The role of forest status in households’ fuel choice in Uganda

In this study, we investigate how households' choice of energy source is influenced by the status of the local forest resource. We assume that households choose between clean fuels (e.g., kerosene, LPG, solar, and electricity), dirty biobased fuels (e.g., firewood, animal dung, crop residues, and charcoal), and mixed fuels. We integrate socioeconomic data with high-resolution satellite data on forest conditions from the Uganda National Panel Survey. The findings from a random-effects multinomial logit model indicate that households in vegetated areas are 6–7% less likely to rely solely on dirty biobased fuels, and 6–8% more likely to use mixed fuels, compared to those in non-vegetated areas. A larger forest stock is more strongly associated with lower use of firewood than charcoal. A possible explanation for the findings is the presence of policies for forest conservation and enhanced forest property rights, which improve forest conditions and limit opportunities to collect firewood. Given households' dependence on forest-based fuels, such policies could need to be modified to secure households’ access to these fuels.