Abstract:
Fuel wood remains the main energy source for the majority of the people in Gechi District of South
Western Ethiopia. As compared to the situation in the past, the forest cover is now generally very
sparse in the densely populated areas where rapid rates of deforestation and forest degradation have
occurred due to the heavy demand on forest products, mainly fuel wood. Therefore, this study was
conducted with the objective of assessing the impact of fuel wood consumption on the forest resources
in Gechi district. The vegetation sampling was conducted in the Chara forest to determine the average
volumes of the standing trees per hectare on systematically laid plots along transects. In each plot,
data were collected on tree species, plant height, diameter at breast height (DBH) and volume of
standing trees per hectare was determined and compared with the household fuel wood consumption.
The study revealed that 6529.90 tons of fuel wood had been utilized in Chara, while the standing forest
was 10593.75 tons on 125 ha of land implying that 1.76 ha of forest resources was consumed per
annum for fuel wood by the community members. The most preferred and extracted tree species from
the forest resources of the area for fuel wood were Syzygium guineense, Maesa lanceolate and Albizia
gummifera. In order to address the forest resource degradation of the area due to fuel wood utilization
as energy sources, the use of efficient energy saving technologies, planting fast growing tree species
for use as fuel wood are recommended.
