Access to fuelwood resources HARVESTINGcollection frequency and quantity harvested

42 In some cases fuelwood may not be readily available for harvesting. The principal cause may be declined stocks in natural stands especially in the Eastern and Central Regions Figure 24. 50 100 150 Volta Greater Accra Central Western Eastern All regions Response R e gi on Causes of decreasing supply of fuelwood Owners unwillingness to sell trees Scarce labour No tree planting FSD permit and restrictions Seasonal scarcity Long regeneration period Declined stocks Figure 25 Producer perception of causes of decline in fuelwood resources The long regeneration period of coppice growth especially for mangrove species in the Volta Region also reduce fuelwood availability. Obviously the frequency of cutting or harvesting is higher than regeneration rate in most areas. Fuelwood is harvested daily without replanting in natural stand. Other causes of fuelwood unavailability include seasonal deterioration of roads in harvesting sites during the rainy season that reduce frequency of harvesting and bureaucratic nature of permit acquisition for harvesting from the FSD.

4.2.5 Access to fuelwood resources

Seventy percent of producers interviewed do not own the fuelwood resource they harvest for sale particularly in the Western and Central Regions Figure 25. 43 Figure 26 Ownership of fuelwood resource among producers Individual harvesters with their own financial and labour resources engage in harvesting, collection and supply of fuelwood to the market or clients. Sometimes, the activity may be pre-financed by traders or fish smokers. Access to the resource is essentially by paying a fee to the landowner or the FSD.

4.2.6 HARVESTINGcollection frequency and quantity harvested

During the major fishing season, usually from JuneJuly to SeptemberOctober when demand for fuelwood is high, producers harvest fuelwood for sale for an average of eight times across regions with a minimum of 1 to maximum of 90 times during the period Table 11. Table 11 Frequency of harvest during the major fish season  Region  Mean  Minimum  Maximum  Std. Devi ation  Volta  8  3  20  5.3  Greater Accra  4  2  6  2.0  Central  16  1  90  27.0  Western  16  7  80  15.0  Eastern  10  1  28  7.3  Combine  8  1  90  12.8 Fuelwood productionharvesting is most frequent in the Central and Western Regions. Frequency of harvesting for sale obviously reduces during the minor fish season, however, this could be 4-7 times in the Eastern and Western Regions on average to a maximum of 30 times in the Western Region Table 12. The reason for the disparity in the intensity of 44 harvesting among the regions is not clear. However, since the demand for fuelwood is dictated by fish availability, it may be due to higher quantities of fish smoked, particularly frozen fish in the Western Region during the lean season than the other 3 regions. 45 Table 12 Frequency of fuelwood harvest during the minor fish season  Region  Mean  Minimum  Maximum  Std. Devi ation  Volta  2  1  6  1.86  Greater Accra  2  1  2  0.71  Central  2  1  3  0.79  Western  7  1  30  7.18  Eastern  4  1  13  3.15  Combine  4  1  30  4.98

4.2.7 Land use systems exploited for fuelwood