Roughly about half of global roundwood removals is wood fuel. However, for many countries it is difficult to produce statistics on the production and use of wood fuel. Collection of fuel wood data is challenging in many countries. In FAOStat, as the central global database for forest products statistics, as of 2019, only for 72 of 217 countries non-repeating and hence informative data was provided. For most of the countries, FAO provides estimates based on a model developed in 2005. The aim of this paper was to improve these data estimates.
To do so, a modelling framework was setup. All available information on wood fuel was brought together by the authors collective, led by colleagues from FAO. More than 2,000 data points of wood fuel and wood charcoal production and consumption from 1999 to 2019 were researched. A conceptual model of drivers of wood fuel production and consumption built the basis for modelling. The model itself was programmed as a flexible, non-linear machine-learning approach with the aim to predict per capita wood fuel demand.
Results show, e. g., for 2019 global wood fuel removals that are about 30% higher than previous estimates. The new estimates are 50% higher in Africa and 40% higher in Asia, 10% lower in the Americas and 20% lower in Europe. Very likely, the modelling approach and estimated data will improve our understanding of global wood fuel production and consumption and related analysis.
Steel EA, Stoner O, Podschwit H, Paz B, Bombelli I, Simon SL, Peterson E, Weimar H, Glasenapp S, Sikkema R, Elhassan N, Bailis R, Steierer F, Souza LR (2025) Global wood fuel production estimates and implications. Nature Comm 16:6227, DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-59733-y
https://literatur.thuenen.de/digbib_extern/dn069897.pdf- Projectsite
Analyses of forest products markets
