The annual consumption of fuelwood in Brazil is approximately equal to 180 million oil barrels, or 13.3% of all Brazilian primary energy use. Fuelwood consumption in the country is greater than the use of wood for industrial use. Fuelwood taken from existing forest has been a very common activity in Brazil. Forest plantations to support the Brazilian fuelwood consumption have not been important. As fuelwood consumption in the country is expected to increase in the future, it is important to increase the supply of wood by sustainable use of the existing natural forests. Even if they are far from the centers of consumption, these are the only available reserves capable of supporting the Brazilian future fuelwood requirements. For this reason it is necessary to use advanced technology to convert the energy of wood efficiently into a form (such as electricity) to carry it to the centers of consumption. In addition, forest plantations would be established in the available areas, mainly for specific uses, as for charcoal production for the pig-iron and steel industries. In all the above plans, at least, the US$3.2 billion/year that represents the current Brazilian fuelwood consumption should be returned to rehabilitate the forest growing stock. In addition, it would be used to stimulate the development and use of the most suitable systems of fuelwood conversion, improving the efficiency of energy production. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.