15. ft has been estimated that 2r250 nillion people in developing countries useabout 8.5 million barrels per day of oiI eguivalent (mbdoe) of traditional,non-commercial sources of energy such as firewood, charcoal, crop residues andanimal dung. This arnount is eguivalent to 20 to 25 per cent of total energyconsunption in these eountries. In some of the developing countries in Africa andAsia, traditional sources supply one half to three guarters of the total energyused. 19/ The excess demand for fuelwood, the most important traditional source, has resulted in a crisis which requires serious national and internationalattent ion. 15. The technologies for production and use of fuelwood and organic residues,charcoal, peat and other traditional energy sources have been changing in the past deeade. For exanple, it is known that fuelwood production coukl be significantly inproved through aPpropriate planning of fuelwood plantations and better overall management of forest resources. Similarly, inproved kilns for charcoal burning have been designed; new cooking stove designs, which claim improvements in .efficiency by 30 per cent, have been advanced; and new firing techniques forlarge-scale use of peat have been developed. Although improved technologies have become available and the economic viability of some of thenr has been established,their application has not been widespread beeause of the difficulty ofdisseminating knowledge about then, resulting in a lack of publie response and also because of the lack of financial resources to assist the rural population inadopting the new technoloqies. (c) Biomass energy
**Analysis**
The text discusses the use of traditional energy sources, such as firewood and charcoal, in developing countries, highlighting the crisis caused by the excess demand for fuelwood. It also mentions the availability of improved technologies and the challenges in disseminating knowledge and resources to adopt these technologies. This suggests that the text is primarily concerned with the energy sector and its impact on the environment, economy, and society.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Economic development