Property rights, institutions and choice of fuelwood source in rural Ethiopia

This study examines the relationship between property rights, defined by land tenure security and the strength of local-level institutions, and household's preferences for fuelwood source. A multinomial regression model applied to survey data collected in rural Ethiopia underpins the analysis. Results from the discrete choice model indicate that active local-level institutions increase household dependency on open access forests, while land security reduces open access forest dependence. However, local level institutions are found to reduce the role of private fuelwood, while tenure security has not, at least yet, had any impact on private fuelwood collection activities. The results suggest that there is a need to bring more open access forests under the management of the community and increase the quality of community forestry management in order to realize improvements in forest conservation.