The use of firewood in protected forests: collection practices and analysis of legal restrictions to extractivism

Abstract

Restrictions to the collection of timber resources in protected areas have been scarcely studied. Th e aim of this study was to describe the practices of fi rewood collection in a protected forest and the perceptions of collectors, particularly with regard to their adjustment to the rules of the local management plan. Th e study involved 102 participants of a rural community adjacent to the Araripe National Forest and employed semi-structured interviews, free-listing and in-situ survey techniques for ethnobiological data collection. Th e volume of wood stored was measured and monitored using a modifi cation of the weight survey technique. Th e residents used 69 plant species for fi rewood Most of the informants self-reported disagreement with the rules of the management plan, yet they tended to comply. Most interviewees felt that the rules of the management plan needed to be changed, especially those related to the day when fi rewood can be collected, fees charged and means of transportation. Management plans certainly represent a relevant strategy for the conservation of biodiversity, but they need continuous evaluation and adjustment to meet the needs of local human populations.

Converting Forest Biomass to Bioenergy for Improved Community Livelihoods: A Review

“…Bioenergy systems contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when they are replaced for fossil fuel in energy production [12]. Literature refers different forest trees and forest types that are used by local communities as fuelwood or firewood across the globe [10,19,21,22,23]. In Ghana, some forest tree species rural households prefer for firewood and charcoal in the semideciduous ecological zone are Magaritaria discoidea (Papea), Celtis zenkeri (Esa), Triplochiton scleroxylon (Wawa) Ficus exasperate (Nyankyerene) and Pericopsis elata (Kokrodua) [19].…”

Are firewood preference behaviors influenced by restrictions in access to vegetation, and can they vary over time?

“…These behavior patterns can be specialists when people select plants for fuel purposes based on the perception of biological characteristics that are intrinsic to the species, such as ignition potential and ember durability (See Ramos et al 2008;Medeiros et al 2012;Nascimento et al 2019;Hora et al 2021). On the other hand, they can be a generalist when resource selection is based on the perception of the ecological availability of species that are used for fuel purposes (Ramos et al 2008;Medeiros et al 2012), or people may prefer species also used for other purposes, that is, redundant species (Tabuti et al 2003;Top et al 2004;Hora et al 2021).…”

Species selection criteria for firewood. Preferred species and classification categories in two local communities in eastern Misiones, Argentina

“…Studies on the use of plants as firewood are recorded in various regions of the world, including Africa (Abbot & Lawore 1999, Tabuti et al 2003), Asia (Kataki & Konwer 2002, Walters 2005, and the Americas (Da Silva et al 2018, Díaz et al 2020, Marquez-Reynoso et al 2017Nascimento et al 2019, Sá e Silva et al 2008, Valderrama & Linares 2008, highlighting the contributions of Mexico and Brazil (Doumecq et al 2020). In Argentina, the use of firewood for domestic purposes at the family level has been addressed, both for indigenous and creole communities, residents of regions with urban, peri-urban and rural areas of arid and semi-arid environments, in the northwest, northeast, centre, center-east, and south of the country (Cardoso et al 2012a, 2012b, Doumecq 2015, Doumecq et al 2020, Fernández 2017, Jiménez-Escobar & Martínez 2019, Martínez 2015, Morales et al 2017a, 2017b, Otegui 2016, Richeri et al 2013).…”