Fuelwood: a Review of its Global Use

Abstract

Wood provides the main source of domestic energy for more than half the population of the world, and currently supplies more energy than is derived from the world's nuclear power industry. Increased pressure on land for agriculture and rising fuelwood demand in many tropical developing countries, have combined to cause widespread deforestation, which is leading to a serious energy crisis for many rural poor and the distinct possibility of irreversible environmental damage.