It seems that propane subsidies are going to end soon, and the reasons the government are doing it are largely "urban" reasons, such as the high numbers of cars running on LPG. There are compelling "rural" reasons for continuing the subsidy.
Since the subsidy was introduced, there has been a great decline in the use of wood or charcoal as a fuel, which has an impact on deforestation. The evidence suggests that this subsidy has had a far greater effect on how much forest campesinos have been cutting down or damaging than the various forestry laws (excluding the complex topic of the probably greater impact of rich people on forests of the DR). In fact, although data is unreliable and somewhat scarce, the most recent satellite analyses indicates that forest cover has increased in the last decade in the DR.
Put simply, campesinos generally prefer to use gas as a cooking fuel because:
- it is healtheir (they recognise the health risks of smoke)
- it is quicker (for some kinds of cooking, although wood can be better for others because it gives a hotter flame)
- getting wood is a hassle for most
They do occasionally use some wood but from my experience in the Cordillera Central it is a 'sustainable' use because demand is low so there is enough dead branches on the forest floor and dead coffee stems etc so that no live wood needs to be cut. Of course, this might be different in other parts of the DR, particularly in the drier forest of the southwest, where the economy and ecology are rather different. Wood and charcoal are only used in some cases, such as when a particular family's gas tank runs out and they don't have the cash just then to buy a refill, so they will burn wood until they can afford it.
It seems that urban demand for charcoal is low for similar reasons, so very little forest is damaged for production to meet this.
With the end of the subsidy, propane will become less popular in rural and urban areas, cutting for charcoal and fuel wood will rise, as will deforestation and the ecological effects of this. I find it very interesting that the discussion is purely about the economic cost of people filling up their yipetas and not about the effect on the environment.
Since the subsidy was introduced, there has been a great decline in the use of wood or charcoal as a fuel, which has an impact on deforestation. The evidence suggests that this subsidy has had a far greater effect on how much forest campesinos have been cutting down or damaging than the various forestry laws (excluding the complex topic of the probably greater impact of rich people on forests of the DR). In fact, although data is unreliable and somewhat scarce, the most recent satellite analyses indicates that forest cover has increased in the last decade in the DR.
Put simply, campesinos generally prefer to use gas as a cooking fuel because:
- it is healtheir (they recognise the health risks of smoke)
- it is quicker (for some kinds of cooking, although wood can be better for others because it gives a hotter flame)
- getting wood is a hassle for most
They do occasionally use some wood but from my experience in the Cordillera Central it is a 'sustainable' use because demand is low so there is enough dead branches on the forest floor and dead coffee stems etc so that no live wood needs to be cut. Of course, this might be different in other parts of the DR, particularly in the drier forest of the southwest, where the economy and ecology are rather different. Wood and charcoal are only used in some cases, such as when a particular family's gas tank runs out and they don't have the cash just then to buy a refill, so they will burn wood until they can afford it.
It seems that urban demand for charcoal is low for similar reasons, so very little forest is damaged for production to meet this.
With the end of the subsidy, propane will become less popular in rural and urban areas, cutting for charcoal and fuel wood will rise, as will deforestation and the ecological effects of this. I find it very interesting that the discussion is purely about the economic cost of people filling up their yipetas and not about the effect on the environment.
