Asian American Policy Memo (2 Pages)

Introduction

The situation regarding fuelwood availability in Country Central is not yet at a crisis stage.

Forests and arable land are readily available for use by the people. Deforestation is minimal

compared to our neighboring counties. Yet economic conditions force the majority of the

fuelwood to be collected illegally. I propose three major reforms to alleviate the problem of

illegal fuelwood collection. First, we should offer individual communities small plots of forest for

tenuring. Second, we should establish a network of regional fuelwood management offices to

monitor the illegal trade of fuelwood, to encourage fuel efficiency, and to offer technical

assistance for the sustainable use of tenured forests. Third, a system of forest plantations

should be developed to ensure future fuelwood supplies.

Current land tenure situation in County Central

Residents will continue to collect fuelwood illegally until they are otherwise guaranteed a supply.

Land tenure offers the beneficiaries a direct reimbursement for their efforts. A number of key

points support a system of land tenure:

(1) The rural population does not have a financial means to purchase land at this time.

Foreign ownership as well as ownership by the wealthy of County Central could lead to

limited access to forests for the poor. This maldistribution of forest resources could have

long term economic effects.

(2) Land ownership means power. With recent government changes, we cannot afford to

unleash this power to the people at this time. Actual ownership of the land should remain

in the hands of the government.

(3) A system of tenure allows for better government regulation over changes in the forest

resource base. Regulation of private forest lands with our limited work force would be

impossible.

In lieu of efficiency concerns, a system of community tenured regions would better

accommodate current circumstances. The state forest should be divided into regions, each

village or community having an assigned region. The concept of a community region is more

realistic than individual tenure due to the unmanageable number of technicalities which would

be encountered. Ecological impacts are location specific. These regions should be monitored

by regional fuelwood management offices.

Regional fuelwood management offices

Management of the harvests of fuelwood will require local regulation. Your proposal should

include the establishment of regional fuelwood management offices to facilitate the transition

11.479 – Water & Sanitation Infrastructure Planning Spring 2004

from an illegal market to legal and organized cooperation. The regional offices will have the

following roles:

(1) Report and regulate the flow of illegal fuelwood to the central government office so that

regulations can be modified for improved efficiency;

(2) Instruct villagers on maximizing use of fuelwood products by encouraging use of efficient

stoves and kilns;

(3) Instruct villagers on proper forest management for long-term goals of sustainability. This

instruction could also include the role of proper management in erosion control and

watershed protection.

The regional fuelwood management offices should include a number of representative groups.

Involvement of the local community is a requirement for success. Local farmers and leaders

know the region, its customs and its people. In addition, an administrator from our government

should be available to act as a liaison and to provide a political update on the situation. Some

technical expertise will be required.

Future issues

Our government must plan for the future energy needs of County Central. The World Bank has

proposed a hydroelectric power plant which would supply one quarter of current energy needs.

This project should be carefully assessed. Special consideration should be given to ecological

impacts of the building of the plant, dependence upon foreign technical expertise, and

implications for the debt situation. I am skeptical of its success because of the history of failures

of these types of development efforts.

Alternatively, our east coast has tremendous excess of arable land which can be developed for

forest energy. Long-term planning should maximize use of this land by developing forest

plantations. Coupled with these long-term plans for forest plantations should be a program for

infrastructure changes which can assist in transporting the fuelwood to villages throughout the

county.

Implementation

The creation of regional fuelwood management offices and the allocation of forest regions will

require some time. Due to the lack of other available energy sources, it is recommended that

residents be permitted to continue collecting fuelwood as previously practices until the fuelwood

management program is implemented.

Implementation of these reforms can only take place with your assistance in quality legislation.

Outlined above are three major reforms to improving fuelwood management in County Central:

development of a community land tenure program, establishment of regional fuelwood

management offices, and development of forest plantations along the east coast. These

reforms offer the most viable solutions to fuelwood management.