Comparative Analysis of Wood Fuels Consumption in Households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Analysis of the consumption of wood energy from wood-based fuels in households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the main purpose of this paper. A survey on wood fuel consumption was first conducted using the Wood fuel Integrated Supply/Demand Overview Mapping (WISDOM) methodology of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). These results were compared to the results published by official statistics. The survey was conducted in ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely in 5,475 households, 2,669 urban and 2,806 other households. The results of the research showed that wood fuels were used in 516,334 or 71.59% of the total number of households. Firewood was used in 497,139 households or in 96.28% in relation to the total number of households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that used wood fuels. The surrounding countries showed similar trends. The estimated consumption of firewood in households using the WISDOM methodology is 4.10 (when compared to the official statistical data on total felled timber in and outside public and private forests) to 4.93 times higher than the official statistical data (when compared to the official statistical data on the sale of firewood in state forests), i.e. 4.52 times higher in average. This research indicates the need to apply a new methodological approach for the collection and analysis of data on the consumption of wood fuels in households for energy purposes. Some of the shortcomings of the existing official statistics are the neglect of statistically unregistered production of firewood from private forests and from areas not categorized as forests and forest land, as well as incomplete coverage in terms of conducting a survey on consumption of all categories of wood fuels and all major consumer categories. All the aforementioned, in addition to the economic consequences, has a negative impact on the fulfilment of commitments arising from international agreements in terms of the share of energy from renewable sources and greenhouse gas emissions in total energy consumption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, incomplete knowledge of the realistic supply and consumption of wood fuels can affect the reliability of planning documents in forestry, with many negative consequences for sustainability of a complex forest ecosystem.