EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL VIII DEVELOPMENT

Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management in ACP Countries - Linking National and International Efforts

EC-FAO PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME (1998-2002) Tropical forestry Budget line B7-6201/97-15/VIII/FOR PROJECT GCP/INT/679/EC

Woodfuel review and assessment in

By Helda Antoine Ministry of Environment and Transport Division of Environment

May, 2000 Mahe, Seychelles

This report has been produced as an out put of the EC-FAO Partnership Programme (1998-2002) - Project GCP/INT/679/EC Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management in ACP Countries - Linking National and International Efforts. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the EC or the FAO. This paper has been minimally edited for clarity and style

1 Table of contents: Table of contents:...... 2 Country Background...... 3 1. The trend in the use of fuelwood consumption ...... 3 1.1. Forestry Situation in Seychelles...... 3 1.1.1. Forest area...... 3 1.2. Present Review of the existing data related to woodfuel (fuelwood and charcoal)...... 5 1.2.1. Charcoal ...... 5 II. Analysis if the past, present and foreseeable trend of woodfuels, its supply, demand, consumption and trade in the context of local sub-national and national level...... 6 III. Conclusion ...... 8 Literature consulted...... 9

2 Country Background

The Republic of Seychelles comprises a group of 115 islands located in the Western Indian Ocean between 4 and 11 degrees South of the equator. Its land area is 45 500 ha.

41 islands are granitic and they include the so-called inner islands, of which Mahe (15500 ha), (3,800 ha) and La Digue (1 000 ha) are the most important ones. All the granitic islands are situated within a distance of 50 km from Mahe. The rest of the islands are coralline, raising only a few metres above the sea level.

The Climate is equatorial with an average annual rainfall of 2 200 mm. Humidity is uniformly high at an average of 80% and mean temperature ranges from 24 to 30ºC. The prevailing winds are the Northwest (December to March) and Southeast (May to October) monsoons.

1. The trend in the use of fuelwood consumption

The report describes a situation dominated by fuelwood and an overall rapid consumption reduction contrary to the report provided by S. Amous. The reason is as follows:

In 1981, the National Youth Service (NYS) was launched where more than 2000 students have to undertake a two-year service in the institution. This institution constituted the major source of fuelwood consumption mainly to cook food for the 2000 students per year. From 1982-1989, the number of students joining the NYS kept increasing and so did the fuelwood consumption. It was in 1992, that the fuelwood consumption decreased and this correlated to the phasing out of one year in the NYS. The use of fuel wood decreased gradually, as fewer students were joining the institution and in 1998, the NYS was phased out completely and the use of fuel wood consumption decreased dramatically.

1.1. Forestry Situation in Seychelles

The Forestry Section within the Division of Environment under the Ministry of Environment and Transport is responsible for the controlling and management of the forest resources of the country.

1.1.1. Forest area No systematic forest inventories have been carried out in Seychelles and the available data are limited to a study by P.T. Henry (1976), which can be considered outdated. Based on aerial photo interpretation and field checking done by INDUFOR Oy in 1993, it is estimated that the forest area of Mahe, Praslin, Curieuse, La Digue and Silhouette islands is 17 600 ha. The outer islands of Seychelles are estimated to have additional 23 000 ha of forests of which nearly 15 000 ha are within National Parks or other protected areas. It should be noted that according to INDUFOR Oy this might be an overestimation.

3 Table: 1.1.1 Forest Area

Island Total Area Forest Area Of which in Plantations (ha) (ha) (ha) National Parks (ha) Mahe 15 470 11 740 2 980 410 Praslin 3 760 2 970 330 50 Curieuse 290 290 290 20 La Digue 1 010 760 30 0 Silhouette 2 000 1 840 0 0 Others 23 010 23 000 14 810 4 400 Total 45 540 40 600 18 440 4 880

The total area of forestland on Mahe is 11, 740 ha of which 2,980 ha are located inside the Morne Seychelles National Park. The Park also includes 100 ha of forest plantations originally established for production purposes. Total area of Mahe is 15 470 which means that the island’s forest coverage is 76%.

Forestland on Praslin and Curieuse add up to 3,260 ha. 11% of the forests are within the Praslin National Park. La Digue Island has 760 ha of forestland. Silhouette is mostly covered by vegetation of which 1,840 ha is classified as forestland.

The bulk (4 400 ha) of the estimated plantation area (4 880 ha) is on “other islands”. The amount of plantations on “other island” may be a gross over-estimate, but the situation could not have been checked, as field visits to the outer islands were not possible because of their remoteness and distance to the main islands. The above-mentioned plantation area of the “other islands” is assumed to contain largely non-planted Casuarina forests.

