Fuelwood Collection in North-eastern Zimbabwe: Valuation and Caloric Expenditures

The value of forest resources in developing countries has been the focus of considerable research and is significant in developing policies for resource use. In this paper the value of forests in terms of fuelwood provision is examined by constructing a behavioral model of choice of fuelwood collection site for two communal areas in Zimbabwe. In the research areas, fuelwood sales are banned and labour is rarely hired for collecting fuelwood. The impacts of changes to the forest resource base are evaluated by assessing the changes in caloric expenditures made by local people. This measure of value may be relevant to households in developing countries and may provide insights for policy analysis. The results show that the “cost” of losses of fuelwood sites may be a significant percentage of the total caloric intake of the village women.