7 April 2017, Rome - Experts are finalizing a new data collection module that will help developing countries better understand their population’s reliance on woodfuel for incomes and basic household needs this week in Rome.

Authorities from some 20 international organizations gathered at FAO headquarters to finalize a methodology to incorporate a questionnaire developed by FAO’s Forestry Department into existing household surveys. This should help reveal the extent of rural households’ dependency on woodfuel for needs such as cooking and heating as well as livelihoods, and help countries collect improved national statistics on the production and consumption of woodfuel.

Lesotho and Ecuador have volunteered to use the new module and questionnaire later this year in their surveys as a pilot project. The surveys will target small-scale, informal production and consumption of woodfuel at the household level.

Tsepiso Thabane, Chief Statistician in Environment and Energy Statistics within Lesotho’s Bureau of Statistics, said it was crucial for Lesotho to be able to collect information to better understand the country’s forest resources.

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