It is estimated that the forest area is 40, 600 ha, i.e. 90% of the land area. Most of the forests are natural but there are a few plantations, including Casuarina (Casuarina equisitifolia), which cover about 4, 800 ha. About 25% of the plantations that have been established are for protection purposes, e.g. stabilisation of the reclaimed land such as the Casuarina equisitifolia (40 ha) rather than for fuelwood consumption. More than 45% of the forests are within the National Parks or other conservation areas.

The economic importance of the forestry sector is perceived as marginal. The Sectoral GDP contribution, including wood industries is no more than 0.4% (1990) but it has been increasing during the last few years. The Value Added in the sectoral gross output is significantly higher than in the economy on average. This adds to the justification of utilisation of forest resources in a sustainable way for meeting the country’s internal demand. The wood production has not been able to respond to the growing needs of raw materials in the processing industries, which is reflected in the increasing import dependency.

4 However, the indirect economic and environmental benefits of the sector are considerable. The amenity provided by the forests is important for the tourism industry. The vulnerable water supply is highly dependent on the vegetation cover provided by the forests.

1.2. Present Review of the existing data related to woodfuel (fuelwood and charcoal)

Over the last 20 years the Ex-National Youth Service (NYS) 1981-1998 used to be a major fuelwood user as food in the student villages (over 1000 students in the villages per year) was cooked by using fuelwood. The substantial consumption (estimated at about 3 500- 4 000 m3) was largely met by Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia) trees supplied from by the Island Development Company (IDC). In 1998, the National Youth Service was phased out and production of fuelwood from the island also ceased because the market no longer existed.

Some traditional bakeries still bake bread using fuelwood but however, the number is continuously declining because of the cost involve to harvest the wood from the forest and also because of the procedures impose by the government regarding the felling of trees. Another reason is that the tradition is also dying and bread is now being baked in electric and gas oven. Still today, on Mahe there are about 7 of such bakeries still using fuelwood for the business and on average they are consuming 75 m3 /year of fuelwood.

1.2.1. Charcoal

The annual production is estimated to be 50 tons per year. The main users produced their own charcoal using wood from their property that borders forest areas or from the state forests.

Charcoal is produced in the forest areas using logging waste and a permit is needed to carry out this activity. The sawmill at Grand Anse converts part of its production waste into charcoal. Charcoal is also produced on some of the outer Coraline Islands such as on Desroches Island and on some other islands managed by the Island Development Company (IDC). A few hotels and restaurants also produce their own charcoal for their barbecue. It is estimated that the hotels and restaurants consume 40 tons of charcoal annually. The use of charcoal in hotel and restaurant establishment is slowly diminishing as the hotels and restaurants are turning more and more to gas or other type of fuels. Household consumption is negligible.

As a whole woodfuel consumption is currently estimated at about 5 550 m3 (1992) in wood volume equivalent. The respective figure in the mid-1980s was probably in the range of 15,000 m3.

Table 1.1.2 Number of households using different types of fuel energy in 1992

Energy types Number of households % Electricity 2916 17.04

5 Paraffin 10486 61.29 Charcoal 59 0.34 Wood 674 3.99 LPG 2745 16.01 Gas 227 1.33 Total 17107 100% *Source MISD

Of the total supply and wood products, less than a quarter is met by domestic supply while the balance is imported. About three quarters (74%) of total wood demand and wood products are absorbed by intermediate consumption, mainly in building construction and furniture, which indicate the importance of downstream effects of these products to the national economy. According to the study carried by INDUFOR Oy 14% of the households’ still use fuelwood for domestic purposes compared to 40% in 1977. However, the demand for fuelwood appears to be rapidly dwindling due to rural electrification and expanding use of gas in all the rural areas.

Due to electrification and urbanisation, the use of fuelwood has been declining drastically. The share of households using woodfuels has dropped as follows (1987 census):

Table 1.1.3: % use of woodfuel by household from 1977-1993

Year Household use of woodfuel in % 1977 40 1987 14 1993 8

*Source INDIFOR Oy

The current rate is estimated to be 8% (1993).

II. Analysis if the past, present and foreseeable trend of woodfuels, its supply, demand, consumption and trade in the context of local sub-national and national level.

Wood Energy used to constitute a major source in Seychelles before the 1980’. In the past, woodfuel consumption was a major contributor to total wood removal. Woodfuel use was a major local and environmental issue in Seychelles. Forestry was historically an important activity in Seychelles especially where wood fuelwood was used to supply numerous cinnamon and copra distilleries in 1938. In 1938, there were a total of 50 distilleries on the island and 3, 500 stacked cubic feet of fuelwood were being used daily in the distilleries.

