URBANIZATION OF POVERTY AND THE DEMAND FOR FUEL WOOD CONSUMPTION: A CASE STUDY OF ASABA, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA DR. MONDAY OHI ASIKHIA

Transcription

1 URBANIZATION OF POVERTY AND THE DEMAND FOR FUEL WOOD CONSUMPTION: A CASE STUDY OF ASABA, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA DR. MONDAY OHI ASIKHIA Department Of Geography and Regional Planning, Faculty Of Social Sciences University Of Benin, Benin City & EYOWEL EVANGELYN FIKIRAH Department Of Geography and Regional Planning, Faculty Of Social Sciences University Of Benin, Benin City BY 32 Abstract This paper examines urban poverty and the demand for fuel wood consumption in Asaba, the Delta State capital. The paper shows the incidence of urban poverty in the study area, the percentage of households using fuel wood as a source of energy, the availability of other alternative sources of energy, and the implications of the usage of fuel wood for the environment. Questionnaires were administered using stratified random sampling. The data generated were fed into the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The findings from the analysis show that the demand for fuel wood is relatively high in Asaba due to the presence of urban poor and the cost of other alternatives. It is therefore recommended that the various alternative sources of energy be made available and affordable so as to reduce the dependence on fuel wood as a source of energy. Background to the study Urbanization simply defined is the shift from a rural to an urban society, and it involves an increase in the number of people in urban areas during a particular year. It is the outcome of social, economic, and political developments that lead to urban concentration and growth of large cities, changes in land use, and transformation from rural to metropolitan pattern of organization and governance and the resulting growth of urban areas (Microsoft, Encarta, 2009). The use of fuel wood or biomass as a source of energy is a rural habit. However, this has found acceptance in urban areas, thereby leading to the harvest of both dry and wet wood, as against the mostly harvested dead woods, dry branches and twigs. In the same vain Makeme (2007), argues that in Africa, the pressure on forest resources has increased since the oil shocks of the 1970s. This is mainly because many poor urban dwellers previously using kerosene for cooking have resorted to fuel wood. Nigeria is using 80 million cubic metre (43.4 x 109kg) of fuel wood annually for cooking and domestic uses (Sambo, 2005). With the continuous growth of the country's population and indeed that of urban areas and uncontrolled urbanization, this trend is becoming a threat to the environment, particularly the rural areas from where the fuel wood is harvested, with the rate of harvest and utilization higher than its natural regeneration or replenishment. The demand for fuel wood in Nigeria's urban areas has been increasing, due to the fact that other sources of energy are experiencing hike in prices. Between 1991 and 1994, kerosene and cooking

2 gas rose about 900% (Momah and-soaga, 1999). Today, it has risen by more than 1000%. This has pushed many households down the energy ladder. They can no longer afford to buy kerosene and cooking gas and hence they resort to the use of fuel wood. At, present, fuel wood constitutes the main source of fuel for cooking by over 76% of the Nigerian population. According to Olusegun (2009), Nigeria was consuming 262,783 metric tonnes of fuel wood compared with 7,210 tonnes for South Africa and 35,313 tonnes for Thailand. While our dependence on fuel wood is rising in Nigeria, it has virtually seized in the other two countries. Statement of the research problem Fuel wood consumption is a deplorable manifestation of poverty in urban areas and it portrays a very low quality of life. According to Anderson (2006), between 1990 and 2000, Nigeria lost an average of 409,900 hectares of forest, equal to an annual deforestation rate of 2.38%. Additionally, between 2000 and 2005, Nigeria lost 35.7% of its forest cover or around 6,145,000 hectares. Some of the factors causing fuel wood demand in urban areas include rural-urban migration, rapid urbanization, poverty, hikes in prices of kerosene and cooking gas etc. The increasing rate of rural - urban migration implies that the poor are found more and more in the cities hence poverty is becoming urbanized. Deforestation can have a wider implication on humans, plants and animals that depend on the forest/wood-land habitat for food and shelter. Increasing deforestation can also make a habitat more predisposed to erosion and desert encroachment (Darkoh, 1993). Another effect of deforestation is the release of stored carbon into the atmosphere; this has wider implications for the global climate system and the world at large. This study therefore examines the relationship between urban poverty and the demand for fuel wood consumption in a rapidly growing Nigerian City, Asaba. Study Area The city of Asaba, the capital of oil rich Delta State of Nigeria is strategically located on a hill at the western edge of river Niger. The historic river Niger is a trans-african link beginning from West Africa and down into the Atlantic ocean. Asaba forms a connector between western, eastern and northern Nigeria through the river Niger from the north and via the Asaba Niger Bridge, an east west link and a Nigerian landmark. The climate of Asaba is characterized by two seasons: dry (November-March) and wet season (April- October). Asaba has an annual rainfall of 1500mm mm. The mean monthly temperature is 28.3 C and a maximum temperature of 37.3 C. The mean monthly soil temperature at 100cm depth is 28.3 C and monthly sunshine is 4.8bars (Asaba Meteorological Station, 2008). The natural vegetation of Asaba is characterized by three distinct layers, the ground layer, middle layer and top layer. The ground layer is made up of herbs, shrub and grasses with height of 5-6 meters. The middle layer consists of tall trees of meters high and heavy dark green foliage, with the branches of the trees forming a continuous canopy. The top layer consists of trees of 30 metres and above. Objectives of the Study The objectives of this study are: 1. To examine the incidence of urban poverty in the study area. 2. To examine the usage of fuel wood as a source of energy by households in the study area. 33 Universal Journal on Sustainable Developmental Research (USDR), Vol.9, No. 4, December, 2012

