Renewable energy from secondary wood products contributes to local green development: the case of small-scale privately owned forests in Ciamis Regency, Indonesia

Background Wood biomass from forests is a renewable energy source that has the potential to support global green
development. However, the process of traditional frewood extraction and its contribution to the energy supply varies
and is usually underrecognized, especially in the local context. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the traditional
use and estimate the supply and demand for wood bioenergy from small-scale privately owned forests (SSPF) in
Ciamis Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia.
Methods The sample location was determined in 3 subdistricts, namely, Sukamantri, Ciamis, and Banjaranyar, which
represent the northern, central, and southern regions, respectively. The data were collected through observations on
stands, interviews with respondents, key informants from users and business actors of wood in the SSPF, and observations on the processes taking place in the fow and use of biomaterials and frewoods.
Results and conclusion Firewood is a secondary product that cannot be separated from the main products along
SSPF’s chain of production based on the integration of raw material sources, linkages between actors, and volume
sharing. The local knowledge and wisdom entanglements included the identifcation of the type and quality of frewood, distribution of resource allocation for household and industrial needs, and sharing of frewood for household
needs. Although wood biomass contributes to the fulfllment of households and industrial needs of 8.51 million m3
,
there are indications of an imbalance between the potential supply and the demand for frewood due to its high
intensity of use in industries. Therefore, multistakeholder and cross-regional support are needed to achieve sustainable SSPF management and fulfll the self-sufciency of wood energy.