Books
- A long overdue manual of tree species especially suited for fuelwood

Reviewed by
Robert Wazeka

The techniques of forestry are mainly for purposes such as timber, pulp,
watersheds, and not for fuel production. This has traditionally been considered
the lowest use for wood. In fact, there is little modern experience with growing
for firewood.

Firewood crops: shrub and tree species for energy production. Report
of an ad hoc panel of the advisory committee on technology innovation, Board on
Science and Technology for International Development, Commission on
International Relations. Washington, D.C. National Academy of Sciences, 1980,
237 p. No price quoted, but free to appropriate institutions. (Commissioned by
the US Agency for International Development.)

In July, 1977, an international panel on firewood crops met in Airlie,
Virginia, in the United States, to consider the results of a worldwide inquiry
into fuelwood tree species. At the panel's request, 1200 different tree species
that could become important sources of firewood in the developing world were
identified. The panel, created under the auspices of the United States National
Academy of Sciences, narrowed the list down to 700, which constitutes one of the
book's appendixes.

From these 700 trees, the panel made further selections, arriving at what it
considered to be the 60 potentially most productive species. It looked for
multi-purpose trees, trees that adapted well to different sites, that
established themselves easily, that were not eaten by wildlife, and that
required minimal care and could survive in difficult environments. It sought out
trees that could coppice, fix nitrogen, grow rapidly, and produce
wood of high calorific value with an absence of sparks or toxic smoke.

Those 60 trees are the principal subjects of this important book. Each is
given a two-page spread containing concise information with salient details and
at least one good-sized, black-and-white photograph. The photographs come from
all over the world, and do more than merely illustrate the trees. Taken
together, they demonstrate vividly the importance of trees for fuelwood in the
developing world and show how trees form an integral part of the people's lives.
Of the 60 species presented, 16 are suitable for humid tropics, nine for
tropical highlands and 35 for arid and semi-arid regions.

There is an introduction written by Erik Eckholm of the Worldwatch Institute
and an introductory chapter on wood as fuel. There are 10 appendixes, including
the master list of 700 tree species. They include case studies from Ethiopia and
the Republic of Korea, a section on using fuelwood efficiently (with examples of
different kinds of stoves), selected readings, research contacts, an explanation
of terms, biographical sketches of the panel, a list of contributors and an
index of plants.

In a foreword, Edward S. Ayensu, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's
Office of Biological Conservation and the panel's chairman, points to the
compelling need to do something now to alleviate the world's fuelwood crisis.
"More than one third of the world's population depends on wood for cooking and
heating," be writes. "Eighty-six percent of all the wood consumed annually in
the developing countries is used for fuel, and of this total at least half is
used for cooking. The situation is growing so desperate that wood is poached
from forest reserves; hedges planted around homes are stolen at night; and even
scaffolding is stolen from building sites to meet shortages in firewood
supplies.

"In the face of global concern over the dwindling supply of fuelwood, the
rate of forest decimation to provide basic human necessities in developing
countries is alarming. We must look upon woody plants as renewable resources
that, if effectively managed, could alleviate the problem not only for the
present, but for posterity."

His appeal is reiterated in Erik Eckholm's introduction: "Firewood scarcity
is probably most acute today in the countries of the Indian subcontinent and in
the semi-arid stretches of Africa below the Sahara, although it
affects many other areas as well. In Latin America the scarcity of wood and
charcoal is a problem throughout most of the Andean region, Central America and
the Caribbean. One of the obvious results of this scarcity is that as firewood
prices rise, so does the economic burden on the poor. In some cities the price
of firewood has risen by more than 300 percent in two years. Government agencies
have collected few statistics on this trend, but firewood prices seem to be
rising beyond the reach of many city dwellers."

While it is universally recognized that massive reforestation efforts are
needed, both to meet the requirements of the people and to rejuvenate damaged
ecosystems, getting such efforts started is much more difficult than it might
seem. Writes Eckholm, "Even if the political will is there and the funds are
allocated, reforestation campaigns are unexpectedly difficult and complex.
Planting millions of trees and successfully nurturing them to maturity is quite
different from such well-bounded technical tasks as building factories, and the
projects frequently fail. For example, most of the regions with too few trees
also have too many cattle, sheep, and goats, and where rangelands are
badly overgrazed, livestock may eat the leaves off saplings. To be successful,
reforestation efforts require a formidable administrative effort to protect the
young trees for years until they are grown - and once they are grown there is
the problem of monitoring timber harvests and of systematic replanting as the
trees reach maturity."

The need is pressing. Calculations made by John Spears of the World Bank
indicate that even with the optimistic assumption that wood-conserving stoves,
biogas reactors and solar cookers will be used if and when available, an
additional 20-25 million ha of trees must be planted in the next 20 years. At
the present rate of reforestation, only slightly more than 2 million ha will be
reforested in that period. Some regional shortfalls may be much more serious. In
Africa's Sahel zone, for example, the Club du Sahel estimates that tree planting
must increase by a factor of 50 to meet the needs of people there over the next
20 years.

This, then, is why the selection of trees solely for the production of
fuelwood becomes even more important.

