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Final Report, Fuelwood Resource Survey of Sri Lanka, 2016 - Matale District

Hydrodynamics and Geophysical Survey (Pvt.) Limited

Final report

Fuelwood Resource Survey

Project Contract Agreement Nr. 074/15/048/GFF

Starting date: 27 JULY, 2015

Date of the report: 28.03. 2016

Prepared for

The food and agriculture organization of the United Nations

Prepared by


March, 2016

Matale District



Table of Contents

No Title Page No

Table of content 2

List of Figures 3

List of Tables 4

Abbreviations 5

RESULTS- MATALE DISTRICT

1.0 Background of the Matale District 06

1.1 Geographical location 06

1.2 Demographic characteristics of Matale District 08

1.3 Land use and land cover in Matale district 10

1.4 Demographic profile of the study area 10

1.5 Energy use and energy related characteristics of the study area 13

1.6 Sources of fuelwood

14

1.7 Production of fuelwood 17

1.8 Management of different source of fuelwood 18

1.9 Purchasing fuelwood by households 22

1.10 Resources of fuelwood 24

1.11 Knowledge and attitude on fuelwood 26

1.12 Willingness to grow of fuelwood 28

Enterprise Survey Results

1.13 Types of enterprises 33

1.14 Use of energy, Prices, and Supply Chain 33

1.15 Issues and challenges 34

Results of Key Informant and Focus Group Discussion

1.16 Main production source/system 35

1.17 Barriers and strategies for promoting fuelwood growing 36



1.18 Issues arising from commercial supply and Industrial applications

Projections of fuelwood potential – Matale District 37

1.19 Fuelwood potential of the study area 37

1.20 Land availability 41

List of Figures

No Title Page No

1.1 Location map of Matale District 07

1.2 Population distribution by DS Division 09

1.3 Spatial distribution of the household level production of production of

fuelwood in Matale District

16

1.4 Percentage households that use different materials of fuelwood 21

1.5 Types of fuelwood available for purchasing and the person who is

engaged in purchasing

23

1.6 Availability of different fuelwood resources for buying in different

sources

24

1.7 Cost of different types of fuelwood available for purchasing 24

1.8 Degree of access to fuelwood by households in Matale District 26

1.9 Degree of access to fuelwood during last two years in some selected

land use types apparent in Matale District

27

1.10 The wiliness to grow fuelwood at different levels of educations and

family sizes in Matale District

29

1.11 Preferred clones by those who willing to grow fuelwood in Matale

alutara District

29

1.12 Distribution of those who are willing to grow fuelwood by different

land use type in Matale District

30

1.13 Different aspect on which training is needed by those who willing to

grow fuelwood plantations

32

1.14 Spatial distribution of the projections of potential for fuelwood under

different land use patterns in Matale District

40

1.15 Spatial distribution of the available land that has a potential for

growing fuelwood species

43



List of Tables

No Title Page No

1.1 Climate data for Matale district 08

1.2 Population by DS Division in Matale District 09

1.3 Land use and land cover in Matale district 10

1.4 Age composition by male and female population of the sample

population in Matale District

11

1.5 Distribution of Sample by Level of Education 12

1.6 Distribution of Home garden by Size 12

1.7 Household energy use by the source of energy and the purpose in Matale

District

13

1.8 Different fuelwood sources, monthly average fuelwood collection per

household and the proportion of households that utilize different source

of fuelwood in Matale District

14

1.9 Average production of fuelwood and proportion of households engaged

in collection of fuelwood by different land use types in Matale District

17

1.10 Frequency of collection of fuelwood from different sources and gender

involvement

18

1.11 Average distance from household to different sources of fuelwood 19

1.12 Time (min) taken to transport fuelwood from various sources to the

household

19

1.13 Fuelwood harvesting method practiced by collectors for different sources

of fuelwood

20

1.14 Purpose of using fuelwood collected by households from different

sources of fuelwood

21

1.15 Percentage of households who purchase fuelwood, per capita household

level monthly consumption and monthly expenditure for purchasing


22

1.16 Frequency and the source of buying fuelwood in area with different land

use patterns

23

1.17 Composition of tree types available in home gardens in Matale District 25

1.18 Composition of the tree species available in the fence of the home

gardens in the study area

25

1.19 Preferred fuelwood species by the uses of fuelwood in Matale District 26



1.20 Perception of fuelwood collectors on the access to fuelwood 27

1.21 Comments expressed by the respondents for and against growing

fuelwood

28

1.22 Type of land used for planting, expected extent for planting, needs for

growing, expected benefits and person who will engage in fuelwood

plantation in Matale District

31

1.23 Reasons for those who are not willing to grow fuelwood plantations 32

1.24 Fuel wood potential in Matale District 39

1.25 Available extents of lands (ha) by land use and DS divisions in Matale

District for growing fuelwood species

41

Abbreviations

CDB Coconut Development Board

CRI Coconut Research Institute

CSD Census and Statistic Department

DO Development Officers

DOF Department of Forest

DSD Divisional Secretarial Division

EDB Export Development Board

FW Fuelwood

GCP Ground Control Points

GND Grama Niladhari Division

HH Households

LU/LC Land use and land cover

LUPPD Land Use Policy Planning Division

RDD Rubber Development Department

RRI Rubber Research Institute

TRI Tea Research Institute

TSHA Tea Smallholder Authority



1.0 Background of Matale District

Matale District is located in the northern part of the Central province, belonging to the wet

zone of Sri Lanka and it is considered as the central region of the Island. Matale is

historically important in possessing many historical sites of the country, especially including

Sigiriya which is considered as one of the greatest creation of the world. Dambulla, Nalanda

and Beliyakanda are also historically important and the ancient tanks like Kandalama,

Dewahuwa, Inamaluwa, Talkote and Sigiriya enhances the beauty of the district. Also this

district is rich in its natural beauty as it is surrounded by many beautiful mountains including

Knuckles, which is a natural heritage of the country. Sudu Ganga which flows through city

increases the natural beauty of the district. Hence Matale district has become one of the

famous tourist destinations of Sri Lanka, This district is geologically enriches with Kotcite,

Nice, Granite, Calcimine Lime stones, Dolomite, Kindlier kind Gannet, Silimanite, Zest and

Graphite stones.

Historical Background

It is believed that the area called MaThula Colony has been assigned to his uncle by King

Pandukabhaya, later become as Matale. And further believed that as The King Gajaba

invaded “Soli Rata” and brought & settled 12000 peoples in here this become as Matale.

Another belief is “Mahathale” became Matale being located in a valley surrounded by

mountains. Witnesses say that “Yaksha Gothathra” had been living mainly in northern and

eastern bounds of the district during pre-ancient period. A 3000 years old dead body has

found near Ibbankotuwa, Dambulla proving the above saying. The capital city during King

Ravans‟ period is believed to be located close to Lakegala in Matale Distrcit. History further

reveals that Kuwenys‟ native place has been Bambawa, Galewe in this area. The historical

notes bring evidences noting that King Gajaba (I) invaded “Solie Rata” and brought 12000

peoples here and settled them mostly in Matale District. There are 17 settlement places

situated in Matale District, many are in Galewela and Pallepola areas. Renowned and

renaissance period of Matale District is considered as King Walagamba era (BC 89-77). The

king Kashyapa period is the next golden era of Matale District (AD 470-497). The king

Kashyapa selected Sigiriya as his kingdom became a world heritage and its attractive frescoes

populated all over the world which attracts tourists by thousands. There are many religiously

important places like Aluvihare, Dambulla Temple, Sri Muttumari Amma Kovil, Wahakotte

Church, Nalanda Gedi Gee, and Menikdena Temple.

1.1 Geographical Location

Matale District covers an area of 1993.3Km². It is located in the Northern part of the Central

Province, spreading from 80. 28˚ to 80.59˚ Eastern longitudes & from 7.24˚ to 8.01˚Nothern

latitudes. This area is bounded North by Anuradapura, East by Polonnaruwa, Badulla &

Ampara and West by Kurunagala & South by Kandy Districts.

There are three major geographical divisions of the district which are Northern Flat Lands,

Matale Valley and Knuckles Mountain Ranges and Laggala Parallel Mountain Ranges

Northern flat lands containing Dambulla, Galewela and Pallepola divisional secretary

divisions. This land normally is a flat land despite of several mountain peaks. Normally this



land altitude is 500-1000 feet. There are several tanks locate in this rough land since the

ancient times including Kandalama, Dewahuwa, Inamaluwa, Talkote and Sigiriya. Matale

area is nicely placed in a valley and surrounded by many mountains and hills. Knuckles,

Guruluhela, Pansaltenna, Ovilikanda and Hunnasgiriya are lying among huge mountains.

