Health impacts of household fuelwood use in developing countries

Unasylva 224, Vol. 57, 2006 Alarge part of the world’s population uses fuelwood for household cooking and space heating, mostly in developing countries. Energy from traditional biomass fuel is thought to account for nearly one-tenth of all human energy demand today (more than hydro and nuclear power together), and wood-based fuels probably make up some two-thirds of household use. In poor developing-country households, wood, charcoal and other solid fuels (mainly agricultural residues and coal) are often burned in open fires or poorly functioning stoves. Incomplete combustion leads to the release of small particles and other constituents that have been shown to be damaging to human health in the household environment. Too little is known, however, to distinguish any differences in health effects of smoke from different kinds of biomass. Given that levels of household solid fuel use are expected to remain high, efforts to improve household air quality are concentrated on improving stove Health impacts of household fuelwood use in developing countries