Bauchi laments illegal felling of trees for charcoal production

Bauchi State Government has expressed displeasure over rate people are felling trees indiscriminately to produce charcoal without planting tree seedlings in replacement a development that has become a threat to the environment.

The Government lamented that despite relevant laws in place against felling of trees thereby causing desertification and environmental degradation across the state.

In order to mitigate against the trend, government declared that an intervention is on the way to reclaim the environment by ensuring that tree seedlings are planted across the state.

The Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Rt Hon Danlami Ahmed Kawule disclosed that government will soon distribute 500,000 efficient energy cooking stoves to residents of the state in order to limit the illegal felling of trees for Charcoal production.

The State Commissioner made this known during a state Ministerial Press Briefing while presenting the achievements of his Ministry held on Tuesday at the Conference Hall of the State Secretariat.

Danlami Kawule said that in order to reduce the reliance on firewood and Charcoal for cooking and the resulting effects which includes desertification, health hazards and environmental pollution, the state is providing support to residents in the state by producing briquettes and efficient energy cooking stoves.

He decried the limited knowledge about the production and use of briquettes as an alternative to firewood and charcoal, stressing that  lack of awareness has also contributed to the continued use of firewood and charcoal as cooking fuel which in turn contributes to deforestation, emissions and other health hazards associated with smoke emitted from its use.

The Commissioner further said that after assumption of office, the Ministry has been organizing sensitization programmes where residents of the state are educated on the importance of tree planting and caring for it till maturity.

Danlami Kawule also said that under the Ministry, a strong committee was established to curtail the production of charcoal in the state, adding that the production of charcoal has reduced drastically in the state courtesy of the efforts of the committee.

In his submission, the State Project Coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), Dr Ibrahim Kabir said that the intervention is geared towards reducing the production of Charcoal and firewood used for cooking to the barest minimum.

He explained that  3,000 efficient energy stoves will first be launched in the pilot phase to monitor the impact for three months.

According to him, “We are going to kick-start the full intervention of the 500,000 efficient energy stoves.We are doing that to enforce the executive order under Bauchi Environmental Protection Agency.”

He explained that, “It is not that the state is not doing anything to stop the illegal felling of trees, but the government decided to proffer another alternative to discourage charcoal production,so the process is ongoing to provide these stoves”

Also Speaking, the Director General of  BASEPA, Mahmud Mohammed Bose said that the Charcoal production business is a big syndicate, hence the agency is thinking outside the box by converting waste to energy which is an alternative to charcoal.

He said that the agency is partnering with UNICEF and WaterAid where youths will be trained under the safely Managed sanitation programme to convert faecal sludge and other organic waste into briquettes which can be used for energy.

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“If this project is successful, it is going to reduce pressure on charcoal consumption in the state.We also engaging people in aggressive forestation which will also go a long way in minimizing the charcoal business” he said.

The Ministry appealed to people of the state to imbibe the culture of tree planting in order to reclaim the environment and beautify it stressing that tree seedlings are readily available and will be distributed freely to all interested persons or groups.