Knuckles is 4000 feet in height and this is the one of highly protected area and natural

heritage in the island. Lakegala and Kalupahana are also some of popular peaks of the area.

Figure 1.1: Geographical location of Matale District

Source: - Department of Survey, Department of Census and Statistics

Laggala parallel mountain ranges are the special feature in eastern bound of the Knuckles

Mountain. This region consists of three parallel mountain ranges. These spreade from south

to the north bound. One spreads from Telambugala to Wasgamuwa and second one spreads

from Wamarapugala to Amban Ganga via Ranamure while the third one is not seen clearly

but it is spreading from Rambukoluwa to Laggala Udasiya Pattu. Geologically this area

belongs Vijayan grade and is rich from Kotcite, Nice, Granite, Calcimine Lime stones,



Dolomite, Kindlier kind Gannet, Silimanite, Zest and Graphite stones. The mountain ranges

basically contain with Chan kite. This basic stone makes Anticlines and Synclines complex

structures with the effect of time and inner earth. Knuckles mountain range is a best example

for this. Laggala, Kaluganga and Hattota Amuna have been famous for gems over many

years. Wariyapola and Kaikawala are famous for mica. Talagoda and Owala- Rattota are

famous for ceramics and also lime and granite industry have functioned as a major scale

industry in this district. This area is one of the flood plain of Mahaweli River making many

fertile lands for paddy cultivation.

Climate

Climate of the district is greatly influenced by its topographic diversity. Matale valley has its

own topo-climate while lowland Dambulla area is underlying typical dry zonal climate.

Climate of the summits of Dumbara Hills is much cooler and wetter. The district is

experienced by both monsoons. But the north-east monsoon is heavier than the south-west

monsoon. Matale is a city with a significant rainfall. Even in the driest month there is a lot of

rain. According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification Matale district falls under Af

category. The average annual temperature in Matale is 25.3 °C whereas the average annual

rainfall is 1860 mm. Precipitation is the lowest in March, with an average of 86 mm. Most of

the precipitation here falls in November, averaging 297 mm. At an average temperature of

26.7 °C, April is the hottest month of the year. January is the coldest month, with

temperatures averaging 23.9 °C. But average annual rainfall at stations like st.Martins estate

records in most years as more than 5000mm. Table 1.1 figures out average monthly

temperature and rainfall in Matale District.

Table 1.1: - Average Temperature and Precipitation of Matale District

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Average °C 23.9 24.7 26.2 26.7 26.5 25.8 25.4 25.6 25.4 25.2 24.8 24

Average °F 75 76.5 79.2 80.1 79.7 78.4 77.7 78.1 77.7 77.4 76.6 75.2

Precipitation mm 131 94 86 182 143 94 100 86 135 276 297 236

Source: - http://en.climate-data.org, 2016

Ecology

Central, southwest and west parts of the district contains , up-country rain forests. Northern and

Laggala-Wilgamuwa parts contain low country dry forests. The knuckles mountain range is extremely

high in bio-diversity. According to “ Environmental Profile of Matale District” compiled by Central

Environmental Authority there are at least five types of vegetation types in Matale District including

low-land semi ever green tropical forests, Sub-montane tropical wet semi-evergreen forests, Montane

tropical evergreen forests, Montane grasslands and Pigmy forests.

1.2 Demographic Characteristics

When consider the population dynamics of the Mathale district the highest population is

shown by Galewela in both 2001 and in 2012. And the second most population is shown by

Ukuwela. In both years the smallest population is shown by Ambaganga Korale. All the

eleven Divisional Secretariats show a change in the population and all DSDs except one have



increased the population in 2012 when compared to 2001. The highest increase is of 11,330

people and it is shown by Dambulla. The lowest number of population declining is shown by

Laggala- Pallegama and in is -289 people.

Table 1.2: Population by DSDs by census years of 2001 and 2012


Figure1.2: Population Density of Matale by DSDs for the census year 2012


DS Division population 2001 Population 2012 Change

Ambaganga Korale 15,515 15,643 128

Dambulla 60,976 72,306 11,330

Galewela 61,842 70,042 8,200

Laggala-Pallegama 12,399 12,110 -289

Matale 68,451 74,864 6,413

Naula 28,157 30,884 2,727

Pallepola 27,520 29,565 2,045

Rattota 49,382 51,354 1,972

Ukuwela 61,568 68,027 6,459

Wilgamuwa 26,870 29,494 2,624

Yatawatta 28,648 30,242 1,594



1.3 Land use and Land Cover in Matale District

The prominent land use type in Matale district is forest lands that 50% of the land use

including forest and scrub can be seen respectively with the percentages 30.18 and 20.87.

Next to forest is a home gardens rank second with a percentage of 20.2. Among the

agricultural lands paddy is a key cultivation in the area having a percentage of 10.11. Nearly

8% of the land is utilized equally for Ruber and tea cultivation in the district. Coconut

cultivation in the district is little compared with tea, rubber and paddy, with percentage of

2.9. Small amount of Chena cultivation is also visible with in the district. 2.52% of the land

use is for water bodies whereas Marsh, Mangroves, roads and rivers can be seen in a

percentage of 1.24 of the total land use in the district.

Table 1.3: - Land use and Land cover in Matale District – 2014

Land use Extent (Ha.) Percentage

Non-Agricultural

Lands

Built up areas 96.10 0.05

Agricultural Lands Home gardens 40254.75 20.20

Tea 7271.18 3.65

Rubber 7562.16 3.68

Coconut 4973.08 2.49

Paddy 20150.15 10.11

Other field crops 5931.33 2.98

Chena 3739.72 1.88

Forest Lands Forest 60146.30 30.18

Forest Plantation 0.00 0.00

Scrub 41593.12 20.87

Water bodies 5032.29 2.52

Other (Marsh, Mangroves, Roads, Rivers Etc.) 2549.82 1.24

Total 199300.00 100.00

Source: Land Use Policy Planning Department

This part of the report basically covers the survey results extracted/generated from different

tools and techniques implemented in the study area. These tools were formulated and

designed based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) and the project objectives. This report

provides the data and information collected from Matale district and comprises five sub

sections relating to the study area; Demographic profile, Energy use and energy related

characteristics, Energy users and Enterprises, Potentials for fuelwood and Land availability

for fuelwood production.

1.4 Demographic Profile of the study area

The demographic aspects/composition of any region is directly influenced for any sort of

development activities, especially labour intensive rural area based projects. The proposed

fuelwood enrichment project basically targeted on rural areas of the country. Therefore, this

section of the report has drawn the attention for the demographic composition of Matale

district under four sub sections which are very relevant to the project objectives. They are



respectively; i). male/female dichotomy of the population, ii). age composition iii). level of

education, iv). home gardens and plot sizes.

The household survey conducted in Matale district covers around 1,880 people in selected

GN divisions and household heads accounts for 27 per cent of the total persons. Both males

and females are almost equally distributed in the sample (see Table 1.4). In terms of age

composition, nearly 30 per cent of the total population is below 19 years while 75 per cent of

the total is below 50 years indicating Matale district is yet experienced a demographic

transition (Table 1.4).

Table 1.4: Age composition by male and female population of the sample population in

Matale District

Age group

Male Female Total

No % No % No %

0-9 127 49% 130 51% 257 14%

10-19 146 49% 150 51% 296 16%

20-29 138 51% 133 49% 271 14%

30-39 155 49% 161 51% 316 17%

40-49 128 48% 141 52% 269 14%

50-59 136 54% 118 46% 254 14%

>60 106 49% 109 51% 215 11%

Total 936 50% 941 50% 1,878 100%

Source: Fuelwood Resource Survey, 2015

This reflects the fact that the sample consists of relatively young people which can accept the

innovative ideas and can be contributed for labour requirement of the area. In terms of marital

status, married persons account approximately 40 percent of the sample population. The

education level of the sample is also an important factor to be considered in fuelwood

growing. If the sample seems to be a relatively educated sample, it may yield few

implications with respect to fuelwood growing. It is relatively easy for policy makers to

educate people on the benefits of fuelwood growing. Conversely, it could be relatively

difficult to pursue people to engage in fuelwood growing type agricultural activity since they

may have higher expectation with regards to employment. Eventually, they may expect

higher returns given the level of education and most part of the district being semi-urbanized.

However amidst all categories, this sample records a higher proportion (nearly 72%) for the

group of people who is qualified with O/L, while recoding nil proportions for the no

schooling and degree qualified groups (Table 1.5).



