Assessment of Fuelwood Demand and Supply with its Forest Degradation challenges in Nagelle Town, south-eastern Ethiopia

Fuelwood and woody biomass are the most important forest product in Ethiopia. The high demand for wood as a source of household energy has been the cause of serious deforestation which in turn is fuelled by an ever-increasing population. Therefore, the major concern of this study was to quantify fuelwood demand and address the uncertainty surrounding fuelwood consumption. The study was conducted in Nagelle town, Liban district, Oromia Regional State, to assess fuelwood supply demand and its forest degradation challenges mainly following the ever-rising apprehensions about growing stock and any contributions that fuelwood use may make to regional environmental degradation. Data was collected through structured questionnaires to know the socio-economic characteristics, causes of deforestation, and preferences of tree species for fuelwood and service sectors survey by structured interview. The analysis of data was done by using Analysis of Variance and multiple linear regressions. As a result, the average fuelwood demand at household levels in the area was estimated at 199.2 M3 per year while in service sectors the fuelwood demand was estimated at 145 M3 and amount of fuelwood supplied to the town was 78212.2 M3 per year. At the study site, fuelwood consumption a was significant (p