Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

Chapter 13

Fuelwood in the Maroua area of

the Far North Province of Cameroon

Tata Precillia Ijang^1

ABSTRACT

This chapter reports on fuelwood in the Maroua area of the Far North Province

of Cameroon. Wood harvesting is the third most important economic activity

for the inhabitants of this area, after animal husbandry and agriculture.

Fuelwood is harvested, processed, marketed and consumed exclusively in the

Maroua area, moving from collectors through wholesalers and retailers to

consumers. Whereas in the past only dead trunks and branches were gathered

for use as fuelwood, today live trees are felled and left to season. The result

has been a dramatic disappearance of forest cover, with trees being harvested

at unsustainable rates. Since fuelwood sales are a major source of income for

most households, it is difficult to stop the felling of live trees, despite the

negative impact on the forest and enormous efforts by the government of

Cameroon and various non-governmental organizations.

INTRODUCTION

Non-timber forest products are obtained from both plant and animal sources,

and include fruits, nuts, oils, medicinal plants, arabic gum, other foods, bush

meat, bark and wood as an energy source and for artisan purposes (Neba

1987; Agroforestry Project 1995; CEDC 1997; Peter 2001). Our interest in this

study was the use of wood as an energy source in the Maroua area of the Far

North Province of Cameroon, with Acacia sayel, a locally abundant and popular

fuelwood species (ABF 1989; CEDC 1997), taken into particular consideration.

The use of wood as a source of energy contributes to environmental

degradation as well as income generation around the world, including Cameroon

and our study area. A study published by the Food and Agricultural Organization

Common names Part of the Management Degree of Scale of Geographic

resource used transformation trade range

Seyal, White- Wood Wild Low National Large

galled acacia,

Ulbe

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