3. Households woodfuel current consumption for 1994
This section of the report, using the 1994 consumption survey and the consumption patterns discussed in chapter 2 will review total woodfuel consumption in N. Sudan.
Total consumption analysis will be attempted in aggregate (national) and desegregate (state level) terms. The national picture will be presented using the parameters of urbanization, ecological zone, income level and education. At the state level only urbanization will be considered.
(a) Rural and urban consumption of firewood
The current firewood consumption in Northern Sudan is estimated to be 5.9 million cubic meters in 1994. Of this total amount 14.5% (0.86 million M3 is consumed by urban households, while the remaining 85.5% is consumed by rural households. This distribution pattern is consistent with the higher rural per capita and the population density - which comprise according to 1994 census about 66% of the total population in N. Sudan.
Table 3.1
Firewood Consumption in N. Sudan 1994
Households |
Per Capita M3 |
Consumption in M3 |
Consumption in Tons |
Urban |
0.14 |
856727 |
616843 |
Rural |
0.46 |
5045204 |
3632547 |
N. Sudan |
0.36 |
5901930 |
4249390 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey, 1994.
(b) Firewood Consumption by Ecological Zone
The low rainfall zone ranks the highest in firewood consumption (73.1%), followed by the semi-desert zone (23.4%), the desert zone (3.2%) and the high rainfall zones consuming the lowest firewood quantities (0.3%). This distribution pattern is due mainly to population density and per capita annual consumption in each zone.
Table 3.2
Annual Firewood Consumption by Ecological Zone, 1994
Ecological Zone |
Per Capita |
Consumption in M3 |
% of total |
Desert |
0.43 |
189973.64 |
3.2 % |
Semi-desert |
0.20 |
1381599.9 |
23.4% |
Low rainfall |
0.47 |
43125012 |
73.1 |
High rainfall |
0.32 |
17855.67 |
0.3% |
N. Sudan |
0.36 |
5901930 |
100 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey 1994
(c) Firewood Consumption by Income Level
The overall analysis of firewood consumption by household income for 1994 shows that 42.4%, 34.8% and 22.8% of the firewood is consumed by low, medium and high income households respectively. This is consistent with per capita and distribution of population among the different income levels.
Table 3.3
Annual Household Firewood Consumption by Income Level, 1994
Income Group |
Rural M3 |
Urban M3 |
Total M3 |
% of total |
Low |
2386124 |
134899 |
2521023 |
42.7 % |
Medium |
1735625 |
316142 |
2051767 |
34.8% |
High |
923455 |
405765 |
1329220 |
22.5 % |
N. Sudan |
5045204 |
856726 |
5901930 |
100 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey, 1994
When viewed in rural and urban contexts, rural consumption by income group is consistent with the overall trend with low, medium and high income households consuming 48.9%, 34.4% and 18.5% of the 1994 consumption respectively.
The case for urban households, however, tends to be inconsistent with the per capita pattern with income (decreasing with income). Both medium and high income groups total consumption is higher than low income households. This reflects the distribution of households among the different income levels. The levels as determined in the survey analysis tend to accumulate most of the urban households in the bigger (62.8%) and medium (28.8%) income bracket. This need to be reviewed on the basis of expenditure figures to allow for a more realistic distribution of urban households by income level.
(d) Firewood Consumption by level of education of head of households
Consumption by level of education (head of household only) is presented in table 3-4 and is generally in line with per capita consumption pattern and distribution of households among the different education levels
Table 3.4
Annual Firewood Consumption by level of education of heads of households, 1994
Education level |
Rural M3 |
Urban M3 |
Total M3 |
% |
Illiterate |
2402989 |
282389 |
2685378 |
45.5 % |
Khalwa |
1580730 |
189849 |
1770579 |
30.0 % |
Preliminary |
679445 |
211746 |
891191 |
15.1 |
Intermediate |
189152 |
82337 |
271489 |
4.6 % |
Secondary |
132845 |
61919 |
194764 |
3.3 % |
University |
38036 |
26885 |
64921 |
1.1 % |
Not stated |
22007 |
1601 |
23608 |
0.4 |
N. Sudan |
5045204 |
856726 |
5901930 |
100 |
Source: wood product survey, 1994.
(a) Rural and urban charcoal consumption
N. Sudan consumed in 1994 a total of 32.779 million 40 Kg sacks. This is equivalent to 1.3 million tons of charcoal. Urban households consumed 59.6% (19.5 million sacks) while rural households consumed the remaining 40.4% (13.2 million sacks). This distribution is consistent with per capita patterns and population density in urban and rural areas.
