Abstract
Resolving the fuelwood problem in Kenya has been the cause of many debates. A review of the literature reveals the changing emphasis on the cause and effect of the problem. The dominant focus links fuelwood consumption with environmental degradation. This view has been perpetuated and reinforced by the βWoodfuel Gapβ theory of supply and demand differentials, based on population growth. The demand mitigation has been addressed through the βFuelwood Orthodoxyβ approach and energy technologies. This paper shows that deforestation, and subsequent degradation, has little to do with fuelwood consumption as much is extracted from outside the forest. Therefore, costly interventions of afforestation programmes have had little impact in addressing the issue. The localeβspecificity of the fuelwood problem means there can be no simple, technical solution. The local nature of shortages means that national projections cannot capture the complex socioβeconomic and cultural issues. Such complexity and diversity of rural contexts demand that the rural energy problem cannot be treated in isolation from the equally pressing issues of poverty, labour, food, culture and values. Copyright Β© 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.