SMALLHOLDER WOOD PRODUCTION AND POPULATION PRESSURE IN EAST-AFRICA - EVIDENCE OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE

The incentives for growing fuelwood on small farms are examined using survey data from Kenya. The analysis finds that tree planting is a com petitive activity and that farmers are responsive to incentives to pla nt trees. These incentives vary across households facing different fac tor availabilities and market opportunities. The existence of a persis tent fuelwood ''gap,'' and the notion that population pressure will le ad to declining tree cover, are not supported by the analysis. A simul ation model indicates that as land continues to be subdivided tree cov er may actually rise, a result consistent with other evidence of an '' environmental Kuznets curve.'' (JEL Q20)