Stoves and Trees: How Much Wood Would a Woodstove Save If a Woodstove Could Save Wood? (Routledge Library Editions: Forestry)

Originally published in 1984, Stoves and Trees asks whether better stoves really help the two billion people in the developing world who rely on wood and charcoal for cooking and heating their homes. It also asks if improved stoves actually save fuel and if they can help slow down tropical deforestation. The book not only examines newer stoves but also ascertains how people buy, collect and use wood in the developing world. It finds that most forests are cleared for timber or farmland not fuelwood and explains why stoves which show 50% energy savings in European laboratories often save little or none in village homes.

Gerald Foley started his professional life as a civil engineer and in the early 1970s wrote his first book, The Energy Question, which was re-published in 1992. His work became increasingly focussed on the global south, and he joined the International Institute for Environment and Development. He then became Director of Policy Research at the Panos Institute and finally a partner in the Nordic Consulting Group. Gerald is the author of 9 books and numerous reports, technical studies and academic articles.

Lloyd Timberlake, former Reuter global science editor, is an award-winning journalist and author who has worked in more than 65 countries covering issues of the environment, development and sustainable development.

Patricia Moss