It has been noted that in the developing countries in the region, fuelwood is generally in short supply in relation to the need for it. Thus, all fuelwood produced is consumed. For this reason, in forestry statistics, the quantity produced is often equated with the quantity consumed, i.e., the consumption and production figures are sometimes used interchangeably.
In the projection of the country fuelwood production (consumption) to Year 2010, three figures appear in this document and in Table 12: (a) FAO projections (from "Statistics Today for Tomorrow," 1995) based on what FAO refers to as "the relation between population and the economy"; (b) projections based on the country population growth rates; and (c) "Adjusted" projections based on the combined influence of population growth, economic development and government forest policies and programmes.
From the review of previous events and current situations in the forestry sector of selected countries in the region, three trends have clearly emerged:
(1) The aggregate demand for wood products (fuelwood as well as pulpwood and other small-sized wood products) continues to rise by 1.5% to over 3% annually as a result of population growth and industrial expansion.(2) On the other hand, forest resources are rapidly shrinking by about 3.1 million ha per year due to continuing forest exploitation and escalating pressures on land by competing users, such as agriculture, housing, infrastructure and industry.
(3) The widening wood supply-demand gap has inevitably led to steep rise in wood prices, more than doubling the value of fuelwood and industrial roundwood during the decade from the 1980s to the 1990s.
(4) In response to the attractive wood prices, many farmers have established small-scale tree plantations in non-forest areas (NFAs) such as agroforestry plots, tree farms and community woodlots.
(5) Today, NFAs continue to expand in area and escalate in importance in terms of rising contribution to the aggregate supply of fuelwood and small-sized industrial woods.
Apart from the influence of population and income upon the demand for (and supply of) wood products, as indicated above, the future extent of NFAs and the magnitude of their roles in filling basic needs of the people and the raw material requirements of industry are further affected by three other important factors, namely: (1) forest land use policies; (2) incentives and subsidies made available to NFA operators, and (3) improved market access for NFA products.
3.1.1.1 Forest Land Use Policies
In previous decades, classical forest policy dictated that forestlands are used strictly for forestry purposes, to the exclusion of agriculture. Since forest management and development were deemed to be better carried out in massive operations in order to benefit from economies of scale, and since farmers were deemed incapable of large scale and long-term operations, forestry became almost the absolute domain of large enterprises and government. Forests were considered out of bounds to local people and small firms.
A profound land use policy shift among many developing countries was triggered by the 8th World Forestry Congress held in Indonesia in 1978 which had for its theme "Forests for People." It established the basic tenet that forests are managed, perpetuated and harvested primarily for the benefit of people and that, therefore, the people must be actively involved in decision-making and implementation of forestry programmes. Using food-producing agroforestry systems as an entry point, governments gradually encouraged and increased the participation of local people until agroforestry (for individuals) and community forestry (for communal groups) became the flagship forestry programmes on government lands for several countries in the region. These programmes have resulted in the expansion of people-oriented and community-managed non-forest areas on degraded public lands in Asian countries.
3.1.1.2 Incentives and Subsidies
Farmers have been so used to being banned from forest areas that when government tried to involve them in forestry projects, they were initially suspicious and reluctant. Incentives had to be employed to win them over. One of the most effective incentives is the grant of long term tenurial arrangements covering government forestlands (ranging from 50 years in some countries like the Philippines, to lifetime tenures in others, such as Thailand). These have effectively overcome the problems of insecure tenure that previously discouraged farmer-cooperators from community forestry programmes.
Other effective incentives that have induced greater farmer participation in forestry programmes are (1) provision of free technical advice by government extension agents; (2) availability of easy credit to forestry entrepreneurs; and (3) subsidies in the form of seeds and seedlings of desired tree species.
3.1.1.3 Improved Access to Markets
Farmers managing non-forest plantations usually turn into bitter critics when their bountiful harvest of government-recommended wood products cannot be marketed and anticipated revenues are not realized. In some cases, government has been able to turn these problems into opportunities. For example, government policies in some Asian and Pacific countries, designed to encourage small and medium enterprises, have led to the establishment of small businesses such as portable sawmills, furniture and handicraft shops and particleboard plants which effectively serve as market outlets for community forestry outputs. This creation of markets for small plantation products have generated alternative livelihood opportunities for rural communities and, in turn, have encouraged more tree plantation activities in non-forest areas.
Another important government marketing assistance is in the form of building or upgrading farm-to-market access roads either which facilitate the entry of wood buyers into NFA territories, or hasten the farmers' transportation of their wood products to market.