Table 1.5: Distribution of Sample by Level of Education

Level of Education Number Percentage

Cumulative

Percentage

No Schooling - - -

Grade 1 - 5 162 12.27 12.27

Grade 6 - 10 155 11.74 24.02

O/L Passed 953 72.2 96.21

A/L Passed 50 3.79 100

Degree and above - - 100

Total 1,320 100


In terms of labour market status, nearly 28 per cent of persons work as employees while

around 33 per cent remains economically inactive. Unemployed population accounts for just

3 per cent of the total persons surveyed. One of the reasons for high economically inactive

people is that a greater number of working age people pursues higher studies in full time.

Unpaid family workers and own account workers accounts for 14 per cent and 6 per cent

respectively.

Household level information reveals that the majority of people live with reasonable level of

comfort at houses. The comfort at the house is reflected through no of rooms, construction

materials, and ownership status. For instance over 85 per cent of houses cover more than 250

square feet of floor area. Similarly, nearly 91 per cents of houses are constructed using either

bricks, or cement block. Nearly 92 per cent of the total houses either constructed by owners

or inherited. Implication of these characteristics is that demand for fuelwood may dropped

gradually at household level thereby having a greater excess of fuelwood for industrial use.

Hence, it is possible to collect a sizable amount of fuelwood at household level if a proper

mechanism for collection is introduced.

In terms of land ownership, nearly 38 per cent of the households own a home garden which is

less than one-fourth of acreage. Around 31 per cent of the households own home gardens

between quarter and half of an acre, yet, more than half of the sample (around 68%) do not

exceed a half acre. Amidst the home gardens which are larger than half an acre, relatively a

higher proportion is recorded for the group of 0.75-1.0 acre, while the least is marked by the

home gardens over two acres (Table 1.6).

Table 1.6: Distribution of Home garden by Size

Plot size (Acreage) Number Percentage Cumulative Frequency

Less than 0.25 182 37.68 37.68 0.25 – 0.5 148 30.64 68.32

0.5 – 0.75 27 5.59 73.91

0.75 – 1.0 78 16.15 90.06

1.0 – 2.0 44 9.11 99.17

Over 2.0 4 0.83 100

Total 483 100




By ownership, it is evident that in most household, male own the home garden though

women engage in home garden related cleaning and production activities. Home gardens are

in most cases legally owned by the household owners while there some number of

homewards with permit and encroached. The composition in most homewards consists of

timber and food, accounting nearly 89 per cent of home gardens. Out of the total households,

25% of households own a paddy land while 4% of household own a tree-crop land.

Owning relatively a smaller home garden poses challenges to promote fuelwood growing in

home garden in several ways. First, relatively smaller home gardens may already occupied

with some species intending to provide food and/or timber. Second, it is also possible that

owners may have abandoned live fence, rather having man-made fence. Finally, possibility is

high for further land segmentation.

1.5 Energy use and energy related characteristics of the study area

Different source of energy and their uses at households in Matale District is given in the

Table 1.7. It can be clearly noticed that energy use at households mainly depends on four

sources viz. Agricultural residues, Gas, Fuelwood and Forest residues. However, it is

interesting to note that fuelwood plays a vital role in cooking and producing hot water.

Table 1.7: Household energy use by the source of energy and the purpose

Energy Source Purpose/Usage (Values are in percentage)

Cooking Commercial

Cooking

Heating/

Drying

Hot

water

Lighting Appliances

Agric. Residues 83.33 0.46 0.00 0.23

%

0.00 0.00

Electricity 8.64 0.00 0.09 7.00

%

39.74 33.06

Gas 83.33 0.46 0.00 0.23

%

0.0 0.00

Fuelwood 61.33 0.55 2.66 24.19

%

0.00 0.00

Forest Residues 54.55 0.00 0.00 1.76

%

0.00 0.00

Kerosene 15.00 1.05 0.00 1.00

%

12.35 1.20

Solar power 0.00 0.00 97.91 0.41

%

0.1 0.14

Other 0.40

0.00

0.17%

0.0

0.00

%

0.00

0.00


Note: As there are some combine usages total exceed hundred

Note: Cell values are in percentages

During the field survey, it was observed that most households, even in remote areas, possess

a gas cylinder and/or electric appliances showing their readiness to use alternative energy

sources if required. Hence, it could be expected that households gradually switching into

Electricity and Gas due to increasing opportunity cost and scarcity in fuelwood supply.

However, it is quite difficult at this stage to understand what drive alternative energy uses and

the rate of substitution among alternative energy sources. A Multinomial Logistic regression

framework could shed valuable insight into those information areas. Such information is

imperative in determining policy alternatives. Hence, it is recommended to conduct detailed

and rigorous analysis before making policy recommendations.



1.6 Sources of fuelwood

The sources of fuelwood have defined as “Fuelwood sources are in general are the places

where fuelwood is generated. In the local context, potential for fuelwood could be variable

due to many reasons which should be clearly understood especially during the planning and

management purposes pertaining to sustainable use of fuelwood as an energy source”.

It has been identified through the field survey that there are eight (08) fuelwood sources in

Matale district, while home gardens highlights as the most prominent source. Other sources

and reserved lands lie in second and third positions, respectively, while the rest shares more

or less similar contributions as fuelwood sources (Table 1.8). It is not surprising to notice the

remarkable role of home gardens as a fuelwood source because, Matale is a district in which

Kandyan home gardens which reflect high bio diversity are a major constituent. Hence, most

of the households endow with rich home gardens and therefore, they have the capacity to find

fuelwood from their own home gardens to fulfill necessary circumstances.

Relatively a large collection from Natural Forest indicates potential challenges to create a

market for fuelwood. It may be possible that households increase the use of forest for

fuelwood collection, whenever it is feasible, for selling and home consumption provided

there is a good price for fuelwood. However, it might be interesting to know what determine

the use of different sources for fuelwood collection as well as how household keep switching

to different sources for fuelwood. It is required to conduct a rigorous regression analysis in

identifying such information and it is beyond the scope of the present study. Such analysis

could shed lights on determinants of rate of utilization of alternative sources under changing

socio-economic-demographic conditions. Similarly, such analysis provides valuable insight

to identify right policy mix either to encourage or discourage the use of any source for

fuelwood collection.

Even though home gardens position at the top place as a source of fuelwood, in terms of total

amount of fuelwood collection (kg/month), four sources has beaten the position of home

gardens, while tree crop plantations and other sources are being responsible for the highest

amounts (Table 1.8).

Table 1.8: Different fuelwood sources, monthly average fuelwood collection per

household and the proportion of households that utilize different source of fuelwood

Source Mean

(kg/month)

SEM Trimmed

mean

Proportion

(p)

SD of p

Home gardens 114.4 4.7 70.4 0.93 0.01

State forests 82.9 12.0 62.7 0.06 0.04

Forest plantations 61.3 20.5 0.6 0.02 0.04

Tree crop plantations 256.1 133.9 39.4 0.04 0.04

Fallowed fields 83.6 18.9 25.5 0.04 0.04

Reserved lands 125.6 12.2 55.7 0.11 0.04

Mixed farms 72.9 33.1 22.0 0.01 0.04

Saw mills 144.4 81.2 76.0 0.02 0.04

Other sources 223.8 73.4 63.8 0.13 0.04 SEM-Standard Error of Mean, P – proportion of Fuelwood collecting households, SD- Standard

Deviation;

Note: Data has been sorted in ascending order based on proportion values.



It is also important to know what determine the amount of collection in forecasting future

demand patterns with respect to fuelwood use. There may be several factors that determine

the amount collected ranging from socio-economic to rate of substitution between work and

leisure. The traditional labour supply model often shows how household members allocate

time among alternative purposes such as farming, water collection, fuelwood collection,

attending social event, and leisure. Such decisions are often taken after considering the

marginal utility/benefit and marginal costs of engaging in tasks. Further, amount collected is

also influenced by the technical substitution of energy use at household level – consumption

and production, as well as in the general economic environment. A rigorous analysis on

amount collected and method of collection may provide valuable information on estimating

future fuelwood extraction so that it is possible to calculate to what extend fuelwood

availability will be used at household level.

Spatial variation of fuelwood collection by household at Grama Niladhari level is given in

Figure 1.3. However these are estimated (Interpolated) values based on the sample data

collected though the household survey. Spatial pattern is very acceptable as collection of

fuelwood is very low in urban areas which are located in the coastal belt in Matale district

and the values in the rural areas are relatively high, especially near forest areas located in

south east part of the district.



