Non-forest fuelwood acquisition and transition in type of energy for domestic uses in the changing agricultural landscape of the Upper Citarum Watershed, Indonesia

Despite of energy transition — from traditional to commercial fuels — that has been occurring in the last three decades, the role of non-forest fuelwood in fulfilling domestic energy in rural areas of Indonesia is still significant. A study on fuelwood use and the contribution of agroecosystem components in fulfilling fuelwood requirements was carried out in the Citarum Watershed, a watershed that has been experiencing very rapid development in agricultural and industrial sectors in West Java, Indonesia. The study examines the importance of non-forest sources of fuelwood for domestic energy and estimates the subsidy gained from fuelwood use (in kerosene equivalent and US$ equivalent). The results indicate that, even though there has been a transition in the type of energy used in the study area, fuelwood use is still significant. Although, the agricultural landscape in the watershed is rapidly changing, the existing agroecosystem components, bamboo-tree gardens in particular, still play a substantial role in fulfilling the fuelwood requirements of the local people. The study concludes that the decline of non-forest fuelwood sources will affect considerably the magnitude of ‘free’ energy subsidy which in turn will affect the livelihood of the villagers, especially those with lower income. Therefore, to ensure the sustainability of fuelwood supplies from the present agroecosystem components, efforts in maintaining these sources should be undertaken.