Spatial analysis of woodfuel supply and demand in Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia

This study adopted a GIS-based approach to reveal how the potential supply and demand of woodfuel varies at different spatial scales within Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia. We considered three different scales: the first was the whole area of the province. The second scale calculated village-scale data in zones of 1, 3 and 5 km from each village aggregated for all villages of the province. The third scale also calculated data for the three zones at the village-scale, but data were then aggregated according to three regional groupings based on population density and forest availability. The results indicated large differences in the ratio (ranging between 0.08 and 503.90) of potential supply to demand of woodfuel for the different scales examined. A deficiency of woodfuel resources was identified only in the areas along the main national road, mainly due to high woodfuel demand and predominance of agricultural land and regrowth forest in surrounding areas. This deficiency may have a negative flow-on influence to adjoining areas if they are called upon to fill the supply gap. For more accurate assessments on sustainability of woodfuel resources and use, further research is needed on the available size and species of trees used for fuel. This study indicated that use of GIS could reveal differences in the potential supply and demand of woodfuel at three different scales. Policy makers and energy planners should address such scale dependency in supply and demand relationships when preparing energy development programs.