6 In 1977, the Seychelles Government planned to produce charcoal on a large scale for domestic use and possibly for export. Results obtained from the census showed the very high usage of wood for cooking, particularly on Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette. Even on Mahe, only 12% of the population use electricity for cooking, while 45% use wood and 3% use charcoal for cooking.

Modern forestry practices were established in the 1950’s by the colonial government. In 1993, a Forestry Plan was drafted under an Environmental Management Plan for a Seychelles project and for the first time, identified biodiversity priorities for forestry. At this time charcoal was more expensive than wood and people could not afford to buy it and wood was preferably.

Before 1977, 25 kg of charcoal was imported from South annually. The importation ceased once Seychelles started producing enough charcoal from the timber in the forest to meet the local demand. A point in time was reached when the local market was saturated with charcoal and the possibility for exporting the excess was sought in the Middle East.

In the past timber was widely used for fuel mainly for cooking and heating water. However, the production and used of charcoal are still used for such domestic activities but on a very small scale by the older citizens.

The sawmill is continuously receiving difficulties in selling its charcoal output because the demand is no longer that high and most hotels and restaurants produce their own charcoal for their consumption.

Exploitation of all commercial, endemic and indigenous trees listed under the “Breadfruit and other Trees Act of 1917”. This act regulates the cutting and felling of 30 tree species. The regulating of trees under the act is controlled by a system of licenses issued by the Seychelles Licensing Authority and tree-felling permits for each tree to be cut or lopped is issued by the Forestry Section. The Forestry Section within the Division of Environment is the body responsible for Forestry matter in Seychelles and it has the mandate to issue tree-felling permit. The control is labour intensive, involving a site visit by the Timber Control Unit for each size tree to be felled. Size limits are set according to species and site quality.

The same procedures mentioned above apply if someone wants to fell a tree for making charcoal.

A new legislation “Flora Legislation” will replace the “Bread Fruit and Other Trees Act”. The activities regarding tree felling for building construction charcoal making and agriculture will have to follow stricter guidelines.

The Government of Seychelles is in the process of amending the “Lighting of Fires” (Restriction Act), which stipulates that any person who lights a fire in any forest, plantations and field for the purpose of burning it or burning charcoal kiln should have a

7 written permission. With this act, many charcoal makers feel that the act is becoming too complex for practising compared to the old days because:

1. Nowadays they have to abide to guidelines and norms. 2. They have to be in possession of a burning permit 3. The raw materials for making charcoal are becoming scarce, as the producers have to go deeper into the forest to get the wood. 4. With the increasing in population and housing density, the making of charcoal is being seen as a nuisance to many people because of the smoke.

In August 1998, the Government launched a campaign for the public to switch from using kerosene to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking fuel. The reasons for this switch have several advantages of using gas instead of kerosene. The LPG gas is safer to use, cleaner and healthier and therefore more environmentally friendly.

The national emphasis is being placed on biodiversity, ecotourism, sustainable management and sustainable exploitation of Seychelles natural resources for the next ten decades and beyond. Other management priorities have been identified and these are: -Implementation of the management of the protected areas (National Parks), -Provision of better protection systems to cope with disease, fires and invasive plants in the forests -Develop and implement guidelines for sustainable forest management and ensure that forestry resources are properly valued using the latest technique.

III. Conclusion

In Seychelles, the use of woodfuels will continue to be reduced in the mid-term future and even in the longer term because LPG and other energies such as Electricity have already replaced woodfuels. The rising trends of using LPG is likely to play a significant role in meeting energy demand in Seychelles, however woodfuels still play a significant role in meeting the demand for catering for hotels and restaurants barbecue.

The Management and Information System Division estimates the Potential Demand for locally Produced Roundwood from 1992-2002 to be as follows in the table below:

Table: 1.1.4. Potential Annual demand for locally produced roundwood

Year Fuelwood (m3) 1992 5500 2002 3700

From the table above, it is clear to note that the potential demand for fuelwood is declining.

8 Literature consulted

1. Seychelles Forest Management Plan/Sector Study. Prepared by INDUFOR Oy. Sponsored by the African Development Bank. (Main document) and (Technical Annex), October 1993

2. Management of Information Systems Division (MISD), 1992 Census Report

3. Seychelles Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan, December 1997

4. Seychelles Agricultural Reports 1947-1959

5. Seychelles Nation Newspaper November 28th 1977

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