ABSTRACT Tanzanian households depend primarily on wood fuel as a source of energy. However, the consumption patterns and intensities and their consequent environmental costs remain poorly understood. The aim of the present study was therefore to provide a better understanding of households' energy consumption and its associated costs, and evaluate selected alternative strategies for lessening dependency on wood fuel. Stratified random sampling design was used in order to capture energy consumption patterns between rural, peri-urban and urban populations and across household wealth categories. Households in each randomly selected site were stratified into low, medium and high wealth categories. Data was collected using pre-tested and pilot-tested questionnaires, direct measurements, direct observations, interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 568 households were sampled: rural (258); peri-urban (177) and urban (133). This sample was drawn from across all wealth categories: low -198 households (34.9%); medium -255 households (44.9%) and high -115 households (20.2%). Several hypotheses were found to be true: (I) socio-economic and fuel-related factors are significant determinants of household wood fuel consumption intensities; (2) socio-economic and demographic factors have effects on household fuel choice; (3) wood fuel consumption varies significantly between rural, peri-urban and urban areas; ( 4) there is significant inter-regional variation in levels of wood fuel consumption; (5) socio-economic and demographic factors have effects on the share of wood fuel to total household fuel mix; and (6) there is significant household preference to miombo woodlands as source of wood fuel. Household fuel consumption in the study areas was found to be unsustainable: heavy dependency on wood fuel was found to be responsible for net deforestation rate of 12.48 ha/day, translating to 45% of total deforestation in Tanzania. Household energy consumption (all fuels) was found to give rise to approximately 41 % of CO2 emission in the country. Wood fuel utilisation accounted for 85% of total household CO2 emissions. The total environmental cost attributable to household energy consumption in the study area was estimated at US$ 201 million annually. Charcoal consumption was found to be responsible for approximately 92% of wood fuel-related deforestation. It was also found that the share of wood fuel to total household energy is highest in rural areas (84%), followed by peri-urban areas (75%) and urban areas (64%). Further, 36% of the wood fuel (round wood equivalent) consumption was in the form of charcoal, while 64% was in the form of firewood. Factors
which were found to be important in influencing (a) choice of fuel are: location of household, residence ownership, dwelling category, household income, and education level of household head; (b) wood fuel consumption intensity are: location of the household, age of the household head, and gender of the household head; ( c) share of wood fuel to total energy are: location of household, dwelling category, household income and access to electricity. Further, empirical evidence suggested that both inter-strata and inter-regional wood fuel consumption were markedly different. Household survey revealed a sizeable preference towards miombo woodlands as a source of wood fuel. Household dependency on wood fuel is overwhelming and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Promotion of improved wood fuel stoves and improved charcoal making kilns, electrification, and promotion of alternative sources of fuel are shown to alleviate the problem.