Prospects for Coal Briquettes as a Substitute Fuel for Wood and ...

A. IF NO CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ARE TAKEN, AN ESTIMATED THREE
BILLION PEOPLE WILL LIVE IN ACUTE WOOD SCA CITY AND DEFICIT
REGIONS BY ‘THE YEAR 2000. AL ST ALL A.I.D. SUPFSORTED
COUNTRIES ARE EXPERIENCINGI OR WILL EXPERIENCE, ACUTE OR
REFICIT FUELWOOD SITU ATIQNS.
The traditional energy crisis in developing countries is in part a
consequence of utilizs’ng wood resources over many years at a rate much
faster than they can be renewed naturally or by afforestation. In
accordance with a recommendation by a United Nations Technical Panel on
Fuelwoo& the FAO identified regions wdth fualw od shortagesP the
severity of the shortages in these regions, and the affected population
involved. The FAQ concluded that some 96 mil 1 ion rural people and 16
million urban people now live in acute wood scarclty situations (see
Figure 2) .C111 These acxk wood scarcity regions are defined as
negative woad energy bal ance areas where existing resources have been
depl etecl through overeutti ng to the poi nt where popul ations cannot
obtal n suf f Ici ent fuel wood.
Acute fuelwsod scarcity areas include the arid and semi-arid regions
south of the Saharal East and Southeast Africa, the Himalayas and
mountainous regions of South Asia, the Andean Plateau, the arid areas in
western South Americap and in many of the densely populated urban areas
in Latln America. Furtherp the FA0 estimates that over one billion
rural people and 230 mlllian urban people 1 ive in wood deficit
situations (see Figure 2). Wood deficit areas are defined as regions
where populations are still able to meet minimu fuel wood needs, but
only by harvesting in excess of the sustadn le fuelwood supply.
Deficit areas include the Af rican savannah regions, the Indo-Gangetic
Plains in southern Asiar the plains and islands in Southeast Asia, and
the populated semi-arid areas and Andean zones of South herfca. The
FA0 study goes on to project that -if no Immediate correctlve actlons are
taken3 then sane three billion people w i l l live in acute wood scarcity
and deficit regions by the year 2000. Mor err the prices of firewood
and charcoal w i l l continue to increase h the scarcity and only
exacerbate an a1 ready i ntol erabl e situation.
Current fuel wood d@f ici enci OS in A. I. D. assi sted countries are
summarized in Table h. This tabulation shows that nearly all of the
A. I. D. supported countries are now experiencing acute or deficit
fuelwood scarcities or w i l l have fuelwood problems by the year 2000.
The pervasiveness and severity of the probl underscores the urgency
w1t.h which it should be handled.
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