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Figure 21 Producers perception of the status of demand for fuelwood throughout the year
4.2.4 Management of the fuelwood resource base
In developing countries, wood is collected for free and comes with no cost. The collection is mostly done from government and trust land which never reflect in government statistics
Mugo and Ong, 2006. Consequently, fuelwood resources were hardly sustainably managed especially in most parts of Africa.
In Ghana is collected from public and private forest lands in both reserved and off-reserve areas. While the management of reserved forests is strictly under the jurisdiction of the
Forestry Commission, the management of forests in the off-reserve areas is by traditional land owning authorities and private landowners. The forestry commission has responsibility
for monitoring and enforcing rules related to charcoal production on private lands, and plays a large role in regulating the transport of fuelwood beyond boundaries of every district. Taxes
are collected at various stages in the value chain. Officially, the FC issues a permit at a fee for the collection of Non Timber Forest Products including fuelwood from reserved forest areas
for commercial purposes. The conveyance of fuelwood beyond the boundaries of production areas is also taxed by the District Assembly at the forest gate on issuing of a waybill. Police
and Customs officials at various check points and borders inspect waybills to ensure the authenticity of source of products during transportation en-route to market. Local district and
metropolitan assemblies also collect tollslevies on respective markets as well as at the retailing points but hardly ensure that resources are not over exploited.
20 40
60 80
100 120
Volta Greater
Accra Central
Western Eastern All regions
f ue
lw oo
d pr
od uc
e r
Region
Producers knowledge of number of years fuelwood species regenerate to mature for harvesting
No Yes
Figure 22 Producers claims on their knowledge on regeneration of fuelwood species
With exception of the Eastern Region, most producers are knowledgeable of the regeneration period for the fuelwood species they harvest for sale. Natural regeneration period of trees
vary with species across regions. In Mangrove species in the Volta Region may take between 6-12 years to mature for harvest as fuelwood. In the Accra plains, coppice growth of neem
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and that of Cassia in the Central coastal forest areas may take up to 2 years or more to mature for fuelwood Table 9. However, natural regeneration is often not managed. This together
with inappropriate methods for cutting of trees and wildfire incidence hamper coppice growth in stumps and ultimately reduce fuelwood availability.
Plate 4 Unmanaged coppice growth and natural regeneration in forest and mangrove stands
Table 9 Number of years species regenerate for harvesting
Region Mean Min Max Std Deviation
N Volta
12 5
25 4.4
46 Greater Accra
2 1
2 0.5
9 Central
2 0.3
10 2.2
26 Western
4 0.2
50 7.4
45 Eastern
8 0.8
16 3.2
25 All regions
7 0.2
50 7.4
151 Overall 80 of producers interviewed acknowledged that fuelwood is readily available for
harvesting Figure 22. However, they might travel variable distances on average 5.3km 0.8- 20km across regions to harvest matured wood for fuelwood Figure 23 and Table 10.
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Figure 23 Producer perception of fuelwood availability
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 80
90 100
Volta Region Greater Accra
Region Central Region Western Region
Eastern All Regions
f ue
lw ood
pr odu
ce r
Region
Do producers need travel far to harvest fuelwood?
No Yes
Figure 24 Producer claims on distance travelled to harvest fuelwood for sale
Table 10 Distance travelled to harvest fuelwood
Region Mean Km Min Max Std Deviation
N Volta
4.9 1.60
20 3.5
32 Greater Accra
2.5 1.50
4 0.9
8 Central
3.9 0.80
16 3.0
31 Western
6.7 1.00
20 3.8
78 Eastern
4.8 0.80
16 3.2
60 All regions
5.3 0.80
20 3.6
209
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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
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