3 3. To investigate the reasons/factors responsible for various urban dwellers substituting fuel wood energy for other cooking fuels. 4. To examine the implications of the usage of fuel wood as a source of energy for the environment of the study area and make 5. recommendations for the effective consumption and utilization of fuel wood energy. Data presentation, analysis and interpretation A total of 280 copies of questionnaires were administered in the study area out of which, 268 was returned. Sex structure of respondents Figure 34 1: Sex of respondents Sex structure is an expression of male-female proportions of the total respondents used for the study. Of the 268 respondents used for the study, 98 of them were males representing 36.57% of the total respondents while 170 of them were females representing 63.43% of the total respondents.

4 Figure 2: respondent's income 35 Figure 1 shows that 34.3% of the total respondents earn between Nl,000-N18,000, while 39.5%, and 20.9% of the total respondents earn between N19,000-N36,000 and N37,000-N54,000 respectively. Only few (5.2%) of the respondents earn between N55, 000-N72, 000. This is an indicator of urban poverty.

5 Table 1: Sources of household energy 36 Cooking Gas Frequency Percent Kerosene Electricity Firewood Others Total Table 1 shows that, 31.7% of the total respondents use cooking gas as their source of energy, while 46.6% of the total respondents use kerosene as their source of energy. 3% of the total respondents use electricity as their source of energy in their homes, while 11.2% of the total respondents use firewood as their source of energy. This shows a relatively high usage of firewood in an urban setting.

6 37 Figure 3: Reason for choosing major source of energy Affordable Always available Convinienee Less time consuming REASON FOR CHOOSING MAJOR SOURCE OF ENERGY A total of 38.1% of the total respondents were of the view that their reason for choosing their source of energy is because it is affordable, while 16% were of the views that it is always available. 36.6% of the total respondents were of the view that it is convenient, only 6.3% of the total respondent were of the view that it is less time consuming (see Figure 3). Test of hypothesis In verifying the hypothesis which states that: Ho; "income is not a function of dependence on fuel-wood as a source of energy consumption in Asaba"the Pearson Product Moment Correlation test was performed.

7 38 Correlation RESPONDENTS INCOME Pearson Correlation RESPONDENTS INCOME 1 DO YOU THINK FUELWOOD IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN ASABA.879** Sig. (2-tailed).000 N DO YOU THINK FUEL Pearson Correlation WOOD OR FIREWOOD A MAJOR SOURCE OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION N IN ASABA **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). ** The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient table above shows that there is a significant relationship between income and fuel-wood as a major source of energy consumption. A coefficient of.879** indicates that there is a strong positive relationship between income and fuel-wood as a major source of energy.

