Open AccessFactors affecting fuelwood production and consumption in Greece
Author(s) -
Iason Diafas,
Garyfallos Arabatzis
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/899/1/012031
Subject(s) - urban sprawl , consumption (sociology) , production (economics) , natural resource economics , overgrazing , renewable energy , firewood , agricultural economics , business , geography , environmental protection , economics , land use , engineering , ecology , social science , civil engineering , electrical engineering , archaeology , sociology , biology , grazing , macroeconomics
Wood, one of the most important renewable energy sources (RES), has been used as a fuel since ancient times. Wood was the first material to be used for energy production. Gradually its use as a fuel dwindled as other sources gained popularity. However, following the oil crises of the 1970s, various countries switched to RES and in particular to wood as a primary heat source. The current paper attempts to highlight the factors that affect fuelwood production and consumption in Greece in recent decades and to propose a number of policy measures. More specifically, fuelwood production in Greece over the last decades is constantly declining mainly due to overgrazing, forest fires, urban sprawl, poor management and inadequate transport infrastructures; all these factors considerably impact the country’s forest productive capacity. Several decades ago, fuelwood was in great demand in Greece. Gradually, however, it lost its popularity to other heating fuels and was only used in rural residences or in a small number of urban homes. The last decade, however, owing to the deep economic crisis afflicting the country, there has been a marked increase in the demand for fuelwood mainly by low-income households.