Determination of community’s perception over the current status of wood energy: a case of Matengo highlands in Tanzania
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Date
2007
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Publisher
International Journal of Ecology & Development (IJED)
Abstract
Community’s perception over status of wood energy was determined in Matengo Highlands,
Tanzania. Data was collected from a sample of women using semi-structured questionnaires and
analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Science software. Results
indicated that the source of energy for 88.2% of respondents was firewood, while 11.8% use both
firewood and charcoal. About 57% of respondents said firewood was not as available today as
compared to the past decade while for 31.6% the accessibility is the same today as that of the past
decade. For sustainable utilization, respondents said, the community should plant trees and adopt
improved firewood stoves technology. It was recommended that strengthening of woodlots and
agroforestry systems is significant for sustainable utilization of wood energy. Also, training the
community on appropriate areas to plant exotic tree species is imperative to avoid possible
negative impacts to the environment. Alongside exotic trees, the community should be encouraged
to plant indigenous trees for procuring wood energy benefits in short run, and environmental
conservation in long run.
Description
International Journal of Ecology & Development (IJED) Summer 2007, Vol. 7, No. S07
Keywords
Community’s perception, Wood energy status, Sustainable utilization, Matengo Highlands, Agroforestry systems