Table 3.5
Annual charcoal Household Consumption in N. Sudan. 1994
Household percent |
Sacks 000 |
Tons 000 |
% of total |
Urban |
19546 |
781.84 |
59.6% |
Rural |
132333 |
529.32 |
40.4 % |
N. Sudan |
32779 |
1311.16 |
100% |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey, l 994.
(b) Charcoal Consumption by Ecological zone
Like firewood due mainly to population density and woodfuel consumption pattern (per capita) the semi-desert and low rainfall areas together consume the bulk of the charcoal in N. Sudan - (98.6) The other two zones (desert and high rainfall areas) consume only, 1.4% of the charcoal consumed in N. Sudan. While desert areas depend mainly on firewood produced from horticultural tree branches, the high rainfall depend on firewood abundantly available in the area.
Table 3.6
Annual Household charcoal Consumption by Ecological zone' 1994
Ecological Zone |
per capita kg |
Sacks |
Tons |
% total |
Desert |
149 |
343825 |
13753 |
1.0% |
Semi desert |
531 |
18752475 |
75099 |
57.2% |
Low rainfall |
270 |
13569400 |
542776 |
41.4 % |
High rainfall |
519 |
113425 |
4537 |
0.4% |
N. Sudan |
372 |
32779125 |
1311165 |
100 |
Source: Wood Products Con gumption survey, 1994
(c) Charcoal consumption by income level
In contrast to firewood high income households consume 58.6% of the charcoal consumed. Low and medium income households consume 8.6% and 32.9% respectively. This is consistent with per capita consumption patterns for charcoal which increases with income.
Table 3.7
Annual households charcoal consumption by income group, 1994
Income group |
000 sacks |
Tons "000" |
% Total | ||||
Rural |
Urban |
Total |
Rural |
Urban |
Total |
||
Low |
1444 |
1366 |
2810 |
57.77 |
54.61 |
112.38 |
8.6% |
Medium |
5075 |
2699 |
10774 |
203.00 |
227.97 |
430.97 |
32.9 % |
High |
6714 |
12481 |
19195 |
268.56 |
499.25 |
767.81 |
58.6 |
Total |
13233 |
19546 |
32779 |
529.33 |
781.83 |
1311.16 |
100.1 |
Source: Wood consumption survey, 1994
(d) Charcoal consumed by level of education of head of households
Charcoal consumption by level of education of head of household is governed mainly by the number of households in each education category and the per capita consumption pattern for the different education levels. However the latter is generally increasing with rise in education level. The former (population in each category) more than outweigh any per capita effects when we deal with total absolute consumption quantities. The lowest three categories in the education category who comprise the bull; of the households in N. Sudan consumed 72.7% of the charcoal in 1994.
Table 3.8
Annual Household Charcoal Consumption by Education of Head of Household, 1994
Education Level |
000 Sacks |
000 Tons |
% | ||||
Rural |
Urban |
Total |
Rural |
Urban |
Total |
||
Illiterate |
4508 |
4808 |
9016 |
180.3 |
192.3 |
372.6 |
28.4 % |
Khalwa |
2440 |
3625 |
6065 |
97.6 |
145.0 |
242.7 |
10.5 % |
Preliminary |
3533 |
4913 |
8446 |
141.3 |
196.5 |
337.7 |
25.8 % |
Intermediate |
1282 |
2635 |
3917 |
51.3 |
105.4 |
156.8 |
12 % |
Secondary |
1135 |
2393 |
3528 |
45.4 |
95.7 |
141.2 |
10.8% |
University |
300 |
1130 |
1430 |
12.00 |
45.2 |
57.2 |
4.4 % |
Not stated |
35 |
40 |
75 |
1.40 |
1.6 |
3.05 |
0.2 % |
N. Sudan |
13233 |
19544 |
32777 |
529.3 |
781.8 |
13111.2 |
100 |
Source: Wood Consumption Products Consumption
This special type of end-use for firewood is characteric of Sudanese married women and is widely used in both rural and urban areas. Its use is more associated with marital status of women and less so with income or education level. Compared to woodfuel use for other household purposes (cooking) it is very small (% of that firewood for cooking).
During 1994 a total of 246449 cubic meters roundwood were consumed in N. Sudan. Rural households consumed 51.4 % while urban households consumed 48.6 %. The consumption of dukhan wood is generally strongly associated with married women by tradition.
