Wood Production and Marketing in Bhutan National Workshop Taba
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RWEDP Report No.48 REGIONAL WOOD ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN ASIA GCP/RAS/154/NET WOOD PRODUCTION AND MARKETING IN BHUTAN NATIONAL WORKSHOP TABA, BHUTAN 20 - 22 April 1998 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Bangkok, May 2000 Published by the FAO Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) alone and do not imply any opinion on the part of the FAO. Photo Credit: 1) Forest Services Division (FSD), Royal Government of Bhutan 2) Tara Bhattarai (TB), Wood Energy Resources Specialist, RWEDP, FAO, Bangkok For copies write to: Regional Wood Energy Development Programme c/o FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Tel: 66-2-280 2760 Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit Road, Fax: 66-2-280 0760 Bangkok, Thailand. E-mail: [email protected] Or visit our web site: http://www.rwedp.org FOREWORD Bhutan presents a unique case of energy production and consumption amongst the16 RWEDP member countries. From a net importer of virtually all (over 91%) commercial energy consumed in 1979, it has become a bulk exporter of hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity production has grown from 3.5 MW to almost 342 MW during 1981-1988, and new schemes are in the pipeline. Despite these changes the largest single energy consumer in Bhutan is still the household sector. Its share is about 81% of total energy consumption of which 98% is from woodfuel. Only 2% of the energy in the household sector is from commercial sources like electricity, kerosene and LPG. Even in the non-household sector, 50% of the energy demand is met by traditional biomass fuels. This heavy reliance on wood energy is not expected to change within the foreseeable future in this Himalayan Kingdom, since the majority of the people still live in rural areas with a limited transportation network and an extensive forest cover of about 64% of the land area. Sustainable production and efficient use of woodfuel is the priority task ahead in the forestry sector, particularly in high population density areas. The ever increasing woodfuel demand from the urban population and private and public sector institutions have contributed to localized degradation of the high value mixed-hardwood forests in the vicinity of places like Thimpu. Bhutan has been an active member of RWEDP and has benefited from its long-term participation in numerous meetings, seminars, workshops and training courses related to wood energy development. Therefore, the basic knowledge necessary to initiate wood energy development, enhance the production and flow of woodfuel from both forest and non-forest lands, as well as the efficient utilization of wood energy through innovation and adoption of appropriate technology already exists in Bhutan. In order to disseminate the knowledge among experts in related agencies, national training courses and workshops are being implemented. The present publication on Woodfuel Production and Marketing in Bhutan is a report of the National Workshop on Integrating Woodfuel Production and Marketing into Forest, Agriculture and Tree Production Systems in Bhutan, sponsored by RWEDP. The workshop was hosted in Thimpu by the Forestry Services Division (FSD) of the Ministry of Agriculture. Mr. T. Bhattarai, Wood Energy Resources Specialist from RWEDP, provided technical assistance. The report addresses important issues related to woodfuel production, marketing and utilization in Bhutan, which were discussed in-depth by the experts from government agencies, selected industries and NGO’s. Recommendations designed to further strengthen the wood energy sector were an important outcome of the workshop and are included in this report. RWEDP expresses its sincere thanks and appreciation to Dasho Sagay Thinley, Joint Secretary, and other colleagues in FSD, for successfully hosting the national workshop and compiling the report in its present form. Dr. W.S. Hulscher Chief Technical Adviser FAO/RWEDP i TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................i PART I: OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3 2. CRITICAL ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................4 PART II: TECHNICAL PAPERS......................................................................................................12 1. ANALYSIS OF FUELWOOD USE IN THIMPHU VALLEY: A CASE STUDY............................13 1.1 Background....................................................................................................................13 1.1.1 Global perspective.............................................................................................13 1.1.2 Local perspective...............................................................................................13 1.2 Location of the Dzongkhag.............................................................................................15 1.3 Climate...........................................................................................................................15 1.4 Forest Types..................................................................................................................16 1.5 Sustainability of the Hardwood Forests...........................................................................16 1.6 Firewood Supplied from Various Sources.......................................................................18 1.6.1 Supplies to various organizations.......................................................................18 1.6.2 Industrial supply.................................................................................................21 1.7 Problems and Constraints..............................................................................................22 1.8 Recommendations.........................................................................................................23 2. FUELWOOD RESOURCES, USES AND POTENTIALS IN GEDU FOREST DIVISION...........24 2.1 Background....................................................................................................................24 2.2 Uses.............................................................................................................................24 2.3 Alternative Energy Sources............................................................................................25 2.4 Recommendations.........................................................................................................25 3. FUELWOOD RESOURCES, USES, ISSUES AND POTENTIALS IN MONGAR FOREST DIVISION .............................................................................................................................26 3.1 Background....................................................................................................................26 3.2 Forest Resources...........................................................................................................26 3.3 Wood Energy Resources................................................................................................27 3.4 Fuelwood as a Major Energy Source..............................................................................27 3.4.1 Fuelwood types..................................................................................................28 3.4.2 Fuelwood uses and category of consumers........................................................28 3.4.3 Fuelwood preferences, supply and demand situation..........................................28 3.4.4 Alternative energy uses......................................................................................28 3.4.5 Fuelwood distribution supply system and pricing................................................29 3.5 Pertinent Issues..............................................................................................................29 ii 4. OVERVIEW OF FUELWOOD RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN BUMTHANG FOREST DIVISION .............................................................................................................................31 4.1 General Information........................................................................................................31 4.2 Forest Area ....................................................................................................................31 4.3 Forest Resource Plan.....................................................................................................31 4.4 Source of Fuelwood for Urban and Rural Households.....................................................32 4.5 Fuelwood consumption by district...................................................................................33 4.6 Use of fuelwood..............................................................................................................34 4.7 Assessment of Fuelwood Resource Management