Figure 1.3: Spatial distribution of the household level production of production of


Spatial distribution of fuelwood collection may be driven by several factors. Among them,

the availability of sources and resources as well as socio-economic condition in a given

geography may play key roles. However, it is imperative to know to what extend these and



other factors affect the variation in fuelwood collection by GN division. A decomposition

analysis may help in identifying „endowment effect‟ and „price effect‟ of spatial variation in

fuelwood collection. It might also be important to know how people keep changing the

sources of collection against the amount of collection, however, such analysis is beyond the

scope of the present study.

1.7 Production of Fuelwood

This section examines fuelwood production by type of land uses categories (Table 1.9). Some

of the aspects viz. production by different sources and spatial distribution of total amount of

fuelwood collected in a month by a unit of household have been discussed in part 1.2.

Home gardens as a source of fuelwood has become more prominent when other lands, rubber

and tea plantations are the major land use type.

Table 1.9: Average production of fuelwood and proportion of households engaged in

collection of fuelwood by different land use types in Matale District

Land Use Mean (kg/month) SEM P SD of p

Coconut 191.7 8.3 0.21 0.17

Forests 126.8 11.0 0.67 0.09

Homesteads 78.0 4.6 0.66 0.04

Other 51.5 3.6 1.00 0.00

Paddy 147.2 6.3 0.74 0.09

Rubber 49.0 3.4 0.98 0.02

Scrub 143.5 6.2 0.53 0.10

Tea 50.2 7.5 0.97 0.03

Mean- mean amount of fuelwood collected by household (kg/month), SEM-Standard Error of

Mean, p – proportion of Fuelwood collecting households, SD- Standard Deviation

Note: Data has been sorted in ascending order based on mean values


The average production of fuelwood may partly be driven by the availability of resources as

well as the harvesting methods. In forest and other lands, amount of availability is quite

heavy compared to other sources. Similarly, collection methods in coconut and built-up area

are largely through collection of dried/fallen parts. Compared to those, species available for

fuelwood in paddy, scrub, and barren lands are limited as well as in poor quality. Hence, it is

quite natural that people collect more from Home garden, rubber, and tea lands given the

frequency of visiting those lands as well as the availability of species. However, it is

imperative to understand the determinants of fuelwood production at different land use

categories in order to encourage people to use existing sources much more efficient manner.

It might be possible that the level of fuelwood collection may be low at present due to lack of

understanding about species as well as due to use of unsustainable methods in harvesting.

There might be possibilities to increase fuelwood production by making aware or introducing

method of harvesting.



1.8 Management of different source of fuelwood

It is very important to understand the current use and the management of different sources of

fuelwood before any intervention going to be made in fuelwood production. In this context,

based on the survey, frequency of fuel wood collection, distance to different sources, time

taken to harvest, harvesting method, materials harvested and purpose of harvesting have been

considered as the aspects of management.

Frequency of collection, distance to the source and transport time

Frequency of fuelwood collection by the gender from different sources is given in Table 1.10

while average distance to the respective sources from their household is given in Table 1.11.

Mostly the females are engaged in collection of fuelwood from home gardens which is in the

closest proximity. However, when it comes to the distantly located sources such as state

forests, tree crop plantations and saw mills, it can be seen that the man‟s involvement in

collection of fuelwood becomes significant.

Table 1.10: Frequency of collection of fuelwood from different sources and gender

involvement

Source of

fuelwood

Frequency of collection*

Male Female Both

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Home gardens 1% 3% 1% 1% 5% 13% 11% 3% 7% 17% 6% 5% 1% 5% 21%

State forests - - - 4% 11% - 4% - 4% 22% - - 4% 4% 48%

Forest plantation - - - 14% 43% - - - 29% - - - - - 14% Tree crop plantations

- - - 20% 27% 7% - - - 7% 20% - - 13% 7%

Reserved lands - - - - 4% - 4% 19% 13% 34% - - 2% 9% 15%

Fallowed fields - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mixed farms - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

saw mills - - - 20% 80% - - - - - - - - - -

Other sources - 2% 2% 7% 16% - 7% 2% 14% 32% - - 2% - 16%

* 1 – Daily, 2 – Weekly, 3 – once In two weeks, 4 – monthly, 5 – once in two or more

months.


As understandable and expected lowest distance can be seen to fallowed fields from sources

of fuelwood. However longest distance recorded to the Saw mills followed by other sources

and mixed farms. It has been observed by the researchers that the male involvement of

collecting fuelwood was relatively high for Saw mills, as it records the highest distance

between the source and the destination (Table 1.11). Frequency of visiting to any given

source may reflect, in addition to what is mentioned above, management practices relating to

fuelwood collection, storage, as well as the use. A detailed regression analysis could shed

lights on what drive the frequency of use. Frequency of use certainly increases the

opportunity cost of using fuelwood as well as level of resources extraction. Hence, it is

possible to introduce new management practices to household so as to rationalize the

frequency of visiting thereby reducing the unsustainability of some sources. However, before



making policy recommendation on rationalizing the frequency of use, it is imperative to

understand what determine the frequency of visit.

Table 1.11: Average distance from household to different sources of fuelwood

District Distance to different Source of fuelwood (meters)

Home

gardens

State

forests

Tree crop

plantations

Forest

plantations

Fallowed

fields

Reserved

lands

Mixed

farms

Saw

mills

Other

sources

Matale - 1456.9 875.0 1312.5 503.3 748.7 1883.3 11785.7 2464.0

- (182.4) (218.4) (421.9) (78.4) (74.5) (890.4) (9733.9) (545.0)

Note: All distances are in meters. The values within parentheses are standard errors of mean

(SEM)


Time (min) taken to transport fuelwood to the household from different sources is given in

Table 1.12. More than an hour and forty five minutes (on the average) takes to collect and

transport fuelwood from other sources, reserved lands and tree crop plantations since they are

of remotely located sources of fuelwood. Although sawmills are the most distantly located

source, time taken for transport fuelwood is comparatively lesser that that of the previously

mentioned sources. It could be as a result of good conditions of the access roads to sawmills.

The lowest transport time reported from the home garden which is pretty straightforward.

Time taken for fuelwood transportation and/or the distance indicate a part of cost paid for

fuelwood even if people own them from nature. Most of the people opted to home garden

source for collecting fuelwood, as discussed previously, partly due to the cumbersome

process of transportation. If analyzed in details, it might be possible to estimate the implicit

cost of fuelwood for collectors. Such analysis could shed lights on implicit cost variations

among collectors thereby making them aware on alternative policy options for them relating

to energy use. Such information may rationalize the use of fuelwood thereby encouraging

people to plant fuelwood species at home garden rather than depending on source far away

from the household.

Table 1.12: Time (min) taken to transport fuelwood from various sources to the

household

District Source

Home

gardens

State

forests

Tree crop

plantations

Forest

plantations

Fallowed

fields

Reserved

lands

Mixed

farms

saw

mills

Other

sources

Matale 32.37 - 107.14 - 58.33 108.70 40.00 82.50 114.04

(8.17) - (17.76) - (21.33) (10.17) (8.42) (17.21) (12.37)

Note: All values are presented in minutes. Values within parenthesis are standard error of the

mean (SEM)


Fuelwood harvesting methods used by the collector for different sources of fuelwood

appeared in the study are given in Table 1.13. Regardless of the source, commonly practiced

harvesting method is collection of dried and fallen parts of the trees (residues), which is 51%



of the population of fuelwood collectors. However, pruning has also become a prominent

method of harvesting, where it seems more popular in tree crop plantations and home

gardens. Cutting trees for fuelwood is also observed in tree crop plantations for some extent,

while in Saw mills, fuelwood is totally harvested through offcuts even though it is not visible

in other sources (Table 1.13).

Table 1.13: Fuelwood harvesting method practiced by collectors for different sources of

fuelwood

Source Harvesting method

Residues1

Pruning Cutting Offcuts

Home gardens 41.7% 56.0% 2.2% -

State forests 83.3% 13.3% 3.3% -

Tree crop plantations 26.9% 61.5% 11.5% -

Forest plantations 91.7% 8.3% - -

Fallowed fields 83.3% 16.7% - -

Reserved lands 87.7% 8.8% 3.5% -

Mixed farms 66.7% 33.3% - -

Saw mills - - - 100.0%

Other sources 44.8% 43.3% 11.9% -

Overall 50.5% 45.0% 3.6% 0.9% 1Residues are defined as the dried wood parts (twigs, branches etc.) generated or either fallen

from the trees the source.


