EXTRACTION OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS IN THE FORESTS OF BILIGIRI RANGAN HILLS, INDIA - 6 - FUELWOOD PRESSURE AND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

Fuelwood is a predominant source of domestic energy for, rile Soliga, an aboriginal tribe, and non-Soliga people inhabiting rile care and th e fringe of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka, India. Approximately 7000 Soliga and 66 000 non-Soliga peo ple depend on rile 540 km(2) sanctuary fbr fuelwood. The demand for fu elwood is estimated to be 134.7 t d(-1) or 49165 t y(-1) against produ ction of 66 024 t y(-1) for the entire sanctuary. Consumption patterns vary with the season and the altitude. The pressure for fuelwood is f ar greater on the fringe (85.8%) than in the core (14.2%). The fuelwoo d supply emanates from an activity cone of 20.1% of the total forest a rea which produces only 27% of the total demand. Furthermore, only sel ected species are preferred for fuel use, indicating that only a certa in percentage of total productivity is available for extraction. Thus, the demand-supply gap is far greater than it actually appears. A wide gap between demand and supply demonstrates that the BRT forests canno t cater to the fuelwood needs sustainably with lire prevailing pattern s of extraction. Probable consequences of fuelwood extraction on biodi versity are discussed, and management options to meet energy requireme nt and to conserve biodiversity are explored.