GULU-The National Environmental Management Authority [ NEMA ] has said commercial charcoal burning in Uganda is illegal since it has never been okayed by the agency.
In a letter dated April 18, 2023, Dr Barirega Akankwasah, the NEMA executive director, said his agency never issued any environmental and social impact assessment [ESIA] certificate to any of the commercial charcoal dealers, making the trade illegal in the country.
Akankwasah in his letter now wants Uganda Police, district local governments, National Forest Authority [NFA], and other law enforcement agencies to apprehend and prosecute people found engaging in commercial charcoal production.
This comes at a time when the country is losing forest cover at an alarming rate, leaving northern Uganda as the most affected.
“The Uganda Police, district local governments, NFA and all other law enforcement agencies are requested to apprehend for prosecution anybody found engaging in commercial charcoal production without ESIA certificate by NEMA,” he said in his letter.
Akankwasah observed that the unregulated acts of commercial production decimate the already threatened forest cover, increasing air pollution and degrading land.
According to Barirega, some of the effects of unregulated commercial charcoal burning include climate change, respiratory diseases, and loss of productivity of land, which have far-reaching consequences for the wellbeing of the people.
The National Environment Act, No.5 of 2019 Schedule 5, lists commercial charcoal production as an activity that requires mandatory ESIA. It is an offence under Section 157 of the Act to commence an activity which requires ESIA before obtaining a certificate of approval from NEMA.
The Act further stipulates that any convicted individual attracts a fine not exceeding Shs 2 billion or imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years or both, meanwhile, any corporate body attracts a fine not exceeding Shs 10bln.
Stephen Odong Latek, the Amuru resident district commissioner said the new NEMA notice will now ease the implementation of the recent ban issued by the Minister of Environment, which was rather selective.
Odong said that they are waiting for the implementation framework, along with the implementation plan from the new notice by NEMA which will support regional bans.
He noted that there`s also need the Ministry of Finance to allocate some resources to aid the enforcement of the ban.
Samuel Odonga Otto, the former Aruu County Member of Parliament, who is Team Leader at Ribe Pi Paco, an environmentalist group enforcing the ban on commercial charcoal production as issued by the Ministry of Environment, welcomed the NEMA notice, saying it should have come yesterday.
According to Global Forest Watch, in 2010, Uganda had 6.93 million hectares of tree cover, extending over 29 percent of its land area. In 2021, the country lost 5.39kha of tree cover, equivalent to 2.86 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
https://thecooperator.news/sub-county-suspends-licensing-of-charcoal-dealers/
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