It is required to carry out a detailed study in fuelwood harvesting methods practices at

household level in order to (a) make it sustainable, (b) maximize the production, and (c)

make it environmental friendly. The harvesting method may be determined by several socio-

economic factors such as opportunity costs, type of species, quality of species, land-

ownership, labour availability, and level of difficulty. It is imperative to understand what

influence most in practicing a given method in diffident land use types. A regression

framework could valuable insights in understanding these information. Hence, it is highly

recommended to conduct a detailed analysis in order to identify policy options for

rationalizing harvesting methods at household level under the overall objective of

maximizing fuelwood production for industrial use.

Materials collected as fuelwood

Different plant parts collected by the households are depicted in Figure 1.4. Twigs are

collected by 42% of the households while branches and tree logs are collected respectively by

89% and 4% of the households. A 9.4%, 55.3% and 0.9% households respectively use twigs,

branches and logs exclusively. It is quite obvious that the household sector largely depends

on branches and twigs indicating the potential for industrial sector to use the stem, if not used

as timber. Difficulties in handling stem and large branches may be one of the reasons for not

using the stem at household-level. In addition, opportunity costs may also plays a key role in

limiting to twigs and branches. This reflects the fact that it is quite easier for the industrial

sector to use stem without disrupting the fuelwood use at household level. Further, it is also



possible to promote growing fuelwood for home consumption since twigs and branches could

be harvested with short time span.

Figure 1.4: Percentage households that use different materials of fuelwood

Purpose for fuelwood collection

Purpose of fuelwood collection by different sources is reported in Table 1.14. 88% out of the

96% of fuelwood collectors, use their fuelwood for cooking. 10.3% of them collect fuelwood

for selling while 1.7% of them use collected fuelwood for some sort of household based

industry. Based on the sample some households tend to sell part of the collected fuelwood

from home gardens for cottage industries.

Table 1.14: Purpose of using fuelwood collected by households from different sources of

fuelwood

Source Proportion of

collectors

Proportion of collectors by purpose of use

Cooking Selling Industry

Home gardens 69.9% 88.5% 10.6% 0.9% State forests 4.2% 85.7% 10.7% 3.6%

Tree crop plantations 3.5% 87.0% 8.7% 4.3%

Forest plantations 0.0% - - -

Fallowed fields 2.7% 83.3% 16.7% -

Reserved lands 8.5% 85.7% 12.5% 1.8%

Mixed farms 1.1% 85.7% 14.3% -

Saw mills 1.2% 100.0% - -

Other sources 8.9% 88.1% 5.1% 6.8%

Overall 95.5% 88.0% 10.3% 1.7%


As discussed, it is quite obvious from the data presented in Table 1.14 that a larger fraction of

households collect fuelwood for the purpose of cooking. In recent years, according to field

notes and observations, many household-based industries switched into Electricity and Gas

due to higher opportunity costs of using fuelwood. It is expected that, other than in few rural

households, remaining household-based industrial gradually replacing electricity and/or gas.

0.61% 9.42%

0.91%

55.32

%

1.22%

31.0%

1.52%

Twigs

Branches

Logs



1.9 Purchasing fuelwood by households

Based on the sample household survey, it can be identified that 10% of the fuelwood users

meet their requirement of fuelwood through purchasing out of which percentage of

households who purchase fuelwood, their per capita household level monthly consumption

and monthly expenditure on fuelwood in the surveyed area are given in Table 1.15. In Matale

district, highest proportion is marked by the fuelwood users who locate in homesteads.

Highest average amount of fuelwood purchased by a household (700kg) was reported in areas

where coconut is the major land use followed by areas where paddy and homesteads are

majour land uses.

Table 1.15: Percentage of households who purchase fuelwood, per capita household

level monthly consumption and monthly expenditure for purchasing fuelwood in Matale

District

Land use Buyers Amount

(kg/month/household)

Cost

(LKR/month/household)

Coconut 2% 700.0 - 1500.00 -

Forests 4% 72.5 (27.5) 2500.00 (1500.00)

Homesteads 80% 104.9 (34.6) 1323.51 (425.36)

Paddy 4% 226.0 (224.0) 802.50 (797.50)

Rubber 4% 27.5 (12.5) 2000.00 (1000.00)

Scrub - - - - -

Tea 4% 75.0 (25.0) 750.00 (250.00)

Other - - - - -

Values within parenthesis are standard error of the mean (SEM)


Frequency and sources of buying

Frequency and the source of buying fuelwood by households in area with different land uses

in Matale District are given in Table 1.16. Based on the survey data, in areas where coconut

and tea are prominent, households tend to buy fuelwoods on monthly basis, it is of an

occasional frequency for the areas where forests, homesteads, paddy and rubber are

prominent. Further, it can be noticed that fuelwood purchases are solely based on one source

for three different land uses. The source is a market, nearby vendor, and a mode of delivery

for the areas where abundant from coconut, tea, and forest, respectively. In the surveyed

sample, it was found that there is a mode of delivery for fuelwood to the households in forest

areas which should be subjected to further investigation.



Table 1.16: Frequency and the source of buying fuelwood in area with different land use

patterns

Land use Frequency of buying Source of buying

Daily Weekly Monthly Some

times

Delivered Nearby

vender

Market

Coconut - - 100% - - - 100%

Forests - - - 100% 100% - -

Homesteads - 3% 41% 57% 42% 56% 3%

Paddy - 50% - 50% 50% 50% -

Rubber - - 50% 50% - 50% 50%

Scrub - - - - - - -

Tea - - 100% - - 100% -

Other - - - - - - -


Types of fuelwood available for purchasing

Types of fuelwood available for purchasing and the person who is engaged in purchasing are

illustrated in Figure 1.5. Based on the survey results the male in the household is mostly

engaged in purchasing fuelwood. Roots, small bundles and large wood are the most

commonly available resources of fuelwood for buying for the households. About 24% of the

fuelwood available for selling as large splits, cut and splits and cut logs of which the burning

quality is high. Availability of small branches and sawdust was not visible in the market as

fuelwood.

Figure 1.5: Types of fuelwood available for purchasing and the person who is engaged

in purchasing

Following figure (Figure 1.6) depicts the availability of different fuelwood resources for

buying in different sources. It can be noticed that saw dust and large wood are not available

to purchase from the sources as depicted in Figure 1.4. Based on the results of the survey,

50% and 44% of the households get fuelwood from a nearby vendor or get it delivered,

respectively, while purchases from the market records a very minute proportion (6%).

26%

10%

8%

24%

6%

26%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Small branches

Small bundle

Large splits

Cut & splits

Large wood

Cut log

Roots

saw mill dust

Male

Female



Figure 1.6: Availability of different fuelwood resources for buying in different sources

Cost of different types of fuelwood available for purchasing is given in Figure 1.7. Apart

from the small branches, cut and splits and saw dust report the highest price while large splits

and cut log report a price less than 10 LKR/kg.

Figure 1.7: Cost of different types of fuelwood available for purchasing

1.10 Resources of fuelwood

In this context, mainly refer to the species from which fuel wood can be extracted.

Composition of the available tree species in the home gardens and its fennecs and tree species

preferred for fuelwood were examined during the survey.

Composition of tree types available in home gardens in the area under investigation is given

in Table 1.17 which potentially can be used as resources for fuelwood. Gliricedia, Teak,

Pepper, Coconut, Jack and Mango are found as mostly available tree types in the home

gardens. However, about 11% of the trees fall under other trees which were not properly

recognized by the informants.

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

Cut log Cut &

splits

Large

wood

Large

splits

Roots saw mill

dust

Small

branches

Small

bundle

Fu

el w

ood

pri

ce (

LK

R/

Kg)

Types of fuelwood available to purchase

77%

17%

25%

7%

100%

67%

44%

15%

83%

50%

93%

25%

50%

8%

25%

8%

6%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Small branches

Small bundle

Large splits

Cut & splits

Large wood

Cut log

Roots

saw mill dust

All

Delivered

Nearby vender

Market



Table 1.17: Composition of tree types available in home gardens in Matale District

Tree type RF Tree type RF

Gliricedia 26.95% Lunumidella 0.27%

Teak 17.97% Alipera/Pera 0.17%

Pepper 17.19% Tamarin 0.14%

Coconut 8.52% Sapu 0.14%

Jack 6.18% Duriyan 0.12%

Mango 3.28% Kenda 0.11%

Mahogani 1.69% Del 0.10%

Kohoba 1.30% Pihibiya 0.07%

Milla 0.98% Mara 0.05%

Sadikka 0.82% Puwak 0.05%

Cloves 0.79% Kottamba 0.02%

Rubber 0.71% Coffee 0.02%

Cashew 0.64% Aatha 0.01%

Tea 0.53% Beli 0.01%

Cinnamon 0.49% Other 10.72%


Composition of the tree species available in the fence of the home gardens in the study is

given in Table 1.18. Gliricedia and Albeesiya are apparently available in the fences with

other trees which were unable to be specified by the informants. Consequently, gliricedia

seems to be more prominent in home gardens of Matale district which can be identified as a

potentially available and a good resource of fuelwood.

