Fuelwood dependence and alternative energy sources in Ethiopia: a systematic review
Binega Derebe, Asmamaw Alemu, Zebene Asfaw
Abstract
In many developing countries, fuelwood is the main energy source because it’s cheap for cooking, lighting, and heating. A review of 72 papers published after the year 2000 were used to examined fuelwood and other energy sources for cooking and lighting, and identified firewood and charcoal plant species in Ethiopia. The review thoroughly searched in Google Scholar, Research4life, Scopus/Elsevier, Research Gate, EMBASE, and PubMed using various keywords. The records noted each paper’s title, abstract, keywords, authors, year, location, fuel type, energy use, plant species, and fuel consumption by biogas users and non-users. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26, R studio and Excel 2019. Electricity is the most preferred lighting source in Ethiopia, followed by kerosene, dry cells, and candles. Fuel consumption for lighting differed significantly between fuel types, but there was no significant difference in fuel source preferences for lighting between rural and urban areas. Firewood is the most popular fuel for cooking in Ethiopia, followed by charcoal, animal dung, and electricity. The study found that fuel consumption for cooking varies significantly between different fuel types, but there was no significant difference in fuel source preferences for cooking between rural and urban areas. The review compared fuel consumption between households using biogas and those not using biogas. Non-biogas users consumed significantly more firewood and charcoal per household than biogas users. Significant differences in fuel consumption were observed for both biogas users and non-biogas users. A wide variety of plant species are used for firewood and charcoal production across Ethiopia, with the central region exhibiting the highest diversity. The study found that electricity is the preferred lighting source in Ethiopia, while firewood remains the dominant fuel for cooking. To mitigate the negative environmental, economic, and health impacts associated with traditional fuel sources, the study recommends promoting modern and environmentally friendly alternatives, such as electricity and biogas.