Forest conservation policies in the kitchen: When protected areas influence household fuel choices in Tanzania

Chantale Oweggi (1, 2) , Pascale Combes Motel (1, 2) , Jean-Louis Combes (1) , Manegdo Ulrich Doamba (1)

1 LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...]
2 UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

Tanzania enjoys humongous forest cover, and many of its forests are protected. Nevertheless, households are highly reliant on biomass. This study uses three-wave panel data (2008-2013) from the Tanzania National Panel Survey to estimate the effectiveness of protected areas in modifying household cooking fuel choices. We adopt a linear probability model (LPM) while controlling for region and wave-fixed effects. The findings suggest that while protected areas reduce the probability that households would use firewood, the likelihood of use of charcoal is increased, signaling a possible rebound effect given that firewood and charcoal are close substitutes. Overall, protected areas were not effective in reducing traditional biomass consumption. Our results highlight that environmental conservation policies such as the implementation of protected areas can generate negative consequences, especially given that the current charcoal production in Tanzania remains unsustainable.

Mots clés: Cooking fuels; Protected areas; Household fuels; Tanzania

Domaines: Economies et finances; Ecologie, Environnement

Chantale Oweggi, Pascale Combes Motel, Jean-Louis Combes, Manegdo Ulrich Doamba. Forest conservation policies in the kitchen: When protected areas influence household fuel choices in Tanzania. 2024. ⟨hal-04567226⟩