Table 1.18: Composition of the tree species available in the fence of the home gardens in

the study area

Tree type RF

Gliricedia 74.24

Albeesiya 9.09

Kohoba 1.52

Asala 1.52

Teak 1.52

Other 12.12


Survey reveals that the species listed in Table 1.19 as most preferred tree types for fuelwood.

43.4% of respondents indicated teak as the most preferred species for fuelwood followed by,

cashew, cinnamon, gliricedia, mahogany, coconut and murunga. However, 31% of the

respondents prefer to other species which they were unable to specify which should be

studied further in order to identify alternative tree species preferred for fuelwood.



Table 1.19: Preferred fuelwood species by the uses in Matale District

Preferred species Preference

Teak 43.4%

Cashew 8.2%

Cinnamon 6.6%

Gliricedia 3.3%

Mahogani 2.5%

Coconut 1.6%

Murunga 1.6%

Rubber 0.8%

Kohoba 0.4%

Milla 0.4%

Other 31.1%


1.11 Knowledge and attitude on fuelwood

During the survey attention has been given for household level awareness and attitudes on

various aspects related to fuelwood viz. access to sources and resources of fuelwood,

perceptions on fuelwood collection, and conflicts during fuelwood collection and attitudes on

planting fuelwood tree species.

Access to fuelwood sources and resources

The degree of access to fuelwood in Matale district is depicted in the following figure (Figure

1.8) which indicates regardless the land use type, the access to fuelwood by the households

doesn‟t look hard. It can be seen that access to fuelwood in last two years seems easy in

rubber growing areas, scrub lands, paddy and tea growing areas in which the scenario is

depicted in Figure 1.9.

Figure 1.8: Degree of access to fuelwood by households in Matale District

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1 2 3 4 5

Per

cen

tage

Degree of hardness to access

Last two years Last ten years



Figure 1.9: Degree of access to fuelwood during last two years in some selected land use

types apparent in Matale District

Perceptions on the access expressed by informants of the survey are illustrated in Table 1.20.

About 91% of the informants have expressed their views in favor of the easy access to

fuelwood, while only about 9% of them have expressed their views for the difficulty of the

access to fuelwood in Matale District. This phenomenon is quite clear from the above graphs

and the table on the perception towards the access to fuelwood. This may be mainly due to

the significant role played by the home gardens in Matale district as a source of fuelwood.

However, it is imperative to find out what causes the difficulty, within a sectoral or macro-

level study, since possibility is quite high that the industrial sector also experiences the same

if present status quo continue without policy intervention.

Table 1.20: Perception of fuelwood collectors on the access to fuelwood

Comment Frequency

1. Difficult to find fuelwood 9.0% 9.0%

2. Easy to find fuelwood 35.1%

91.0%

3. Find fuelwood at home garden 33.7%

4. Collect fuelwood from surrounding 8.3%

5. Limited land 6.6%

6. Lack of space 6.3%

7. Easy to buy from the market 0.7%

8. Easy to find from Scrub area 0.3%


Conflicts during fuelwood collection

Evidence for conflicts during the collection of fuelwood has been reported by 2% of the

respondents who didn‟t reveal the exact reason and the nature of the conflicts.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

1 2 3 4 5

Per

cen

tage

Degree of hardness to acess

Coconut Forests Homesteads

Paddy Rubber Scrub

Tea



Perception on planting trees for fuelwood

During the survey 15% of the respondents highlighted that the need for growing plants for

fuelwood while 85% was against for planting trees for fuelwood. The ideas expressed by the

respondents for and against growing fuelwood are illustrated in Table 1.21. Lack of

willingness to grow trees might be due to several factors such as lack of lands, lack of

understanding, not valuing the benefits of fuelwood planting properly, and low costs of

alternative energy use.

Further, it was reviled during the study that 5% of the respondents have identify as growing

fuelwood is more suitable while another 5% of them like to engage in growing fuelwood.

However 38% of the respondents are against planting fuelwood species since the lands are

limited. However, it land is available they may be willing to grow plants for fuelwood.

Table 1.21: Comments expressed by the respondents for and against growing fuelwood

Comment Percentage respondents

For growing plants for fuelwood

15%

More suitable 5%

Like grow plant 5%

Must grow economical plants 4%

As income source 1%

Against growing plants for fuelwood

85%

Limited Lands 38%

Not need 16%

Easy to find fuel 12%

Unnecessary to plant 5%

No idea 3%

Unlike grow plant 3%

No time 3%

Due to health reasons 2%

No one at home to cultivate 2%

Available in own area 1%

No facilities 1%


Note: Cell values are in percentages

. 1.12 Willingness to grow fuelwood

During the survey, it was observed that 7% (s.e = 4%) of the households of Matale District

are willing to grow fuelwood if there is a sufficient demand. Based on the analysis done using

a binary logistic function it was found that level of education and household size has a

statistically significant impact on the willingness to grow fuelwood in the District. Further it

was found that income, gender and land use has no significant impact on the wiliness to grow

fuelwood. The wiliness to grow fuelwood at different levels of educations and family sizes

are depicted in Figure 1.10.



Figure 1.10: The wiliness to grow fuelwood at different levels of educations and family

sizes in Matale District

It can be noticed that with the education there is a high potential to be willing to grow

fuelwood plantations which is an important piece of information in planning fuelwood

growing programs. However for some reason those how pass only G.C.G (O/L) indicate

comparatively less willingness to be engage in fuelwood growing. Out of those who willing

to grow fuelwood have mentioned that they are willing to grow teak, cinnamon, gliricidia and

other trees of which the distribution is given in the figure 1.11. These determinants highlights

that it is possible to promote fuelwood growing only if it is a lucrative business.

Figure 1.11: Preferred clones by those who willing to grow fuelwood in Matale District

This indicates that even though they are willing to grow fuelwood, they don‟t have an

adequate awareness on fuelwood species and their primary management aspects. The

distribution of those who are willing to grow fuelwood by different land use type is given in

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Primary Gr 5-9 GCE O/L GCE A/L & above

Family Size

Pro

bab

ility

Lev

el

38%

19%

14%

5%

5%

5%

14% Teak

Cinnamen

Gliricedia

Mango

Rubber

Mahogani

Other



Figure 1.12. It can be noticed that except in tea, rubber and coconut growing areas, some

households in other land use types have expressed their willingness to grow fuelwood.

Figure 1.12: Distribution of those who are willing to grow fuelwood by different land

use type in Matale District

Expectations of those who willing to grow plants for fuelwood

Type of land for planting, expected extent for planting, needs for growing, expected benefits

and person who will engage in fuelwood plantation are given in Table 1.22. Most of those

who willing to grow fuelwood plantations are planning to accommodate some space in their

home garden with the expectation of utilizing them for their own consumption. All

households are preferred to grow fuelwood plantations as mixed lands or integrations.

However, those who are willing to grow as a mixed land is very much higher with compared

to integrations and also, they are willing to allocate more lands for mixed cultivations.

Basically, most of them highlight that training and some financial aids are required. As

depicted in Figure 1.13, training on management practices and need of new scientific

knowledge were highlighted during the survey as their training needs.

22%

35%

5%

22% 16%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

Coco

nut

Forests

Hom

esteads

Oth

er

Pad

dy

Rubber

Scru

b

Tea

Pro

port

ion

Land use



Table 1.22: Type of land used for planting, expected extent for planting, needs for growing, expected benefits and person who will

engage in fuelwood plantation in Matale District

Approach Type of land 1Average

Land

extent

Need Expected benefit Who engage in

Home

gardens

Other

lands

Upland Training Training

+ Funds

Training

+ Funds

+ Other

Income consumption Both Male Female

Integration 10% 5% - 91.4 39% 14% - 3% 39% 3% 30% 20%

Mixed land 76% 5% 5% 118.0 32% 14% - - 47% 8% 27% 23%

Monoculture - - - - - - - - - - - -

Selective

planting - - - - - - - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - - - - - -

All 86% 10% 5% 106.2 71% 29% - 3% 86% 11% 57% 43%

1 Average land extent allocated for planting by a household that is willing to grow fuelwood plantations area given in “Purchas”




Figure 1.13: Different aspect on which training is needed by those who willing to grow

fuelwood plantations

The reasons for those who are not willing to grow fuelwood plantations are given in Table 1.23.

