nakata 2007 fuelwood consumption not only increase the direct payments of rural households but valuable time and effort is devoted to fuelwood collection resulting in loss of the opportunity for collectors to improve their education and engage in incomegenerating activities Unsustainable fuelwood collection and inefficient conversion technology have serious implications for the environment Arnold et al 2003 Chen et al 2006 Burning fuelwood produces large amounts of carbon dioxide CO2 but the emissions from fuelwood consumption are considered as carbon neutral if fuelwood is harvested sustainably Due to incomplete and inefficient combustion fuelwood use may not be carbon neutral because carbon is released in other forms including methane nitrous oxide carbon monoxide and nonmethane hydrocarbons which have more global warming potential GWP than CO2 Smith et al 2000 In Asia for instance production of these incompletely combusted gases account for 45 of total biomass fuel carbon emissions which are equivalent to 23 of CO2 emissions on a 20year global warming potential basis Lefevre et al 1997Various studies had been conducted by different authors on the fuelwood consumption pattern in the Himalayan region on migratory villages in Uttarkashi district Awasti et al 2003 along altitudinal gradients in Garhwal Himalaya Bhatt and Sachan 2004 Northeast India Bhatt and Sachan 2004 Pindar basin Sati 2008 Himachal Pradesh Prasad et al 2001 Sharma et al 2008 and Tehri district in Uttaranchal Negi et al 1999 The issue as such has been addressed invariably but there has been almost no attempt to analyse the fuelwood consumption by seminomadic pastoralist’s community “Van Gujjars” unmindful of the resource availability and the possible consequences with particular reference to the Corbett Tiger Reserve CTR Van Gujjars make extensive collection of fuelwood for cooking purposes Therefore the present work focuses on the socioeconomic conditions utilization patterns of fuelwood species consumption and usage patterns and preference of woody species trees and shrubs and so on We examined the occurrence of regionally specific ecological indicators that encompassed several aspects of human activities In addition we evaluated the annual rate of deforestation and evaluated the rate of emission of green house gases as result of burning of firewood


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