Sixty aggressive and quick growing fuelwood tree species

For the humid tropics

Acacia auriculiformis
Calliandra
calothyrsus
Casuarina equisetifolia
Derris
indica
Gliricidia sepium
Gmelina
arborea
Guazuma ulmifolia
Leucaena
leucocephala
Mangroves
Mimosa
scabrella
Munringia calabura
Sesbania
bispinosa
S. grandiflora
Syzygium
cumini
Terminalia catappa
Trema

For the tropical highlands

Acacia mearnsil
Ailanthus altissima
A/nus
acuminata
A. nepalensis
A. rubra
Eucalyptus
globulus
L. grandis
Grevillea robusta
Inga
vera

For the arid and semi-arid regions

Acacia brachystacya
A. cauzbagei
A.
cyclops
A. nilotica
A. saligna
A.
senegal
A. seyal
A. tortilis
Adhatoda
vasica
Albizia lebbek
Anogeissus
latifolia
Azadirachta indica
Cajanus
cajan
Cassia siamea
Colophospermum
mopane
Emblica officinalis
Eucalyptus
camadulensis
E. citriodora
E
gomphocephala
E. microtheca
E.
occidentalis
Haloxylon aphyllum
Il.
Persicum
Parkinsonia aculeata
Pinus
halepensis
Pithecellobium dulce
Prosopis
alba
P. chilensis
P. cineraria
P.
juliflora
P. pallida
P. tamarugo
Tamarix
aphylla
Zizyphus mauritania
Z.
spina-christi

Though the panel recognizes that many hurdles must be overcome to implement
such a policy, it sees some cause for optimism: "In theory, probably all
countries have the physical resources to meet their most urgent rural firewood
needs. It has been estimated that at least 75 percent of tropical land is
inherently unsuited to sustained conventional agriculture, but 35 percent of the
population of the tropics lives on this land. About half of it will not support
vegetation of any kind. The best use of the remainder is tree cultivation or the
simultaneous or sequential cultivation of trees with annual crops or with the
pasturing of animals. Virtually everywhere, villages have unused or misused
areas on which woodlots can be planted.

"But there is little modern experience with growing trees explicitly for
firewood, even by most foresters. Fuel production has long been considered the
lowest use of wood, and foresters have traditionally cultivated trees primarily
for other purposes, such as for timber and pulpwood. For these products, the
species they choose to grow are not those that would be grown purely for fuel.
Moreover, the yield measurements reported, the management techniques devised,
and the varieties (provenances) selected almost never reflect potentials for
firewood production.

"Firewood plantings can use species with short boles, crooked trunks, or wood
that warps or splits as it dries. These features are not as detrimental
to fuelwood use as to timber production. Nor is stem size. In simple
cook-stoves, for example, branches as small as one or two centimeters in
diameter may be ideal. Thus a shrub may prove satisfactory for village fuelwood
silviculture if it grows fast and produces a dense wood that burns with intense
heat. In practice, fuelwood may come both as a primary crop from fuelwood
forests and as a secondary crop from timber forests."

Those wishing to receive free copies of the book should write on their
institutional letterheads to: Commission on International Relations (JH 215),
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, 2102 Constitution
Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20418, USA.

New solid fuel magazine

A new American professional solid fuel magazine began publication in December
1980. Based in Concord, New Hampshire, and thus in the centre of a region which
has seen rapid growth in wood heating for homes and industry, the new magazine
is called Wood'n Energy.

In the premier issue, publisher Susan Salls states, "It is our hope that
Wood'n Energy becomes a focal point for the industry, an indispensable
tool for all those involved in solid fuels." With this in mind, the magazine
created an editorial advisory board composed of some of the leading names in the
solid fuels industry.

The magazine will emphasize technical, economic and political developments
relating to wood and coal heating in the United States, but it will also contain
a regular "International Reports" section. The first issue contained a feature
article on coal burning in the United Kingdom and the second an article on the
use of wood and coal for heating in China.

Other regular departments, or sections, include new reports on US legislation
affecting the industry, on activities of private and governmental bodies across
the country, and on the doings of the newly formed Wood Heating Alliance.

Indonesia publishes proceedings of the 8th World Forestry Congress

The proceedings of the Eighth World Forestry Congress held in October 1978,
in Djakarta, are scheduled for publication late in 1981. The seven-volume, 13
000-page compendium will include all discussions, reports, speeches and position
papers presented at the Congress. All of these will be printed in English,
French and Spanish, but most special and voluntary additional papers will be
printed in the original language with summaries in the other two.

The seven volumes are: (1) General sessions and other generalities,
700 p.; (2) Forestry for rural communities, c. 1 500 p.;
(3) Forestry for food, c. 1900 p.; (4) Forestry for employment
promotion, c. 1700 p.; (5) Forestry for industrial development - the
forest resource base, c. 1900 p.; (6) Forestry for industrial
development - the forest industries, c. 2 500 p.; and (7) Forestry for
quality of life, c. 2 600 p.

The set weighs about 30 kilograms. Although printing and binding costs are
approximately US$400 per set, the sale price is only US$250, including surface
mail. Individual volumes cost US$50 each, including mailing.

Orders should be made to: Eighth World Forestry Congress (Proceedings), c/o
Direktorat Jenderal Kehutanan, PO Box 3668, Djakarta, Indonesia.

Warning: a potentially dangerous book

The preface of Firewood crops contains the following warning:

"If misunderstood, this book is potentially dangerous. Because of the
severity of the firewood crisis, the panel has selected trees and shrubs
that are aggressive and quick-growing. These seem appropriate for
cultivation in areas of extreme fuel shortage, particularly where climates
and soil conditions are harsh. But in more equable environments and where
no fuelwood shortages exist, such potentially invasive plants should be
introduced only with great care. The threat of their weediness is too
great. In any trials of fuelwood plantations local species should
always be given first priority".

Forestry for people

Forestry for rural
communities

Forestry for rural
communities development

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