Subhankar Gurung, Aditya Moktan Tamang, Januka Chettri and Ashita Rai
Abstract
Firewood serves as a vital energy source for cooking and heating in many rural regions, but the impacts of harvesting firewood from forests are often overlooked. In numerous mountainous regions, impoverished communities rely solely on fuelwood sourced from natural forests as their primary energy source. Within Sikkim, rural families heavily rely on firewood for energy. Households of Mamlay watershed, Sikkim were divided into three categories according to their socioeconomic condition by the Government of Sikkim, India. Such households were surveyed to identify patterns of firewood extraction and use, species preference, and sources of extraction. Face-to-face interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data on many facets of the use and extraction of firewood. Every household included in the survey relies on firewood as their main fuel source for cooking and heating water. Utilizing firewood as a cost-free resource provides significant economic benefits to the communities, serving both as a tradable commodity and supporting income-generating endeavours like cooking pig feed and producing wine. Twenty-five plant species are used as firewood and the most preferred way of extraction is cutting dry branches. The most preferred species are Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth, Schima wallichii Choisy., Macaranga postulate King., Litsaea polyantha Juss. & Engelhardtia spicata Lechen ex Blume. Although firewood is extracted from 93% of the private land the extraction of firewood from 43% of the forest area cannot be overlooked.