Table 3.9
Household Consumption of Dukhan (smooking wood)
Household |
M3 |
Tons |
% |
Urban |
119 788 |
86247 |
48.6 |
Rural |
126 661 |
91196 |
51.4 |
Total |
249449 |
177413 |
100 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey 1994.
Significant quantities of other biomass fuels are also consumed by households. The two major fuels consumed in addition to firewood and charcoal are agricultural residues and wood-waste (saw-dust).
Agricultural residues in 1994 constituted the bulk of the biomass fuels-other than woodfuel-consumed by households in Northern Sudan. The survey showed a total consumption of 1.37 million tons of agricultural residues of the quantities 93.4 % is consumed by rural households, while urban households consumed only 6.6%. For sawdust (wood processing residue) on the other hand only small quantities are consumed. Annual consumption for 1994 is estimated to be 17988 tons for Northern Sudan. Of this total quantity 65.5% is consumed by rural households and 35.5% by urban ones.
Table 3.10
Household Current Consumption of Agricultural and wood residues. 1994
Household |
Saw Dust 000 Tons |
Agricultural residues 000 Tons |
Rural 000 Tons |
% |
Urban |
6.393 |
89.534 |
95.927 |
6.9 % |
Rural |
11.595 |
1277.231 |
1288.926 |
93.1 % |
N. Sudan |
17.988 |
1366.865 |
1384.85 |
100 |
% |
1.3% |
98.7% |
100 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey, 1994
As can be seen in table 3.11, Northern Sudan in 1994 consumed a total of 4.2 million tons of firewood, 1.3 million tons of charcoal, 1.4 million tons of agricultural residues. 0.18 million tons of dukhan wood and 0.018 million tons of saw-dust Rural households consumed 71.5% of all these woodfuel types, while the urban sub-sector consumed only 28.5 %. Analysis of woodfuel/biomass consumption in terms of energy consumption in terms of energy and round wood resource requirements will be made in chapter (4).
Table 3.11
Household current consumption of Woodfuel and other biomass. 1994
Households |
Firewood 000 Tons |
Charcoal 000 tons |
Dukhan wood 000 tons |
Agricultural residues 000 tons |
Saw dust 000 tons |
Urban |
616.843 |
781.84 |
86.247 |
89.534 |
6.393 |
Rural |
3632.547 |
529.32 |
91.196 |
1277.231 |
11.595 |
N. Sudan |
4249.390 |
1311.16 |
177.443 |
1366.765 |
17.988 |
Woodfuel consumption by state is a function of per capita and population. The variation between states as far as total consumption is concerned reflect these two factors. Specific data by fuel type and urbanization are shown in tables 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14.
Table 3.12
Woodfuel consumption and other biomass by state, as percent of
N. Sudan total, 1994
(all as % of total for N. Sudan)
State |
Population |
Firewood |
Charcoal |
Other Biomass (Residues) |
Northern (N) |
2.52% |
3.2% |
1.0% |
2.8% |
River Nile (RN) |
3.80 |
3.6 |
2.0 |
0.01 |
Red Sea (RS) |
2.54 |
1.7 |
3.7 |
0 |
Kassala (KA) |
5.95 |
5.7 |
4.2 |
0.07 |
Gedaref (GD) |
5.17 |
3.1 |
3.5 |
4.85 |
Khartoum (KH) |
16.71 |
4.6 |
30.9 |
0.18 |
Gezira (GZ) |
13.69 |
2.2 |
22.5 |
31.75 |
Sennar (SN) |
4.84 |
3.1 |
8.4 |
0.60 |
white Nile (WN) |
6.07 |
4.2 |
5.6 |
10.23 |
Blue Nile (BN) |
2.50 |
4.2 |
2.2 |
0.31 |
N. Kordofan (NK) |
6.29 |
8.1 |
5.7 |
0.31 |
West " (WK) |
4.48 |
6.9 |
2.0 |
0.14 |
South " (SK) |
3.08 |
3.6 |
1.8 |
0.63 |
North Darfur (ND) |
5.62 |
11.9 |
1.7 |
0.07 |
West " (WD) |
6.36 |
15.9 |
1.3 |
2.77 |
South" (SD) |
10.41 |
18.2 |
3.5 |
45.24 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
99.92 |
Source: Woodfuel consumption survey 1994.
(a) Khartoum and Gezira both with 30.4% of the population consumed 53.4% of the charcoal consumed in Northern Sudan. Such high consumption is a result of both population density and high per capita. The case for firewood for the same two states confirm the interaction of these two factors. Due to their low annual firewood per capita, these states consumed only 6.8% of the firewood in 1994.
