Forest dependence for meeting household energy demands in Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India: Constraints and prospects
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A majority of rural population globally depends on local biomass, especially firewood from forests for household energy requirements with long term implications on forest ecosystem sustainability. We studied villages within Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the biodiversity rich Western Ghats of Karnataka, India, to understand communities’ dependence on forests for their domestic energy demands. A total of 206 households were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to assess stakeholders’ perspectives on domestic energy demands, variation between different categories of stakeholders in the use of firewood from forests and their choice of firewood species. Energy demand was found to be mainly for cooking, bathing, livestock feed processing and seasonal arecanut (Areca catechu L) processing. About 102 firewood species were recorded; out of which 93% were frequently used. The paper further discusses the scope for cost-effective technological improvements in energy generation and points to the need for local level regulation strategies for mitigating exploitative consumption of common forest resources by powerful stakeholders.
KEYWORDS: firewood, firewood-stack, eco-development, restoration, stakeholders.
ID: 3484661