بروف ود البلد و أهل التخصص و الهتمون بقضايا الطاقة

Forests and energy consumption in Sudan
In 1996 according to the results of the Forests Products Consumption Survey (1994), Sudan consumed energy equal to five million tons of oil equivalent (TOE). 77.8% of this was in the form of wood fuel (firewood, charcoal ), 8.4% from non-woody biomass, 6.5% as petroleum based products and 7.3% as electric power
Growing demand for energy with rapid population growth was clearly reflected by the over-exploitation of natural resources and deterioration of forests lands , the rate of deforestation reached an alarming value , according to 1993 population census , Sudan has a population of almost 26 million with a high annual growth rate of 2.8- 3.0.Forests provide about 80% of the total energy demand in the country. (15 million cubic meters of wood) in form of firewood and charcoal.

Population was considered as a primary factor in the forest deterioration by :


1. Rapid population growth and hence increasing demand on forests(fuelwood, charcoal & building material)
2. Expansion of mechanized cultivation in order to supply the increasing demand of agricultural products
3. Over- grazing due to increasing the animals number beyond the carrying capacity of the range land

Why dependency on forest
1. Low economic living standard of rural people
2. Lack of alternative energy
3. Very limited use of non-conventional energies
4. Demand for local construction material at cheap rates
5. Limited use of energy -saving devices
6. Lack of understanding of the importance of forest & environmental conservation specially among charcoal makers and wood traders
The total population of Sudan has increased from 20.59 million in 1983 to 24.94 million in 1993. The population density increased from 8.2 persons per-km2 in 1983 to 11.24 in 1993 with a density of 390 person-km2 in potentially arable land.
Results showed the great dependence of the Sudanese population on forestry particularly energy, e.g. the total amount of wood for various sectional purposes is 15.7 million cubic metres, 87.5% of it is used as firelwood and charcoal

The tabls below illustrate this fact
Table (1) Energy consumption by type

Energy source Woody-Biomass Non-woody biomass Petroleum Electricity
% 78.8 8.4 6.5 7.3
Source : FNC, 1995







Table (2) Wood consumption by the different sectors

State Population
Total consumption
M3 Per capita Consumption
M3
Northern 536390 289076 0.54
River Nile 892940 413508 0.46
Red Sea 793588 430303 0.54
Kassala 1256149 843433 0.67
Gedarif 801606 566458 0.71
Khartoum 3840872 2901515 0.76
Gezira 2792476 1775065 0.64
Sinnar 1105945 913237 0.83
W. Nile 1299439 745538 0.57
B. Nile 494969 507595 1.03
N. Kordofan 1352985 1172257 0.87
W. Kordofan 958565 817636 0.85
S. Kordofan 828567 443949 0.54
N. Darfur 1131796 1002967 0.89
W. Darfur 1548714 1257339 0.81
S. Darfur 1956519 1691709 0.86
Total 21591020 15771485 0.73
Source : FNC ,1995

Hence the per capita consumption per ha of land area = 0.06 m3
The variation on consumption values is due to the following factors
Use of alternative energy sources ( Petroleum, electricity & agric. residues)
Use of other building material
Use of non-woody furniture

The result of a previous preliminary surveys which included the southern Sudan was shown in the table below:
Region Population % Actual consumption / Allowable %
Eastern 10.7 17
Central 19.6 17
Khartoum 8.7 26
Kordofan 15 4.5
Darfor 15.1 1.4
Northern Reg. 5.3 15
Southern Sudan 25.6 0.5
Source : Abd ElNur 1991
It indicated that,
A positive relation between the wood consumption and population density which indicate high dependence on forest
Actual wood consumption by far exceeded the allowable cut
The Forestry cover in Sudan is adversely proportional to the population density in the Northern and Southern parts. (24%) of the total forest cover in the North with 75 % of the total population where as (76%) of the total forest cover in Southern Sudan with a population of 25% of the total population

Table (5) Urban -rural household wood-energy consumption

Firewood M3 Charcoal M3 Per capita consumption
Urban 976515 619601 0.73
Rural 5171865 2450606 0.62

Fuelwood needed by rural people is getting scarce and scarce the thing that require more efforts from the women who are the major collectors (table 6) and consequently they started to go longer distances and spend more time

Table ( 6) Fuelwood Collection Pattern
Household Men Women Children
Urban 23.3% 45.5 % 31.2 %
Rural 3.2 % 71.8 % 25 %

Unless rapid remedial measures are taken and alternative energy sources are developed, dependence on biomass energy will continue to grow and further deteriorate the forest resources


Drawback


Forests resource
No forest inventory covering the whole country has so far been undertaken.The National Forest Resource Inventory ( NFRI ) started in 1995 is the widest inventory and covered 62270000 ha. covering approximately 24% of the total surface area of the country. For logistical and accessibility reasons the survey was restricted to Central Sudan between latitudes 10 and 16º N and along the main water courses.
However, some small areas were inventoried before including the area east of the Nile ( 1991 ), Blue Nile and Northern Bahr el Ghazal ( 1984 ) and parts of Kordofan and Dar fur ( 1990-1994 ). The extent and state of the natural forests were estimated by FAO ( 1990 ) depending on the results of these surveys and other reports as being 19% of the total land area. The Global Forests Resources Assessment ( FRA ) in 2000 using these results and remote sensing techniques gave an estimate of forest cover of 26% of the total surface area. The study also gave an annual defforestation rate of 1.4%.
Deforestation
The survey of forest products consumption ( 1995 ) and the National Forest Inventory ( 1998 ) gave a very grim picture of deforestation in Central Sudan. The consumption survey results projected to 1998 gave a total consumption of wood of 18.19 million m3 compared to an allowable removal estimate of 11.67 million m3 accoroding to the estimate given by the National Forest Inventory for the same area. The surveys covered only the area between latitudes 10˚ and 16º N. In this area lives the majority of the Sudanese people including more than 3 million people displaced by the civil war from the most tree covered areas of Southern Sudan, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. Most of the agricultural activities and animal production are also practiced in this area. Afforestation rate of 4.5% in this area is very alarming taking into consideration the very fragile nature of its ecosystem. The recent FRA 2000 study undertaken by FAO gave a national forest cover estimate of 17% and other wooded areas of 10% giving atotal area of 27% of the total surface area of the country with an annual deforestation rate of 1.4% using remote sensing techniques to consider areas not covered by the National Forest Inventory. Taking the FRA figures the deforestation rate in Sudan is still more than world average (- 0.24% ) and the African average ( –0.78% ).

Abdel Nour H.O.(2001), Implementation of National Forest Programme-Country Case Study of Sudan
Anon (199, National Forest Resources Inventory
Badi, Kamal Hassan; et al (1989) The Forests of the Sudan
Bayoumi, Abdel Aziz. M. S. (1995) Sudan National Report on Forestry policy
F.A.O, Forestry Paper 140, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, Main Report
Forests National Corporation Reports
Mohamed A.G. and Osman B.M.(1997), Inceasing Pressure on Woody Forest Products, Sudan Case Study, Stockholm 1997
FNC (1995) Forest products consumption survey in the Sudan
Statistics and Information Section FNC(June, 1995) Statistical Handbook of Forestry