Lack/limited space for planting have refrained most of the respondents from growing a fuelwood

plantation. About 8% of the population proclaims that limited workers is the major constraint,

while around 5% of the sample believes that fuelwood plantations are useless.

Table 1.23: Reasons for those who are not willing to grow fuelwood plantations

Reason Percent respondents

Limited lands 68.3%

Limited workers 7.6%

Useless 4.9%

Do not like 4.5%

lack of space 3.6%

Limited time 3.6%

Availability from homegarden 3.1%

Due to older people 1.3%

Busy 0.9%

No land ownership 0.9%

Lack of Money 0.9%

Due to illness 0.4%


54%

8%

38%

Need training

Need instruction

Need new scientific

knowledge



Enterprise Survey Results

1.13 Types of enterprises

The enterprise survey was conducted among 15 business enterprises covering 02 fuelwood

sellers, 02 saw mills, 02 medium-size hotels, 03 bakeries, 03 brick producers, and 03 small and

medium lime producers. The survey was conducted during the month of November 2015 and in

most cases, the owner or the manager of the enterprise happened to be the respondent to the

questionnaire and the most of them at least studied up to Grade 08. The majority of

owners/managers of the businesses was male who are between 40-60 age group. In terms of

employment, most businesses employ less than 5 workers.

1.14 Use of energy, Prices, and Supply Chain

All business entities, except 02 hotel and 02 bakeries, use fuelwood for meeting their heating

requirements. The non-users also have the experience of using fuelwood in the past and they

switched to other sources of energy, such as Gas and Electricity, due to various difficulties. Main

among them is the relative difficulties in accessing and handling fuelwoods. With regard to

hotels, the owners pointed out that it is relatively difficult to prepare some of the food items such

RICE and Kottu Rotti as well as many Sorties.

The fuelwood sellers disclosed that they primarily supply fuelwood to households. One of them

collect fuelwood by himself from own lands and other private lands while the other fuelwood

supplier heavily depend on his supply chain in receiving fuelwood where around 3 to 4 small-

scale fuelwood suppliers, on somewhat regular basis, supply fuel wood to the seller. He trade

fuelwood while operating as a general retail trader. Households as well as business entities, such

as bakeries, eating houses, and home-based food producers, buy fuelwood from saw mills

operating in neighbor-hood In terms of species, various species such as rubber, Ginikuura,

Kolon, Tekka, Gliziria have become the main fuelwood species due to the good demand from

both households as well as from business entities. In addition, various other species such as

Siyabla, Albeesia, and Maara are being traded. It is revealed that fuelwood sellers supply

whatever the species that they could find for fuelwood thereby making it difficult to distinglish.

The saw mill owners revealed that they have been experiencing good demand for off-cuts as well

as saw-dust. More importanty, they observed that the market for fuelwood and saw-dust keep

growing over the last few years. According to him, up to some four to five years ago, as infound

in many other surveyed districts, saw-dust disposal had become a major challenge for saw mill

owners, however, selling saw-dust has currently a thriving business due to major industries

keeping buying at a reasonable price per kilogram. Moreover, the owner highlighted that saw-

dust has a good demand from home-based industries such as string-hopper and Pani-Walalu

producers. The nearby bakeries, hotels, road-side eating houses, and households buy off-cuts at

the mill consist of various fuelwood species which could be found in homegardens and tree-crop

plantation.



The survey also covered 03 bakeries and only one of them is using fuelwood while the other two

hotels use gas and electricity for heating requirements. The fuelwood using bakery buy fuelwood

from saw-mills operating in the area. It was revealed that they pay up to Rs. 1,200-1,500 per load

of 250-300 Kg. These off-cuts consists of many fuelwood species such as Tekka, Mahogani,

Mango, Jack, Siyabala, and Kolon. According to the bakery owner, it has become a practice that

fuelwood using business buying fuelwood from saw-mills. One of the reasons for this is the

stable supply as well as relative easiness of handling In addition, the bakeries received fuelwood

from suppliers operating in the neighborhood on irregular basis, from land clearing and pruning

of trees in home garden and other lands.

The surveyed 03 brick producers depend entirely on fuelwood for their heating requirements.

Similar to the fuelwood using bakery, brick producers depend on saw mills for fuelwood. They

receive large quantities (around 2,000-3,000 Kg). Fuelwood is delivered by vehicles that visit the

production sites for transporting the end products. They pay, on average, around Rs. 3-4 per Kg.

In addition, they also receive fuelwood from construction sites. According to brick producers

they have not experienced in finding fuelwood. This might be due to the fact that brick producers

do not require fuelwood on daily or weekly basis and also they could easily get fuelwood

delivered using the vehicles involving in transporting their end products. At the same time, brick

producers, at least the producers visited by the survey team, are located in remote areas thereby

making it easy for them to tap fuelwood sources and resources in those areas. The survey team

also visited 03 lime factories located to close to main roads. Lime factories depend entirely

fuelwood for the heating requirements. Each lime producer is connected with several fuelwood

supplying agents. In addition, they receive fuelwood from villagers. Lime producer pay varying

rates for fuelwood mainly on the ground of heat. They concern vary much about the level of heat

and its stability since such factors heavily influence on the quality of the end product. Few

interviewed owners maintained that in recent months villagers started felling trees in their

homegardens due to economic hardships. It is witnessed some of the trees such as Mango and

Siyabala, often found in homegarden, could be found in fuelwood stores at lime producing

factories. Lime producers maintained that they have not experience any difficulty in finding

fuelwood, partly, due to the fact that some lime producing factories have closed down due to lack

of demand for their final products. However, they maintained that one of the issues is that of

finding quality fuelwood which is very much essential for the industry to maintain the quality of

the end product.

1.15 Issues and Challenges

One of the main concerns of the fuelwood users (Enterprise using fuelwood) is the rise of price

due to limited and decreasing supply and ever increasing demand. In Matale district, competition

is fierce for using most species such as Siyabala, Rabutan, Glizeria and Tekka as fuelwood

species. It was highlighted that continuous felling of trees in homegarden may affect the

fuelwood using industries due to lack of quality (in terms of hardness) fuelwood. Quality of the



fuelwood is a paramount important to guarantee the quality of the lime production. It is

witnessed that owners/manager of business enterprises use fuelwood in efficient manner

recognizing the fact that it is becoming a scarce resource. Most interviewed managers/owners

maintain that it is imperative to address the growing demand for fuelwood either in introducing

new technology and/or growing fuelwood for industry use.

Results of Key Informant and Focus Group Discussion

The team conducted five focus group discussions at Matale, Pallepotha, Ukuwela, and Yatawatta

DS offices. In addition, key informant discussions are held covering Divisional Secretary,

Additional Divisional Secretary, selected fuelwood suppliers, and knowledgeable people (shop

owners). Focus group discussions consist of Grama Niladaris, Development Officer, Land Use

and Policy Planning Officer and some general public who involve with fuelwood businesses.

Using a unique format, each key informant discussions as well as focus group discussions were

carried out.

Each discussion started with an opening speech delivered by a member of the research team.

This opening speech mainly focuses on explaining the objective of the project, information

planning to gather, and the purpose of the focus group and key informant discussion. At each

focus group discussion, each participant was given a chance to explain his/her experience with

fuelwood. Next, a general discussion is initiated to understand the geography and economy of the

DS division followed with fuelwood use, supply, and availability. The discussion is further

deepened by letting participants to discuss about the availability of lands for possible fuelwood

growing and people‟ willingness to engage in such activities. The latter part of the discussion

focuses on issues/barriers for fuelwood growing and identifying strategies for promoting

fuelwood planting in a sustainable manner. In key informant discussions, it was attempted to

understand the potential for promoting fuelwood growing, land availability, legal and

institutional barriers in fuelwood harvesting, and possible strategies for promoting fuelwood

growing.

1.16 Main Production Source/System

It was revealed thathouseholds depend heavily on homegarden and tree crop plantation in

collecting fuelwood in all the aforementioned DS division. In addition, it is revealed that forest

plantation also play a key role in supplying fuelwood. Similarly, householders collect fuelwood

from state forest and reserved lands. It is also mentioned that household use coconut shell,

coconut husks, and coconut branches along with other fuelwood species. At household level,

Rubber, Tekka, Kolon, and Gliseira are popular as fuelwood species. People live closer to

reserved forest and plantation often collect fuelwood from such sources. With respect to

business, it was revealed that traditional businesses witnessed some shortage of fuelwood supply

with the advent of some timber producing firms. As a result, it is said, a number of traditional

fuelwood users convert their technology to use electricity or Gas.



