Page 11 - AT

A11
WORLD NEWS Thursday 26 sepTember 2019

Africa’s charcoal trade is decimating fragile forest cover

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA ache, but we are fighting.”
Associated Press The price of a bag of
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — charcoal, which can sus-
The machete-wielding men tain a small family for sev-
lodge themselves deep in- eral weeks, has been ris-
side forests for weeks at a ing steadily in Kampala,
time, felling trees that will reaching about $28 in Au-
be incinerated into pieces gust largely because of re-
of charcoal. Because they duced supply from places
often work at night and such as Gulu. A whole bag
target seemingly idle pub- is unaffordable for many
lic land, they operate with who instead buy it daily in
relative impunity while dec- smaller quantities.
imating forests in parts of The expense is still far too
Africa. much for families, said Rose
Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rain- Twine, an entrepreneur
forest have underscored who sells her version of an
the challenges of conserv- eco-stove while warning
ing the Earth’s forest cover, against what she calls the
a substantial amount of unsustainable reliance on
which is found in Africa. Af- charcoal.
ter the Amazon, the Congo One eco-stove, which
basin tropical rainforest — comes with volcanic rocks
covering territory the size In this Monday, Feb. 10, 2014 file photo, women carrying wood walk past a French military patrol that can last for up to two
of Western Europe — is 10 kms south of Yaloke, north of Bangui, in Central African Republic. years, costs $110. Yearly
the world’s second larg- Associated Press charcoal expenses for a
est, often referred to as the dependent on charcoal long warned about the un- on liquid petroleum gas, an typical family, at about 80
Earth’s second lung. for cooking. In Kinshasa, sustainable nature of the alternative source of cook- cents a day, can exceed
The world’s poorest conti- the capital of Congo, 90% charcoal trade, which per- ing energy, to save forests $300, she said.
nent, home to over 1.2 bil- of residents rely mainly on sists despite the extension from the charcoal business. “Charcoal is actually not
lion people, has long strug- it, the report said. of the power grid deep into Figures show a dire situa- cheaper,” Twine said.
gled to protect its forests In Somalia, ravaged by ex- the country. Hydroelectric tion. Uganda’s forest cover “People are just stuck in
amid a population explo- tremist violence, the cut- power remains too expen- as a percentage of total their old ways.”
sion that fuels demand for ting of trees to sustain an sive for many people even land stood at 9% in 2015, Since 2011 only 55,000 eco-
plant-based energy sourc- illicit charcoal trade is so in the capital, Kampala, as down from 24% in 1990, stoves have been sold to
es seen by many as cheap, widespread that the U.N. middle-class families run according to government households in a country
especially charcoal. has warned that desertifi- charcoal stoves to keep data. of over 40 million people,
Some 25% to 35% of climate- cation there threatens sta- electricity bills down. But authorities in northern she said, underscoring the
changing greenhouse gas bility. Edwin Muhumuza, an envi- districts such as Gulu, which challenges of selling alter-
emissions come from so- The value of the charcoal ronmental protection ac- provides much of the char- natives to charcoal.
called biomass burning, export trade from the Horn tivist who runs the Kampa- coal entering Kampala, Rampant forest degrada-
which also includes season- of Africa nation to the Mid- la-based civic group Youth are fighting back in a cam- tion has inspired campaigns
al fires intentionally set to dle East and elsewhere — Go Green, said demand paign that has yielded in some African countries to
clear land for agriculture, though banned — is esti- for charcoal has turned it scores of impounded char- take action.
according to the European mated at over $360 million into a precious commodity coal trucks since 2015. This week Gabon became
Space Agency. The major- per year. Some 8.2 million much like gold or coffee. Gulu chairman Martin the first African country
ity of those fires occur in trees were felled for char- “We are really concerned,” Mapenduzi organizes raids to receive payments for
tropical regions of Africa. coal between 2011 and he said. “What annoys is in hopes of arresting char- verifiable efforts to reduce
Reliance on charcoal or 2017, according to U.N. fig- they cut down the trees but coal burners. greenhouse gas emissions
firewood is highest in Af- ures. they don’t replace them.” “Illegal logging has gone stemming from deforesta-
rica and Asia, according In Uganda, an East African Now the National Environ- down but the destruction tion, the U.N. Development
to a 2018 report by the U.N. nation whose lush vegeta- ment Management Author- of forests for charcoal burn- Program said, calling the
Food and Agriculture Or- tion once inspired Winston ity, a government agency, ing is still high,” Mapenduzi deal worth $150 million over
ganization, with some Af- Churchill to call it “the pearl is urging authorities to re- said. “It’s something that 10 years “historic in many
rican cities almost entirely of Africa,” authorities have move consumption taxes is giving us a lot of head- ways.”q