‘BAN ON CHARCOAL PRODUCTION WON’T STOP ILLEGALITIES’

By Arnel Chitundu

THE ban on the issuance of charcoal production permits by the Government is a segregative approach which might not yield good results, an Environmentalist has observed.

Speaking to The Scoop, Mr. James Matches said an increase in the electricity tariffs and load shedding would create a huge demand for charcoal in urban areas and exacerbate the situation.

He said banning charcoal burning will not stop illegalities and that it would only lead to another task of arresting people abrogating the law.

“The Government should put its house in order by ensuring that the Green Economy and Environment Ministry employs more forest officers” Mr. Matches said.

He emphasized that Forest police officers were urgently needed if the country was to manage issues of deforestation.

He stated that the Ministry must work with Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) groups to manage issues of charcoal production.

“These groups have the actual natural resources but what happens is the ones engaged in charcoal production are people from urban areas instead of locals,” he said.

He urged the Government to carry out a proper inventory rather than just pocket assessments, in the management of the country’s forest resources.

He said cooperation and collaboration were key to finding proper mechanisms of making assessments where the depletion of trees was taking place.

He added that a proper mechanism where charcoal production was managed was essential especially as currently permits were gotten away after charcoal production instead of before.

“Before trees are cut, you need to ensure proper monitoring measures. Does the authority even give contentions to people involved in charcoal production?” he asked.