House/wid Energy Consumption Patterns in Awassa Town and Its Impacts on the Local Environment
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This Research has studied household energy consumption pattems of Awassa Town and
how it consequently entails different environmental impacts on the local environment.
The main objective of the research was to study the patterns, i.e. the type of different
fuels and the appliances the households use for different end uses in the Town and its
consequent effects for deforestation and depletion of the forest resources in the area.
Four Kebeles were included in the Study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods
were employed:
(I) A Survey questionnaire to collect different hou seholds ' characteristics;
(2) Key Informants Interview, Case Studies, and FGD were used to obtain
qualitative data and for triangulation and cross checking the information
obtained from the Survey during the research; and
(3) Observation was used.
Results indicate that household energy consumption pattems of Awassa Town are
highly dependent on Biomass fuel, i.e. firewood for baking Injera and charcoal for other
cooking purposes. In addition to this the majority of the households use Traditional and
Modified Traditional Injera Stoves. The households energy consumption pattems are
determined by household income, education level of the household head and spouse,
highest education level in a household, ownership of the house, type of the house, and
households in a housing unit share electTOmeter or not. Therefore a very high
dependency of the households in the Town on Biomass fuel s.
The main conclusion of the research is that due to urban growth and the increase in the
population of Awassa Town there is an increase in the demand of the total amount of
firewood and charcoal consumption in the Town and hence the contribution to speed up
and aggravate the deterioration and depletion of forest resources in the area.
Consequently deforestation in the area would cause soil erosion, decline in soil fertility,
water reso urce scarcity, decrease in agricultural production, and povelty in the rural
communities living in the local environment.
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Its Impacts on the Local Environment