| dc.description.abstract | Satellite images for the years 1987, 1997, 2002 and 2017, and questionnaire surveys were used to
assess energy sources and demands as well as the impacts of wood fuel use to forest cover changes
in Meru and Mwanga Districts. The major energy sources identified include cow dung cake,
firewood, charcoal, liquefied petroleum gas and biogas. The total energy demands from these
sources were 1400 (in Meru), 6289, 724 and 21 kg per day, respectively. The amount of biogas
was not quantified since the reactors were constructed locally with no reading meter. Analysis
from Landsat images showed variations in forest cover. The areas covered with forests in Meru
were found to be 1510, 1723, 1612 and 1327 ha for 1987, 1997, 2002 and 2017, respectively. The
changes observed in Mwanga District were 31705, 31988, 17939 and 30960 ha for 1987, 1997,
2002 and 2017, respectively. From the findings it was observed that, the ongoing use of wood fuel
in semi-arid areas of Meru and Mwanga could deplete forests completely. The study concludes
that charcoal and firewood consumptions are real threats to the long-term persistence of forests in
Tanzania and proposes the use of renewable energy such as biogas for alleviating forest losses | en_US |
