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Does Wood Fuel Gathering for Household Use Follow an Optimality Model? A Study from Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya

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Abstract

Successful management of forests, especially in the context of subsistence wood fuel use, can be improved by the application of theoretic models that predict patterns of use. A first step in this approach is understanding the decision rules of people using forests. While optimal foraging theory is normally applied to foraging for food, it also makes sense to apply it in the context of “foraging” for wood fuel. In this study, we applied a time allocation model of optimal foraging theory to wood gathering decisions in communities around Kakamega Forest, a mid-altitude seasonal tropical rain forest. The model predicts that the amount of wood gathered should increase with the distance to the wood source. We found that the predictions of OFT are supported, but only for adults and more strongly on a weekly scale. Based upon the results, we then discuss future improvements of the model to better understand and predict human use.

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Notes

  1. There is considerable variability in family sizes, ranging from 1 to 16 (KNBS 2015), in the study area.

  2. There is considerable variability in food types especially across seasons and household wealth.

  3. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) allows subsistence use with the purchase of a permit (about $1 USD per month), while the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) allows no extraction, with severe fines and jail time for offenders (Conservation and Management Act of 2013).

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Kenya National Commission for Science and Technology, Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service for granting us permits to undertake this study and the County government of Kakamega County for approving our research permit, our collaborators at the National Museum of Kenya for administrative, logistical and technical support, the anonymous participants who spoke with us and allowed us to weigh their wood bundles, Bowling Green State University for material, financial and technical support, Dr. Kefa Otiso and Genetic Research in Applied Spatial Ecology Lab members for their comments, the technicians Emma Spence, Gregory Brinkman, and Nadejda Mirochnitchenko, Eco2librium staff, and in particular.

Herbert Imbuka, for their assistance with interviews, and two anonymous reviewers for their critiques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eco2librium, Kakamega, Kenya

    Christopher Amutabi Kefa, Andrew Gregory, Anton Espira & Mark Lung

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  1. Christopher Amutabi Kefa
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Contributions

CAK and AJG designed the project and collected the data. MAL analyzed the data. MAL, AJG and AE wrote the article. MAL and AE helped with acquisition of necessary research permits from the Kenyan government.

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Correspondence to Mark Lung.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Informed Consent

Field methods were reviewed by the Bowling Green State University Human Subjects Research Board and were granted a waiver of approval prior to the start of fieldwork. All research was conducted with the knowledge and approval of the legal governing bodies of Kenya and the Kakamega Forest, namely, Kenya National Commission for Science and Technology, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, the County Government of Kakamega and the State Department of Education.

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Kefa, C.A., Gregory, A., Espira, A. et al. Does Wood Fuel Gathering for Household Use Follow an Optimality Model? A Study from Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya. Hum Ecol 46, 473–484 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-018-0010-2

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