Firewood and charcoal production in northeastern of Brazil

ABSTRACT Background: Brazil has the largest tropical forest cover in territorial extension, although it is subject to different forms of threat. We analyzed a time series of the firewood and charcoal production from the extractivism of native forests between the years 2010 and 2020 in Northeast Brazil, in order to support future reflections on the impacts of these uses on the sustainability of the production chain of exploration and on the conservation of native forests in the region. Considering the time frame from 2010 to 2020, data on the volume of firewood and charcoal produced from plant extraction in the Northeastern, were obtained via the official platform of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Results: The total production of firewood was 157,771,059 m3 and charcoal 4,137,418 t., while the states of Bahia (29.3%), Ceará (21.4%) and Maranhão (14.1%) accounted for 74.8% of total firewood produced in the Northeastern. As for charcoal production, Maranhão (51.0%), Bahia (20.3%) and Piauí (23.8%) accounted for 95.1% of total produced. Production stationarity was found for all states, with the exception of Paraíba and Piauí in firewood, and Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte in charcoal. A downward trend was identified in most states, with the exception of Paraíba and Piauí in firewood and Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte in charcoal, both without any type of trend. Conclusion: Considering the economic sustainability of the production chain, efforts to encourage energy plantations should focus on regions with lower production, using species of fast-growing species that can meet demand and conserve native caatinga vegetation.