Determination of Community’s Perception over the Current Status of Wood Energy: A Case of Matengo Highlands in Tanzania

Abstract

Community’s perception over status of wood energy was determined in Matengo Highlands, Tanzania. Data was collected from a sample of women using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Science software. Results indicated that the source of energy for 88.2% of respondents was firewood, while 11.8% use both firewood and charcoal. About 57% of respondents said firewood was not as available today as compared to the past decade while for 31.6% the accessibility is the same today as that of the past decade. For sustainable utilization, respondents said, the community should plant trees and adopt improved firewood stoves technology. It was recommended that strengthening of woodlots and agroforestry systems is significant for sustainable utilization of wood energy. Also, training the community on appropriate areas to plant exotic tree species is imperative to avoid possible negative impacts to the environment. Alongside exotic trees, the community should be encouraged to plant indigenous trees for procuring wood energy benefits in short run, and environmental conservation in long run.