Abstract:
This study's primary goals were to estimate the amount of wood utilized for fuel in Silkamba Town and the four rural Kebele surrounding the Langano Forest and Woodland Areas, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of charcoal manufacturing and its impact on deforestation. The information was obtained through an urban household energy survey, a rural Kebele, a three-month follow-up research on the flow of charcoal and firewood into the town, and an estimate of the wood production per hectare made using sample trees and plots. Descriptive statistics, SPSS, and manual analysis were used to analyse the data. According to a survey on domestic energy sources, firewood and charcoal were the most commonly used domestic energy sources in the majority of households. Using firewood from the Langano forest and wood land, households in the study regions utilized more than 157.5 quintal of charcoal for cooking and 619 bundles of wood for making enjera each month on average. Due to the study locations, each person used roughly 1.1 quintals of charcoal and 4 bundles of firewood per month. According to a recent survey, the Langano forest only covers 215 hectares. The majority of fuelwood harvesting was the reason for destruction on the Langano forest and wood land. The current rate of deforestation due to fuelwood supply is estimated at 42.24 hectares of forest per year. This results were discussed from impacts of firewood and charcoal production and consumption on natural forests, it is becoming to reduce agricultural productivities, biodiversity lose and climate change etc. Therefore, the current rate of deforestation continues, unless urgent solution like improved charcoal production technologies, firewood and charcoal utilization efficiencies and enhancing alternative energy sources as well as promoting sustainable forest management