8 Implications of the usage of fuel-wood for the environment. 39 IMPLICATIONS OF THE USAGE OF FUEL WOOD ON THE ENVI... Deforestation Climate change Bothers The respondents have different views on the implication of the use of firewood on the environment. 38.1% of the total respondents strongly believed the environment is experiencing deforestation. While 38.4% of the total respondents strongly believed that it has an impact on the ozone layer thereby causing climate change, only few (23.5%) of the respondents were for other reasons (see Figure 4). Table 3: Implications of the usage of fuel wood on the users? Respiratory problems Air Pollution Frequency Percent Lungs disease Others Total

9 A total of 28% of the total respondents strongly believed that the major problem faced in the usage of firewood is respiratory problem due to the fumes. While 25.4% of the total respondents believed that it causes air pollution, 22% of the total respondents were of the view that it causes lung disease. 24.6% were of the view that it causes eye problem (see Table 3). Figure 4: Factors causing increase in demand for fuel-wood 40 Recently there has been increase in the demand for firewood, and 37.7% of the total respondents were of the opinion that this is due to the hike in price of alternative sources of energy, while 45.9% of the total respondents were of the view that it is due to scarcity of alternative sources of energy. 6% of the total respondents strongly believed that it is only during festive periods that there is increase in the demand for firewood. (See Figure 4)

10 Table 4: Reasons why various Urban Dwellers substitute Fuel Wood for other Sources 41 Frequency Percent Poverty Scarcity of alternative sources Restaurants and commercial activities Others Total Table 4 shows that 32.1% of the total respondents strongly believed that urban dwellers substitute fuel-wood for other sources of energy because of poverty. While, 36.6% of the respondents believed that it is due to scarcity of alternative sources of energy, only 31.3% of the respondents attributed it to the activities of restaurants and commercial outlets. Findings This study has shown that 34.33% of the sampled population of Asaba receive below the minimum wage of N18, 000 per month. This shows that there is poverty in the study area. The reasons why majority of the urban dwellers substitute fuel wood as a source of energy in the study area is because of the cost and scarcity of other alternative sources of domestic energy such as cooking gas and kerosene. This is an irony, because Asaba is the state capital of the oil rich Delta State, which is one of the major producers of oil in Nigeria, yet the by-product of oil is scarce and unavailable, not only in Asaba, but in Nigeria as a whole. Also, hikes in prices of kerosene, and cooking gas, during the period of scarcity are a popular trend, thereby dragging the average income household down the energy ladder. Majority of the urban dwellers in Asaba considered fuel wood to be efficient as a source of energy despite the fact that they were aware of the implications that fuel wood has for the environment and their health. They were aware that fuel wood usage could cause deforestation, desertification, and climate change, among others. Recommendations From these research findings, the following recommendations are made. Policy measures that will promote the introduction of technologies based on renewable energy sources should be put in place. Government should carry out radical awareness programmes that will enlighten the population on the implication of fuel wood consumption on the environment such as climate change, loss of biodiversity etc. The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) should embark on and enforce strict rules that would encourage afforestation. Conclusion This study examined urban poverty and the demand for fuel wood consumption in Asaba, Delta State. It was found that fuel wood is a major source of domestic energy due to the incidence of poverty and scarcity of other alternative sources. The demand for fuel wood has placed a strain

11 on the forests from where this wood is harvested, especially the rural areas. Alternative sources of domestic energy such as cooking gas and kerosene should be made readily available. It is impossible to completely stop all households from using fire wood as a source of domestic energy because of the norms and tradition of the people. Therefore, even if the prices of alternative sources of energy are reduced and made readily available, firewood would still be a source of cooking energy. References Darkoh, M. B. K 'Desertification: the scourge of Africa, Tiempo, 8, 16. Ezzati M and Kammen D. (2001). "Indoor Air Pollution from Biomass Combustion as a Risk Factor for Acute Respiratory Infections in Kenya: An Exposure-Response Study". Lancet; vol.358 (9281), pp International Energy Agency (IEA) (2006). "Energy for cooking in Developing Countries" in OECD/IEA (2006). World Energy Outlook Focus on key topics (chapter 15). Pp Makeme O.M. (2007). Adoption of improved stoves and deforestation in Zanzibar: Management of Environmental Quality. An International Journal DOI / Microsoft, Encarta, 2009 Momah S, Soaga J (1999). Biomass Energy Consumption in Nigeria: Integrating Demand and Supply. Nigeria Journal of Renewable Energy, 71: Olusegun K.A. (2009). Threats to Nigerian Environment: A call for positive action. Paper presented at the 7 th Chief S.L. Edu. Memorial lecture held at Ondo town hall. August 13, Omuta G.E.D (2011). Poverty Burden, Energy Consumption and Environmental Stress: A peep into the use of Biomass fuels in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ouedraogo B. (2005). "Household Energy Preferences for Cooking in Urban Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso": Elsevier Article in Press in Energy Policy. Sambo A.S. (2005). Renewable energy for rural development: the Nigerian Perspective. ISESCO: Science and Technology Vision 1,12-22.