I. INTRODUCTION

Available studies, papers and reports have revealed that the bulk of rural population and the poor people in urban Mozambique rely on wood biomass as the principal source of energy for cooking food and heating. Most of the existing data on wood fuel consumption are based largely on estimates, since the greater part of woodfuel production and usage occurs outside commercial channels and thus goes unrecorded (Fraser and Karkari, 1987; Amous, 1999). Although, these studies have also indicated, to some extent, that the wood fuel problem is relatively of short term, since new sources of energy, and the considerable biomass reserves for which the country accounts are considered to be abundant (BTG, 1990), it has been also recognised that woodfuel will continue to be the main source of energy for poor households in the foreseeable future, despite the availability of electricity and coal as alternatives.

Forest resource assumes an important role, since it meets both rural and urban wood energy demand and constitutes a source for income generation (Magane, D., 1999). However, little is known about productivity of these resources in Mozambique. Low-income households mainly from urban centres are the potential consumers of firewood and charcoal. Although woody fuel problem in Mozambique appears to be of short term, due to the apparent abundance of new sources of energy, specific areas, such as major cities and certain agricultural production areas, have been experiencing shortages since 80`s (Kir, 1984). Furthermore, Fraser and Kirkari (1987) called attention to the fact that the pressure on the forest locally would be very great, and insidious deforestation, which might not be very apparent then, was probably taking place. This holds true, particularly, in those provinces where the average consumption of woodfuels per capita is above the Mean Annual Increment (MAI) of the forest, as in Maputo, Beira, and Nampula.

As it is well known, Mozambique has suffered for most of the post-independence period from the adverse effects of civil unrest and the biomass energy sector has not been exempt from these externalities. The conflict has resulted in a population boom in, urban areas and along the corridors (main international roads); areas already experiencing energy supply problems. Hence, shortage of energy supplies to urban households has come to be regarded as the most serious problem in the energy sector. Consequently, the Government of Mozambique (GoM), initiated a number of projects to promote and provide plantations and extension services with selection and introduction of quick growing tree species aiming to improve energy supply and mitigate the shortage.

One of the strategies adopted by the GoM to deal with urban domestic energy shortage was the establishment of extensive wood fuel plantations in close proximity to the cities, namely: Maputo, Beira and Nampula. These plantations were intended to supply both firewood and charcoal to the cities concerned (BTG, 1990).

In southern Africa, over the last few decades there has been a particular emphasis on rural development forestry to meet specific land use objectives (Murphy, 1998). These new approaches are characterised by the recognition of local communities’ rights to their natural resources. Since, local communities are the principal consumers of the forestry products their involvement, in managing local resources, is not simple an equity issue, it is an issue of wise resource use (FAO 1995).

Mozambique could not be away from these winds of change. The National Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife is co-ordinating some pilot projects on community-based natural resources management aiming to re-establish a sound use and enhance production and conservation of natural resources (fuelwood) and biological diversity in so called open access areas.

The Forest sector has been playing traditionally a significant role for social and economic development in Mozambique. The national economy has received a direct contribution from the forestry sector of about 8.9% of the GNP in 1989. Of this percentage, 0.2% represented contribution from forest industry, whereas 8.7% were earned from non -industrial forestry. Former estimate of GNP took place in 1983, where forest sector was found to contribute with about 7% (Nakala, 1997).

Further to this role, and in accordance with the recent estimates of energy consumption in the country, there is an indirect contribution through providing around 80 % of the country’s needs in energy (CHAPOSA, 1999; Williams, 1993; BTG, 1990; Fraser and Kirkari, 1987; Kir, 1984). Demand in wood biomass energy is estimated to be about 16 million cubic meters per year. The annual average population growth, according to the World Development Report by the World Bank (1995), was about 2.5% from 1970 to 1980, 1.7% from 1980 to 1993 and according to INE (1997) has been projected to be 2.4 % for the 1997 -2020 period. The World Bank report states also that the average annual inflation rate for 1980-1993 was 42.3% (Nakala, 1997).

According to Saket (1994), natural vegetation extends over an area of 618,274 Km². This is equivalent to about 78 % of the total land area in Mozambique. It comprises natural forest, thickets, shrubs, wooded grasslands, mangroves and man-made forests.

