A Comparative Study on Biomass Fuel Consumption, Collection and Preference Patterns by Rural Households of Forest and Non-Forest Areas in Northern Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/bjrst.2566.2020Abstract
Biomass fuel is the most important form of renewable energy in many parts of the world including Bangladesh. Its extraction is considered as a leading cause of forest degradation of developing countries like Bangladesh. Its consumption, collection and preference patterns are thus very important indicators of overexploitation of forest. On the other hand, forests are meager in mainly northern region of Bangladesh. Reliable data and information are scanty on biomass fuel in Bangladesh, particularly in formulating its proper management plan. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative study on the aforesaid patterns in forest and non-forest areas of northern region of Bangladesh. The study was carried out by adaptive multistage random sampling technique. A total of 90 households (45 from forest area, 45 from non-forest area) were selected randomly and based on the monthly income the households were categorized into rich, medium, poor groups. The consumption of biomass fuel was found to be differed significantly between forest (2.10 kg/capita/day) and non-forest (1.71 kg/capita/day) area. Forest, market, agriculture, homestead and roadside plantation were identified as sources of biomass fuel, and the contribution of each sources varied significantly between the areas except market. In forest area, maximum amount of biomass fuel was collected from nearby forests (44%) and poor households collected 78% of biomass fuels from the same sources. In non-forest area, roadside plantation (31%) and homesteads (24%) were the major sources of biomass fuel, and poor households collected biomass fuel mainly from roadside plantations (75%). Stems, branches, leaves, agricultural residues and cow dung were used as biomass fuel in both areas but the consumption of each biomass fuel types varied significantly except leaves. Women were identified as major biomass fuel collector and most of the biomass fuel was found to be collected during morning to noon in both areas. Most commonly used fuelwood species was Shorea robusta in forest area and Eucalyptus camaldulensis in non-forest area. The findings of this study will help policymakers to take steps in halting deforestation as well as meeting the villager’s needs for biomass fuel.
Keywords: Bangladesh, biomass fuel, forest degradation, fuelwood, homesteads, natural forests
References
Akther, S., Miah, M.D. & Koike, M. (2010). Domestic use of biomass fuel in rural Meghna floodplain areas of Bangladesh. iForest- Biogeosciences and Forestry, 3: 144-149.
https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor0551-003
Alam, M., Khan, M.S., Kayes, I. & Salam, M.A. (2019). Domestic biomass fuel composition pattern in northern part of Bangladesh. Borneo Journal of Sciences and Technology, 1(2): 78-85.
Asaduzzaman, M., Barnes, D.F. & Khandker, S.R. (2010). Restoring balance: Bangladesh's rural energy realities. World Bank Working Paper No. 181. World Bank, Washington DC, USA.
https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7897-7
Balat, M. (2006). Biomass energy and biochemical conversion processing for fuels and chemicals. Energy Sources Part A, 28: 517-25.
https://doi.org/10.1080/009083190927994
Balat, M. & Ayar, G. (2005). Biomass energy in the world, use of biomass and potential trends. Energy Source, 27: 931-940.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00908310490449045
Banglapedia (2012a). National Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh: Dhaka. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Birganj_Upazila .
Banglapedia (2012b). National Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh: Dhaka. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ulipur_Upazila .
Bari, M.N., Hall, D.O., Lucas, N.J.D. & Hossain, S.M.A. (1998). Biomass energy use at the household level in two villages of Bangladesh: assessment of field methods. Biomass and Energy, 15(2): 171-180.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0961-9534(97)10057-5
Baul, T.K., Datta, D. & Alam, A. (2018). A comparative study on household level energy consumption and related emissions from renewable (biomass) and non-renewable energy sources in Bangladesh. Energy Policy, 114: 598-608.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.12.037
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) (2011). In: Population and Housing Census. Statistics Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
Bhatt, B.P. & Sachan, M.S. (2004). Firewood consumption along an altitudinal gradient in mountain villages of India. Biomass and Bioenergy, 27: 69-75.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2003.10.004
Chowdhury, M.S., Koike, M., Akther, S. & Mish, M.D. (2011). Biomass fuel use, burning technique and reasons for the denial of improved cooking stoves by forest user groups of Rema-Kalenga wildlife sanctuary, Bangladesh. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 18(1): 88-97.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2010.532906
Demirbas, A. (2006). Global renewable energy resources. Energy Sources Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 28(8): 779-792.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00908310600718742
Demirbas, A.H. & Demirbas, I. (2007). Importance of rural bioenergy for developing countries. Energy Conversion and Management, 48: 2386-2398.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2007.03.005
Halder, P.K., Paul, N. & Beg, M.R.A. (2014). Assessment of biomass energy resources and related technologies practice in Bangladesh. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 39: 444-460.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.071
Hassan, M.K., Halder, P., Pelkonen, P. & Pappinen, A. (2013). Rural households' preferences and attitudes towards biomass fuel- results from a comprehensive field survey in Bangladesh. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 3 (24): 1-14.
