Fuelwood for China

The oil price revolution of the 1970s has severely affected the economies of both developed and developing countries, and both groups of countries now face a major challenge in managing the transition to an era of high-cost energy. Many developing countries, moreover, confront a "second energy crisis" regarding the supply of traditional biomass fuels to rural households. As rural populations increase, shortages of fuelwood and crop and animal wastes are becoming more acute, often resulting in severe damage to environmental quality and to agricultural systems.

High population pressures on the land make rural household fuel problems in the People's Republic of China particularly serious. But China also has developed a series of approaches to these problems, many of which show promise. While energy problems (and possible solutions) differ from country to country, China's attempts to solve its problems may be highly relevant to other developing countries as well.

Renewable energy development

To date, only China's development of rural biogas systems and small-scale hydro-power plants has received a significant amount of international attention. Not nearly so well known is another key aspect of renewable energy development in rural China—fuelwood lots. Yet, during the last two years, China's leaders have given unprecedented emphasis to the development of additional fuelwood supplies through afforestation. Especially interesting is that China plans to establish large numbers of small, privately owned fuelwood lots.

China's rural households currently consume about 290 million tons of coal equivalent (TCE) for cooking, heating, and lighting, accounting for about one-third of total primary energy consumption (table 1). More than 85 percent of the rural total consists of directly burned biomass fuels. For the future, Chinese policy is clear: locally produced biomass fuels must continue to provide the lion's share of the energy needed by rural households. Given production, transportation, and financial constraints, a dramatic increase in the supply of fossil fuels for rural household consumption is not a realistic option. Thus, rural energy development plans are aimed at improving the existing renewable energy supply and consumption system. Biogas certainly will have an important place in rural energy development, but other means to improve the rural energy system also must be promoted—to match different needs in different settings—and the development of fuelwood lots is principal among them.

According to recent Chinese estimates, rural households annually consume about 90 million tons of "legitimately" collected fuelwood, that is, collection is organized and supervised to minimize environmental damage. About one-third of this comes from the organized pruning and thinning of forests primarily designed for other purposes, such as timber forests (table 2). Another fifth is collected from "four-around" plantings (plantings along roads, along rivers and canals, around homes, and around villages), both by pruning trees planted for protective purposes and by harvesting trees specifically planted for fuel. Only 23 percent currently is supplied from collective fuelwood lots.

In addition to the legitimately collected fuelwood, another 90 million tons is collected at random by individuals from uncultivated land. Trees, grasses, and brush are stripped from local hillsides in a disorganized and desperate fashion that often exacerbates existing water and soil conservation problems. China's leaders would like to eliminate this random and damaging gathering by rapidly developing more rational supply methods. The ten-year goal is to increase the supply from fuelwood lots fourfold, primarily through establishing new, private fuelwood lots (see table 2). Increased fuelwood plantings in collectively owned four-around forests also are planned, so that the fuelwood yield from these forests can be boosted by about 70 percent.

Private fuelwood lots are not a new concept in the People's Republic of China. Indeed, the first attempt to promote such lots occurred during the early 1960s, but the policy fell victim to political conflict over the proper role of private economic activity and never was implemented. Today, political constraints concerning private lots have been eased, and widespread implementation already has begun.

Policy implementation

On March 5, 1980, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council jointly issued a directive calling for the allocation of land for private fuelwood lots, and subsequent directives and laws have reinforced the decision. While basic guidelines have been set by the central government, most of the details of implementation have been left to local governments.

In areas where suitable barren land exists for afforestation—only nonforested land may be distributed-1 to 10 mu may be allocated for each household (1 mu equals one-fifteenth of a hectare). Households are not given ownership of the land—which still belongs to rural collectives—but certificates are issued to households guaranteeing their ownership of the trees they plant on the land, with the right of family inheritance. Households are allowed to plant only trees on their plots, and they must be planted by a specific deadline for families to retain use of the land. Families may use, sell, or give away the wood and brush they grow as they see fit.

On the plains, where large uncultivated expanses of land are not available, small strips of marginal land along rivers and roads may be distributed for private planting, but most fuelwood planting probably will occur as part of the usual collective four-around afforestation work.

The major tree and bush species to be used for fuelwood cultivation include willow, poplar, locust, and false indigo in the northern parts of China, and eucalyptus and acacia farther south. State and collective forestry organizations have been instructed to supply seedlings from local nurseries to individual households on a priority basis at low prices. When necessary, seedlings may be provided on credit, with repayment set at a date mutually agreed upon.

Results to date

According to incomplete statistics presented at the All-China Rural Energy Exhibition, almost 3 million hectares of land had been distributed to households for private fuelwood cultivation by October 1981--an amount roughly equal to the land area of all fuelwood lots previously planted (see table 3). According to the same source, roughly 10 percent of China's rural households have received land for fuelwood lots. In Sichuan Province, 10 million families were given land allocations by the end of 1981, and more than 800 million seedlings were planted privately.

Table 3. Forested Land Area in China