1.3.1. Biome

Savannah can be divided into two broad groups: moist/dystrophic savannah and dry/eutrophic savannah. The main biome types in Mozambique are the dry/eutrophic savannah (which lies between the 400 to 600 mm rainfall isohyets) and the moist/dystrophic savannah (with more than 900 mm rainfall) (Mangue, 1998). The former is characterised by the dominance of Acacia spp. and Colophospermum mopane on heavier textured, base saturated soils and the latter by Caesalpinoideae and Combretaceae on leached, sandy and lighter textured soils. In the transitional mesic rainfall zone between the 600 mm and 900 mm isohyets there is an overlap of the two Savannah biome types (EATS, 1990). The Miombo Savannah Woodlands, which typify the moist/dystrophic savannah, reach their southern limit as a whole system north of the Limpopo River estuary.

Savannah ecosystem represent 60% of the land surface in sub-Saharan Africa, 35% of southern Africa (Scholes, 1990) and 78% in Mozambique (Saket, 1994).

1.3.2. Land Use Distribution and Land Cover types in 1980 and 1990

Land use distribution and land cover types in 1980 and 1990 are summarised in the following Table:

Table 1. Land Use Distribution and Land cover types in 1980 and 1990

(Source: Saket, 1994)

The land used for agriculture has doubled during the period 1980 - 1990 (115.5%), whilst the land classified as grassland has lost more than one third of the surface (37. 05%). This is probably due to the misinterpretation of the satellite image, since most of the areas classified as grasslands are agricultural lands under fallow. Another land that showed significant change, in the period under consideration, is thicket, which increased about one third (32.2%) of the surface.

1.3.3. Productive forests

The productive forests contain standing commercial timber volume (over 40cm dbh) of approximately 22 million cubic meters, which would allow an annual cut of about 500,000 m³. The bulk of these forests are found in the central and northeastern provinces.

Forest with timber production capacity covers an area of 197,354 Km² or 24.43% of the total land of the country. The actual size of mangroves vegetation, is defined at 396, 080 ha (Saket et al; 1995).

The forest types having timber capacity production has a growing stocking estimated at 503 million cubic meters, in which 68 million cubic meters of timber with commercial values of diameter categories of 25 cm and higher. The total standing timber of economically valuable species of diameter categories of 40 cm and more is estimated at about 22 million cubic meters.

With regards to yield, it has been estimated that total timber can produce 8.828 million cubic meters per year and the total commercial timber is able to generate 1.195 million cubic meters a year.

1.3.4. Major vegetation types

The available information on the country's natural forest and woodland was provided by a reconnaissance inventory by Malleux (1980) and up dated by Saket (1994). According to the inventory results nearly 38 million hectares were classified as productive forest with the following forest types:

High Forest (1.1)

Dense High Forest (1.1)

Medium Dense High Forest (1.2)

Open High Forest (1.3)

Dense Low Forest (2.1)

Medium Dense Low Forest (2.2)

Open Low Forest (2.3)

High Thicket (3.1)

Medium High Thicket (3.2)

Low Thicket (3.3)

The distribution per province of the above-mentioned forest types is as follows:

Table 2: Area per Forest Type in 1000 ha

The objective of the present study, and as prescribed in the TOR, is to (i) review the existing data on woodfuels with focus on fuelwood and charcoal, country wide, over the last five years, including production, consumption and trade, (ii) compare and assess the collected information with the woodfuel data-sets provided by FAO, (iii) comment on the results and complete existing data gaps of the FAO data-sets and (iv) conduct analysis of the past, present and future prospects and trends of woodfuels in terms of supply, demand, consumption and trade for both local, sub-national and national levels.

The study intends also to feed the FAO data bank with the national statistics on woodfuels that will be used for both regional and international environmental and socio-economic development programs design and implementation as well as poverty alleviation.

According to FA0, woodfuels can either be derived from direct or indirect supplying sources. Direct woodfuels consist of wood directly removed from forests, other wooded lands and other lands to supply energy demands. Indirect woodfuels usually refer either to those that preserve essentially the original structure of wood or of those which require several thermo-chemical processes before use.

Woodfuels can also be derived from industrial wood transformation such as sawmills, particleboards, pulp and paper mills, as well as joinery, carpentry, etc. Woodfuel normally is obtained, from wood industries, as residues, such as: sawmill rejects, slabs, edging and trimmings, sawdust, shavings and chips bark, etc., and from pulp and paper industries such as the case of black liquor.

In Mozambique, woodfuels consumed by rural people and local communities are mainly obtained directly from indigenous forests. In the urban areas woodfuels are gathered from wood industries for which the structure comprises (i) subsistence wood production, (ii) market fuelwood production, (iii) industrial roundwood and (iv) processed wood production (see Table 3).

Table 3. Type of wood industry from which wood fuel can be generated

( Source: DEP/DNFFB, Annual Report, 1998)