Developing the fuelwood economy of Papua New Guinea

This paper describes the fuelwood economy of Papua New Guinea (PNG) based on a survey of domestic users (n=3994), commercial and industrial users (n=66) and fuelwood vendors (n=157). The survey period (2009) covered urban and rural, coastal and highland districts of known fuelwood-stress. The survey region represents 11% of the national population. It reveals that the fuelwood economy has a relatively flat structure with a very short and direct supply chain. Fuelwood is regularly or occasionally used by 85% of the population for domestic and commercial cooking, even in urban areas where there is good access to electricity and other energy sources. Proportions of the population selling fuelwood at some time in the survey period were 3% and 10% of urban and rural populations respectively. Those generating an income using fuelwood were 26% and 58% respectively. Fuelwood consumption is estimated to be 1.8m³/person/year which is 6 times greater than the average of south and south-east Asian countries. It is estimated that 2.08millionm³/y of fuelwood is freely collected for domestic use in the survey region, while the amount traded was USD7.14 million. The survey provides details of regional variations in fuelwood consumption, gender relations, income generation, and conflict associated with fuelwood, tree planting activity and attitudes to the need for woodlots. It describes and quantifies fuelwood flows from various sources to users and argues the point that the impact of fuelwood collection on forests is only localised. The fuelwood economy is largely informal with no public engagement in supply, marketing, distribution, pricing, and taxation. This paper argues the case for a national fuelwood policy which will encourage the private sector to invest in fuelwood trade and create economies of scale while still protecting smaller informal actors.