RESIDENTIAL FUELWOOD CONSUMPTION IN JOS METROPOLITAN AREA, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Consumption of fuelwood has been identified as one of the most significant causes of forest degradation globally. Though fuelwood remains the principal energy service provider to many rural households in Nigeria, a knowledge gap still remains in understanding the fuelwood situation in urban areas. This study examined the extent of dependence on fuelwood as a source of domestic energy among households in Jos metropolis. Two hundred households were selected, through stratified random sampling from: Angwan Daba (Bukuru), Rahol-Kanang (Rayfield), Rusau (Farin Gada), Angwan Rukuba and Tudun Wada. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed and administered to 200 household heads to collect data. The data was analyzed using simple descriptive statistics while Chi-Square was used to test the hypothesis formulated. Results have revealed that most of the respondents: were females (57%); within the active and productive age group of 41-50 years (42%); attained formal school (about 97%); and responsibly married (84%). About two-thirds (59%) of the respondents have 8 household members; with most (44%) of the respondents engaging in petty trading, and three-quarters (75%) of the interviewees earned between N100,000 and N200,000 as annual income. Further, about 78% of the respondents used fuelwood regularly as a source of domestic energy; and majority (75%) of them had been using it for the past twenty-one years; majorly for heterogeneous (53%) activities such as cooking, heating, food preservation and small-scale business; but only 5% of the respondents used a "good fireplace" (ventilated kitchens with enclosed flame hearth). The frequently (92%) identified reasons for households' dependent on fuelwood was its reliability, availability and cost; as modern energy sources (89%) are opposite. Overall, most (mean=86%) of the respondents agreed that many hazards are associated with using fuelwood for domestic chores; yet only 3.5% of them had ever planted trees to reduce the menace. The Chi-Square test was computed and the value obtained is greater than the table value (X²=1.429>p-value=0.001at alpha 0.05, df=18), hence it was concluded that fuelwood consumption causes significant environmental problems. The paper recommended the need for mass public enlightenment campaigns on tree planting, and the provision of modern alternatives to fuelwood at subsidized rates to the people.