Impact Of Katikala Production On The Degradation Of Woodland Vegetation And Emission Of Co And Pm During Distillation In Arsi-negele Woreda Central Rift Valley Of Ethiopia

Arsi-Negele is located 225 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Most of the residence of the town is engaged by production of ‘Katikala’ (alcoholic beverage produced by distillation process). The process involves series of tedious steps which requires more fuelwood energy and all of which are done by women. This system seems to work well for most families but is facing problems because of environmental concerns. The utilization of woodfuel coupled with use of low efficiency traditional stove has been contributing to forest resource degradation and prevalence of health problems due to indoor air pollution. In this study, impact on the surroundings vegetation and indoor air pollution due to katikala production was assessed.rnHousehold and fuelwood market information was gathered by personal interviewing through structured questionnaire. Vegetation sample was taken at the Acacia-Balanites woodland to crosscheck the information gathered through the questionnaire with the impact on the vegetation around the town. Indoor air pollutants were measured during distillation process. The major pollutants quantified in this study are CO and PM by using HOBO CO data logger and UCB particle monitor, respectively.rnIt was found that 87.3 % of the respondents were engaged in ’katikala’ production. Woodfuel consumption rate in the town was equivalent to 76.98 kg /day for distillers and 17.82 kg /day for non-distillers. By most of the distillers A. etbaica was found to be the most preferred plant species followed by R. natalenis, where as dry wood materials and branches of tree was preferred by most non-distillers for woodfuel use. However, most frequently used woodfuel species by distillers did not coincide with what they preferred because of the scarcity of this preferred species. The shift of woodfuel use from the more preferred to the less preferred one suggests that the most preferred species are already threatened. The first two preferred species by distillers, A. etbaica and R. natalenis, are going to extinct in the study area. Average concentration of CO and PM: during distillation process as 68.81 ppm and 3.11 mg/m3; 8-hour concentration as 75.25 ppm and 5.57 mg/m3; the 15-minute average maximum as 115.31 ppm and 12.31 mg/m3, were measured, respectively. The indoor air pollutants level during the process exceeded air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization standards.rnKeywords: Arsi-Negele, Katikala, Distillers, Non-Distillers, Fuelwood, CO, PM

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