An assessment of household energy types, sources, uses and its implication on sustainable forest management, in the Buea municipality of the south west region of Cameroon

Abstract

The study focused on the assessment of household energy types, sources, uses and their implications on sustainable forest management in the Buea Municipality of the South West Region of Cameroon. The study was carried out in the months of May- September 2005 and November-April 2006. The study made use of the random sampling technique for the administration of questionnaires. Along side the administration of the questionnaire, some selected Participatory rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were employed. Results revealed that, Fuel wood (FW), Kerosene (K), Sawdust (SD), Cooking gas (CG), Charcoal (CH), Rubber (RB), Electricity (EL), were the main energy types/sources identified in the Buea Municipality. Saw dust and Fuel wood were found to be the most frequently consumed energy type/source in the Buea Municipality with a resultant effect on  deforestation. On an aggregate weighting, the area was found to consume a total of about 253m3 of FW, 744Litres of K, 14602Kg of SD, 6360Litres of CG, 20625Kg of CH, 3861g of RB, and 40,299KW of EL in a month. Monthly total household expenditure on the various energy types/sources for the study area was evaluated at about 10496640 FRS CFA (US$ 20993). The quantity supplied and consumed of the identified energy types/sources were observed to be adversely affected by income levels of consumers, market prices for these energy types/sources, seasons and the disappearing forest. KEYWORDS: Energy, Types, Sources, Household, Consumption.