The participants also highlighted the emerging trend of small and medium size producers, who

traditionally used fuelwood, switching from fuelwood to electricity and Gas. This is largely due

to the loss of comparative advantage due to increase in relative price of fuelwood and volatility

in supply. According to the participants, available stock of fuelwood in respective DS division as

well as in the district has drastically declined due to land segmentation and conversion.

Moreover land cover drastically declined due to rapid urbanization.

In all the DS divisions, unutilized and/or underutilized lands are available at different

proportions. However, whether such lands could be used for fuelwood growing need to be

investigated properly with environmental consideration as well as ownership issues. It is pointed

out that a considerable amount of lands in rural area are unutilized/underutilized due to lack of

clear-cut land ownership.

It was revealed that timber production and fuelwood production closely connect each other and

in most cases, these two activities are carried out together. Off-cuts from the timber production

are supplied as fuelwood. In recent years, this is true for the case of rubber as well. However, in

remote areas, off-cuts from timber production do not get into market since profitability is

relatively low. Hence, either households collect such left-overs or naturally digest to the soil. The

team did not come across any single case where fuelwood production is carried out on

commercial basis. As revealed by many in the focus groups, lack of commercial growing is due

to number of reasons. These include, but not confine to, low profitability, other competing crops,

lack of awareness, and some failures in the past.

1.17 Barriers and Strategies for Promoting Fuelwood Growing

A number of barriers were identified with respect to promoting fuelwood growing. Among them

is the lack of price for fuelwood. Fuelwood prices at present is only sufficient to cover the labour

needed for collecting and transporting. In effect, land owners receive very low price or in some

cases they do not receive at all. Hence, growing trees for fuelwood is not only unpopular but also

presume as unwise. Hence, it is very important to set-up a market for fuelwood with necessary

arms.

Lack of understanding on fuelwood as an alternative energy source is quite clear among both

public and public officials. Moreover, they do not have information about present level industrial

applications. Hence, it is imperative to address this information gap. It is important to provide

information on different fuelwood growing models, potential species available, prices, and

market expansion in future. It is heard that many previous attempts in promoting Gliricedia have

failed and as a result, it would be very difficult to convass for fuelwood growing unless

comprehensive awareness campaign is launched. A fresh attempt is viewed with some suspicion,

hence, it is highlighted that either government or respected private planation

companies/industries should come forward and give the necessary confidence to planters. Some

even suggest to have a guaranteed price and other subsidies so that people tend to view that such

plantation is important.



It is also important to notice that political patronage is important to promote fuelwood growing.

It is imperative to take into account political economy consideration because political leadership,

be it national, provincial, and/or local, plays a key role in promoting or demoting of any

economic activity in developing countries such as ours. Until today, government has not spoken

about the use of fuelwood as an alternative energy source. Hence, the participants to focus group

discussion as well as key informant highlighted the fact that success and the sustainability greatly

depend of political patronage.

It is important to note the people consider relative price level before venturing into fuelwood

growth. It would be difficult to promote fuelwood growing among small holders unless system is

created to guarantee the growers that they receive considerable level of income on regular basis

as well as sufficient final income. These conditions may be very restrictive highlighting the fact

that promotion of fuelwood growing among small-holder farmers become difficult. Hence, it is

important to consider multi-level growing model; where many fuelwood growers with different

sizes. It might be quite illogical to promote fuelwood growing at household level in Matale

district given the socio-economic conditions of the district.

1.18 Issues arising from Commercial supply and Industrial applications

It was highlighted that a irreparable damage could incur if industrial applications increased

within a short period of time. Such increase in demand could endanger the surrounding

environment having far reaching consequences. It is reported that Matale district witnessed some

drop in canopy coverage due to heaving demand for timber (even small and medium size trees).

Hence, it is imperative that government come up with necessary regulations to before promoting

factories to meet their energy requirement through fuelwood.

It is reported that some of the existing rules and regulations prevent the emergence of a fuelwood

market. This especially true due to difficulties in transporting cut-offs from timber production. A

system should be introduced to create a market which only exists for certified and legal species

of fuelwood.

Projections of fuelwood potential – Matale District

1.19 Fuelwood Potential of the study area

The source and resources of fuel wood associated with the production of fuelwood at household

level was covered in the questionnaire survey of which accurate information is not available in

any secondary data source presently available. However many sources add to the national

fuelwood production which can be estimated using secondary data available. Consequently,

based on the given methodology in Part I of this report, the potential for fuelwood was estimated

for different sources based on the land use in the specified locations.



Estimations have been given two categories: (a) fuel wood which could be extracted at present

and (b) additional potential quantities if the unutilized lands are suitably developed as agro-

energy plantations. The following points should be noted:

“Forest Lands” are considered as Forest Plantations, where trees are extracted for timber

once the trees reach maturity. Off-cuts (pita palu) and branch woods are taken as fuel

wood.

The following categories of lands are considered for future developments as Agro-Energy

Plantations: Grass lands, Barren Lands, Chena Lands and Sand.

The quantities of fuel wood presently extractable or extractable in future are considered

as nil (zero) for the following categories of lands: Abandoned paddy lands, Marshy lands,

Parks, Playgrounds, “Scrubs” and unclassified lands.

The values have been estimated at DS level for Matale district base on the existing land use and

land cover which are given in Table 1.24. It can be noticed that potential for extraction of

fuelwood is very high in areas where homesteads, forests and tea respectively prominent as the

main land use in Matale District.

The spatial distribution of the fuelwood potential in Matale District is given in Figure 1.12.

There are very clear Geospatial variations and relationships with the spatial distribution of the

prominent land use pattern. However, due to various reasons the projected amounts may not be

readily extractable. By incorporating the significant covariate included in a production frontier

which could be perhaps derived from a separate study, the areas where fuelwood can be readily

and efficiently extractable can be identified.



Table 1.24: Fuelwood potential of Matale District

DSD Name Fuel Wood Presently Extractable (tonnes/y) Additional

Fuel Wood

Extractable

(tonnes/y)

Total

Coconut Homestead Other Rubber Tea Total Scrub

Ambanganga Koralaya

120.2994 1622.875 82.03798 9.894627 766.9004 2602.008 6396.531405 6396.531

Dambulla 427.3183 10322.67 3639.206 0.264997 1245.514 15634.97 153878.5441 153878.5

Galewela 2718.95 8776.234 829.9687 7.214617 3.851192 12336.22 92482.0343 92482.03

Laggala-Pallegama 0.61586 1945.922 1158.899 7.764223 768.1987 3881.399 73948.70744 73948.71

Matale 364.0773 4146.637 350.3271 0 270.8856 5131.927 16036.72125 16036.72

Naula 429.09 4114.467 962.4239 0 0 5505.981 52192.84132 52192.84

Pallepola 2222.22 3147.581 501.0457 2.677333 0 5873.524 34478.38055 34478.38

Rattota 149.997 3705.891 186.6045 20.70546 9456.167 13519.36 12702.76486 12702.76

Ukuwela 0 4328.122 230.0162 0 3418.405 7976.543 19218.1379 19218.14

Wilgamuwa 0 4753.967 823.4655 0 0 5577.432 110843.0858 110843.1

Yatawatta 518.3546 2506.431 146.6561 0 312.1516 3483.593 17499.24591 17499.25



1.14: Spatial distribution of the projection of potential for fuelwood under different land use patterns in Matale district



1.20 Land Availability

Land availability has been assessed using the GIS system developed during the study. Based

on the analysis, total available lands which have a potential for planting fuelwood species in

Matale District is about 3197.59ha. If a woody tree cover could be established in these areas

the advantage is not only from fuel wood generation but also there is a possibility for carbon

trading as well which would be much more economically benefitted. However, feasibility

studies are further needed before come to a firm conclusion regarding the establishment of

fuelwood species in these areas.

Available extents of lands (ha) by land use and DS divisions in Matale District are given in

Table 1.25 which has a potential for growing fuelwood species. These were estimated at DS

level and the spatial distribution is given in Figure 1.15.

Table 1.25 Available extents of lands (ha) by land use and DS divisions in Matale

District for growing fuelwood species

DSD Name Land Availability (ha)

Ambanganga Koralaya 40.63

Dambulla 278.13

Galewela 99.76

Laggala-Pallegama 2127.20

Matale 0.00

Naula 142.43

Pallepola 64.08

Rattota 34.08

Ukuwela 40.36

Wilgamuwa 262.63

Yatawatta 108.29

Total 3197.59

Source: Extraction from GI System used for fuelwood resource survey 2015



Figure 1.15: Spatial distribution of the available land that has a potential for growing

fuelwood species

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