Who Plugged the Gap? Re-Examining The Woodfuel Crisis in Zimbabwe

The woodfuel gap theory emerged in the 1980s and gave rise to a development push which targeted aid towards woodfuel production and the alleviation of the woodfuel crisis. A close inspection of the situation in Zimbabwe indicates that gap theory fails to encompass the dynamics of rural production, wood use and management, or deforestation. It provided a poor basis for the Rural Afforestation Programme, which ultimately failed to identify and address woodfuel problems. It is argued that woodfuel problems are localised, complex in their origins and dynamics; and collectively do not amount to a woodfuel “crisis”. Woodfuel shortages are not necessarily linked to deforestation, nor can they be addressed simply by planting trees. Gap theory simplifies and obscures the individuality of woodfuel supply and demand balances and should be abandoned.