https://doi.org/10.1186/2192-0567-3-24
Hassan, M.K., Pelkonen, P., Halder, P. & Pappinen, A. (2012). An analysis of cross-sectional variation in energy consumption pattern at the household level in disregarded rural Bangladesh. Journal of Basic Applied Scientific Research, 2(4): 3949-3963.
Hoogwijk, M., Faaij, A., Eickhout, B., de Vries, B. & Turkenburg, W. (2005). Potential of biomass energy out to 2100, for four IPCC SRES land-use scenarios. Biomass and Bioenergy, 29: 225-257.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2005.05.002
Hossain, M.K. (2016). Plantation Forestry: Paradigm to meet the demand of the forestry resources in Bangladesh. In Nath, T.K. & O'Reily, P. (eds.) Monoculture Farming- Global Practices, Ecological Impact and Benefits/Drawbacks, Nova publishers, New York, pp. 57-74.
Hossain, M.Z. & Charpentier, P.A. (2015). Hydrogen production by gasification of biomass and opportunity fuels. Compendium of Hydrogen Energy, 1: 137-175.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-361-4.00006-6
Huda, A.S.N., Mekhilef, S. & Ahsan, A. (2014). Biomass energy in Bangladesh: current status and prospects. Renewable and sustainable Energy Review, 30: 504-517.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.10.028
Islam, A., Chan, E.S., Taufiq-yap, Y.H., Mondal, M.A.H., Moniruzzaman, M. & Mridha, M. (2014). Energy security in Bangladesh perspective - an assessment and implication. Renewable and sustainable Energy Review, 32: 154-171.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.021
Jashimuddin, M., Masum, K.M. & Salam, M.A. (2006). Preference and consumption pattern of biomass fuel in some disregarded villages of Bangladesh. Biomass and Energy, 30: 446- 451.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2005.11.023
Kandel, P., Chapagain, P.S., Sharma, L.N. & Vetaas, O.R. (2016). Consumption patterns of fuelwood in rural households of Dolakha district, Nepal: reflections from community forest user groups. Small-scale Forestry, 15(4): 481-495.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-016-9335-0
Kennes, W., Parikh, J.K. & Stolwijk, H. (1984). Energy from biomass by socio-economic groups- a case study of Bangladesh. Biomass, 4: 209-234.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0144-4565(84)90057-X
Khan, M.A.S.A., Uddin, M.B., Uddin, M.S., Chowdhury, M.S.H. & Mukul, S.A. (2007). Distribution and status of forests in the tropics: Bangladesh perspective. Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 44(2):145-153.
Miah, M.D., Ahmed, R. & Uddin, M.B. (2003). Biomass fuel use by rural households in Chittagong region, Bangladesh. Biomass and Energy, 24: 277-283.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0961-9534(02)00173-3
Miah, M.D., Foysal, M.A., Koike, M. & Kobayashi, H. (2011). Domestic energy-use pattern by the households: a comparison between rural and semi-urban areas of Noakhali in Bangladesh. Energy Policy, 39: 3757-3765.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.04.004
Miah, M.D., Kabir, R.R.M.S. & Koike, M. (2010). Rural household energy consumption pattern in the disregarded villages of Bangladesh. Energy Policy, 38: 997-1003.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.10.051
Rahman, M.S., Saha, S.K., Khan, M.R.H., Habiba, U. & Chowdhury, S.M.H. (2013). Present situation of renewable energy in Bangladesh: renewable energy resources existing in Bangladesh. Global Journal of Researches in Engineering, 13(5): 1-7.
WEC (World Energy Council) (2016). World energy resources 2016. London, United Kingdom.
WPP (World Population Prospects) (2019). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, United Nations.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
