Biomass 4 (1984) 209-234 Energy from Biomass by Socio-economic Groups- a Case Study of Bangladesh Walter Kennes*, Jyoti K. Parikht and Herman Stolwijk* * Centre for World Food Studies, P.O. Box 7161, NL 1007 MC, Amsterdam/Wageningen, The Netherlands t International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria (Received: 14 June, 1983) ABSTRACT The paper provides a detailed quantitative description of the biomass energy situation in Bangladesh. An attempt is made to relate the biomass energy situation to income distribution by subdividing the economy into nine basic socio-economic classes. For each of these classes demand and supply of biomass resources - firewood, several types of crop residuals and animal dung- are examined. A consistent quantitative picture is constructed of production, trade and use of energy by these classes. Studies of the effects of policy measures or investment projects dealing with biomass energy resources on particular groups of the population require this information. Although the presentation suggests major infor- mation gaps in this area, it still makes clear that actual endowments of energy resources are very skewed. Therefore it is likely that programmes to increase the supplies of traditional energy are no exception to the rule that their income distribution effects may be skewed as well. Key words: rural energy demand and supply, biomass, income distribution, Bangladesh. 1. INTRODUCTION Bangladesh provides one of the most interesting case studies of rural energy as the country's biomass resources are utilised to an extreme and possibly dangerous extent. 209 Biomass 0144-4565/84/$03.00-© Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1984. Printed in Great Britain