Md. Danesh Miah*
Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Gazi Azizul Islam
Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Firewood preferences; Fast drying; Easy flammability; Hot flame; Physical properties of firewood
Kamrabo village under Shibpur Upazila in Narsingdi district of Bangladesh
Knowledge Management
Selection of study area and tree species Kamrabo village under Shibpur Upazila in Narsingdi district of Bangladesh was selected purposively for a study area. It lies between 24°04' and 23°06' N latitudes and 90°47' and 90°49' E longitudes. The study was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016 for the information of 12 quality criteria of fire-wood species. The climatic condition of the study area is relatively mild both in the summer and the winter. During the winter, temperature varies from 19°C to 23.7°C and in summer, it varies from 26°C to 29°C. The annual average rainfall of this area is 2376 mm and the soil of the study area is formed by grey silty complex clay for the young Brahmaputra floodplain. The areas under the Narsingdi district are also occupied by compacted, pale brown, sandy soils on the ridges and shallow, dark grey, compact clays overlying sand in the shallow basins. Topsoils are acidic in nature when dry but near neutral when flooded. Sub-soils are often slightly acidic at the top but all become moderately alkaline below (BBS 2013). The village is plentiful of the homestead and natural forest. The local people of Narsindi district largely depend on firewood for meeting their energy demand. The dominant species in the area are Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Mehegoni (Swietenia mahagoni) and Mango (Mangifera indica) (BBS 2013; Miah and Hossain 2002). A socioeconomic survey was conducted in the study area covering the 50% household to find out the preference of firewood. Branches of thirty-six distinct trees of most preferred firewood species were selected for the analysis of physical characteristics in the laboratory.
Selection of the respondents The study was conducted among five communities (Para) in Kamrabo village under Shibpur Upazila in Narsingdi district which were Pal para, Jhulhartek, Gazi bari, Bhuiya bari, and Saiyod para. There were 160 households in the village. Fifty percent (80) of this total household were selected randomly. A direct interview with the semi-structured questionnaire was conducted in households. Head of the household was the respondent of the study. Among the respondents, the study found that about 58% were female and 43% were male. Although the households in the study area are generally maledominated, a recent employment trend has changed the structure of the household. Presently, most of the male household heads live abroad for their jobs. Hence, the respective housewives play a vital role in the maintenance of household activities. They work as operational head of the households. So, most of the respondents were found female. In the survey, there were respondents of different ages. The highest numbers of respondents (34%) were in age between 30 to 40 years and only about 3% respondents were in age between 60 to 70 years. At present most of the people of Bangladesh are middle-aged and they have the ability to contribute for economic development of the country. In the study, there were varieties of occupations. The occupations of respondents were the housewife, farmer, local businessmen, service holder, expatriate, and others. The highest numbers of respondents (58%) were the housewife and only about 3% respondents were expatriate.
The present condition of the biomass fuel use In the study, about 51% household relied on their own land for firewood collection. On the other hand, about 20%, 15%, 6%, 4%, and 3% households depend on own land and neighbor land, local market and own land, neighbor land, other land, and local market, respectively. Only 1% household depends on the local market and neighboring land for meeting their firewood demand. Local people collect firewood from their own land generally homestead forest. Miah et al. (2003) reported that the rich household obtained 44% firewood from homestead while poor household collected 74% firewood from secondary forests. Akther et al. (2010c) also reported that 56% households collected biomass from their own land while 18% households collected from their neighbors’ land. Local people use different parts of firewood for cooking purpose. In the survey, it was found that the highest numbers of households (63%) used branches as firewood while about only 5% household used the trunk as firewood for cooking. The study in the rural area in Noakhali district of Bangladesh showed that about 70% of rural people used branches as fuel from their own homestead and agricultural land. Akther et al. (2010c) also reported that 63% rural households used branches as firewood and highest portion of biomass energy as branches (86%) used for cooking purposes in the rural area of Bangladesh.
Environment, Earth and Ecology Vol. 4 (2020), 15 – 30
Journal