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5. OTHER FORESTRY ROLES AND DIMENSIONS

5.1 Fuelwood and Wood Energy


Table 15: Scenarios for Fuelwood Removals (Cubic metres)

Country

1994 FAO

Fuelwood Production19

Population

Fuelwood Consumpt'n per capita

1994

Estimated

Fuelwood Production

(Average)

1994

Estimated

Fuelwood Production

(Maximum)

1994

Estimated

Fuelwood Production

(Average)

2010

Estimated

Fuelwood Production

(Maximum)

2010

Australia

2 898 000

17 090 000

.17

2 898 000

2 898 000

3 632 000

3 632 000

New Zealand

50 000

3 350 000

.01

569 500

569 500

642 000

642 000

Australasia

2 948 000

20 440 000

:::::

3 467 500

3 467 500

4 274 000

4 274 000

Papua New Guinea

5 533 000

4 011 000

1.38

5 533 000

5 533 000

8 253 000

8 253 000

Solomon Is.

138 000

320 000

0.43

156 800

441 600

262 600

740 000

Fiji

37 000

726 000

.05

355 700

1 001 900

438 000

1 233 000

Vanuatu

24 000

150 000

.16

73 500

207 000

107 800

303 600

N. Caledonia

:::::

168 000

:::::

82 300

231 800

107 300

302 200

Melanesia

:::::

5 375 000

:::::

6 201 300

7 415 300

9 168 700

10 831 800

Western Samoa

70 000

158 000

.44

77 400

218 000

79 400

223 600

French Polynesia

:::::

198 000

:::::

97 000

273 200

144 500

407 100

Tonga

:::::

96 000

:::::

47 000

132 500

50 000

140 700

Kiribati

:::::

71 000

:::::

35 000

98 000

47 000

132 000

Nauru

:::::

9 300

:::::

4 500

12 800

6 400

180 500

Niue

:::::

2 500

:::::

1 200

3 500

700

1 900

Cook Islands

:::::

16 900

:::::

8 300

11500

8 000

22 600

Tokelau

:::::

1 800

:::::

900

2 500

1 100

3 100

Tuvalu

:::::

10 200

:::::

5 100

14 100

9 300

26 200

Polynesia

:::::

563 700

:::::

276 300

766 100

346 400

1 137 700

SOUTH PACIFIC

:::::

26 378 700

:::::

9 945 100

11 648 900

13 789 100

16 243 500

Fuelwood use in Tonga has only been determined for the main island of Tongatapu. It is estimated that for Tongatapu alone 100,000 tonnes of fuelwood is used. Since 80 percent of the households use fuelwood for cooking, over 70 percent of the fuelwood is consumed by households. Fuelwood is sourced mainly from large hardwood trees on tax allotments, however, increasing amounts are transported from 'Eua island. Other sources are sawmill residues and coconut husks and shells.

It can be noted that this fuelwood estimate falls in the range (independently) calculated for Tonga above.

"Increasing populations in small Pacific Island countries, particularly in and around their urban centres, are resulting in serious shortages of fuelwood, the traditional energy source for cooking. The alternatives, electricity, gas and kerosene are expensive and in limited supply. A 1988 survey of Tarawa atoll found that 97 percent of household reported shortages of wood fuels. As early as 1982 a woodfuel shortage on Tongatapu was found to be imminent. One consequence of these wood fuel shortages is that coconut husks, twigs and other organic material which might be used as mulch to improve soil fertility are increasingly being used for cooking purposes."

"...all the villages surveyed gather firewood from the forest. This is mainly used for cooking and is usually readily available, being generally gathered from recently cleared garden areas within 30 minutes walk of the village. Villagers in Guadacanal are more likely to report firewood hard to find (29 percent of villages). The percentage for other provinces ranged from 7 percent to 20 percent. There are some parts of Honiara where the lack of easy access to firewood causes hardship.

5.2 Agriculture and Deforestation


Due to increased population pressures and expanded export cropping, and commercial livestock development, the processes of deforestation, forest degradation and removal of trees from agricultural lands have been intense, and in some cases accelerating. ....In areas of increasing pressure on land due to increasing population, and in locations closer to settlements, the area of primary forest decreases, secondary forest is younger and floristically less complex, and large areas are covered by almost pure stands of scrub, small trees and degraded grasslands.

Because there is so much forest it is seen by the majority of people as a limitless resource - ....The most important forest yield, however, is the traditional one of land for subsistence gardening activities. ...The small size and population of Niue mean that all people would be aware of the Forestry Project although many would not agree with it (for a multitude of reasons; from a resistance to surveying the land, through to the perception that forestry is a "poorer" use of the land than traditional root crops or coconut). However, very few people would see any link between planting trees and improving or protecting the environment....this lack of awareness probably has as much to do with the richness of the resource as it does with any innate lack of knowledge".

5.3 Non-wood Forest Products


Given that protein is relatively scarce, small animals, lizards and birds which are taken from the forest provide an important supplement to the more common fish diet in the Solomon Islands. A range of bird species are eaten, wild pigs are hunted, as are wild cats, dogs, goats, rats, bats and possums. Reptiles, worms, grubs and birds eggs are also collected. Solomon Island villagers use medicines gathered from the forests. Handicraft materials include carving timbers, fibres for baskets and weaving, bamboos, fishing materials, tools and materials for customary artefacts (including, household utensils, dyes, body ornaments, perfumes, garden plants, ceremonial plants, weapons and musical instruments). Rural people are directly dependent on the forest for building materials: roof thatching (sago palm etc.) battens, pins for holding thatch to battens, rafters beams and studs, woven wall materials and vines for lashing the frame together. Canoes are made out of large logs of several species (generally Gmelina moluccana).

Interest is developing in the commercial potential of honey and nuts from the forest. The tree Canarium produces a nut that is beginning to gain acceptance on the international market. Rural Communities are being encouraged to collect these nuts. There is potential for more intensive management of the tree on a plantation scale which is being investigated by the forestry division.

5.4 Wood Supplies from Non-forest Areas


5.5 Recycling and Other Fibre Types


19 Source FAO Forest Products Yearbook 1993

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