(b) The three Darfur States with their relatively high annual per capita where 22.39% of Northern Sudan population reside, consumed 46% of the total firewood in 1994.
(c) The consumption of residue is exhibited by all states with the exception of the Red Sea state. However, 87.22% of the 1994 consumption is concentrated in Southern Darfur (45.24%), Gezira (31.75%) and White Nile (10.23%).
Table 3.13
Woodfuel Consumption By State in Northern Sudan
State |
Firewood Tons |
Charcoal Tons |
Other Biomass Tons |
Dukhan Wood Tons |
Northern |
136780.6 |
13753 |
38560.9 |
5279 |
River Nile |
151423.2 |
26147 |
327.9 |
4913 |
Red Sea |
70446.96 |
48240 |
148.9 |
918 |
Kassala |
240719.8 |
55321 |
962.5 |
4519 |
Gedaref |
133374.2 |
46419 |
66289 |
5091 |
Khartoum |
196519 |
404868 |
8333.6 |
52056 |
Gezira |
94902.48 |
294526 |
442796.3 |
18909 |
Sennar |
130135 |
110355 |
8394 |
8981 |
White Nile |
177715.4 |
72930 |
113494 |
18097 |
Blue Nile |
177138 |
29072 |
4268 |
9319 |
N. Kordofan |
342874.1 |
74873 |
4244 |
17111 |
W. Kordofan |
292104 |
26708 |
2498 |
9843 |
S. Kordofan |
150873.8 |
23354 |
8097 |
2853 |
North Darfur |
505902.2 |
22490 |
1362.5 |
2514 |
West Darfur |
674110.1 |
16660 |
39278.6 |
2133 |
South Darfur |
774371.5 |
45448 |
618427.1 |
14903 |
N. Sudan |
4249390 |
1311164 |
1384802.5 |
177439 |
Source: Wood Consumption Survey, 1994.
Table 3.14
Woodfuel Consumption by State and Urbanization in Northern Sudan. 1994
All in "000 tons"
State |
Rural |
Urban | ||||||
Fuelwood |
Charcoal |
Other Biomass |
Dukhan wood |
Firewood |
Charcoal |
Other Biomass |
Dukhan | |
Northern |
36.453 |
9.076 |
118.696 |
4.580 |
18.085 |
4.678 |
2.108 |
0.699 |
River Nile |
0.132 |
14.935 |
115.885 |
2.664 |
35.538 |
11.212 |
0.196 |
2.250 |
Red Sea |
0 |
13.634 |
49.806 |
0.044 |
20.641 |
34.606 |
0.149 |
0.875 |
Kassala |
0.183 |
9.391 |
202.865 |
2.219 |
37.855 |
45.931 |
0.779 |
2.301 |
Gedaref |
57.762 |
19.410 |
106.009 |
3.182 |
27.365 |
27.008 |
8.527 |
1.909 |
Khartoum |
3.279 |
55.706 |
84.366 |
9.103 |
112.153 |
349.162 |
5.054 |
42.953 |
Gezira |
376.800 |
209.865 |
71.559 |
14.681 |
23344 |
84.601 |
66.00 |
4.232 |
Sennar |
7.007 |
81.015 |
105.013 |
7.425 |
25122 |
29.340 |
1.387 |
1.555 |
White Nile |
134.394 |
33.925 |
116.171 |
11.184 |
61545 |
39.005 |
5.488 |
6.914 |
Blue Nile |
4.152 |
16.794 |
155.153 |
5.703 |
21985 |
12.278 |
0.116 |
3.616 |
North Kordofan |
3.924 |
27.500 |
293.061 |
7.437 |
49813 |
47.373 |
0.320 |
9.674 |
West Kordofan |
2.345 |
13.287 |
264.414 |
7.838 |
27.690 |
13.421 |
0.153 |
2.005 |
South Kordofan |
7.197 |
9.130 |
129.198 |
1.769 |
21.676 |
14.223 |
O.882 |
1.084 |
North Darfur |
0.398 |
5.260 |
465.04 |
1.355 |
40.879 |
17.230 |
0.787 |
1.159 |
West Darfur |
36.835 |
3.205 |
624.567 |
1.422 |
49.543 |
13.455 |
0.964 |
0.712 |
South Darfur |
618.063 |
7.198 |
730.761 |
10.592 |
43.610 |
38.250 |
0.365 |
4.311 |
N. Sudan |
1288.926 |
529.331 |
3632.547 |
91.196 |
616.843 |
781.834 |
95.926 |
86.248 |
Source:
