A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1997

Based on the secondary data, major issues related to the demand, supply, and sustainable development of fuelwood resources were investigated, taking Xixia County, a typical foothill area in central eastern China as a case. Data collected from various sources were assembled in a hierarchical format with several different levels as sector, subsector, end-use, device, and energy intensity, for the projection of future fuelwood demand based on the development trend, or the changing driving variable that affect fuelwood requirements. Fuelwood supply capacity and potentiality is then assessed based on the land inventories and its possible changes, the wood stocks and yields in different land types, and the accessibility of various fuelwood sources. The demand and supply situation on wood, including fuelwood and all the other types of wood, in different subareas were then analyzed to check the surplus or deficits situation between yields and demand for the evaluation of fuelwood use sustainability. LEAP model for energy and environment planning was used for the fuelwood analysis in the case areas. The output results from the model shown that in the remote mountainous areas of Xixia, surplus of wood yields were found, while obvious wood deficits were found in other subareas. The general situation of the case area is evaluated, and intervention options were then suggested for the sustainable development of fuel wood resources.