Truck drivers have been cautioned against fueling charcoal burning in Buliisa district, as they normally purchase and load bags of charcoal on trucks on their return after making deliveries.
Samuel Magambo, the Bulisa Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, issued a warning to the drivers who have raised high demand for charcoal that put deforestation at a high gear in a district, putting the environment at risk.
“These rising demands of charcoal in my district have put my locals to cut down trees for charcoal production, now intensifying environmental degradation, which increases the risks of disaster being caused by human activities from within,” Magambo said.
Magambo wants locals to embrace smart climate practices of planting basins, green manuring, conservation agriculture (which includes rotations, intercropping, mulching, and reduced tillage), and promotion of agroforestry in the district to improve productivity, food security, and resilience.
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Denis Isingoma, the Assistant Residential District Commissioner, urged local leaders to continue sensitizing the local community about the importance of environmental conservation and making them understand about not preserving the environment for only today but for the future as well.
“There is a need for collective responsibility in ensuring that our environment is preserved as a way to prevent the risks of disasters that attack communities,” he said.
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Charcoal production is destructive, as charcoal producers often harvest whole trees from indigenous forests, believing that the bigger the logs, the better the charcoal. This also has knock-on effects on climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and increased flooding.
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The government is in phases of implementing a rural electrification program and promoting the use of alternative and renewable energy sources and promoting the use of energy-efficient technologies aimed at reducing pressure on forests as a source of charcoal production.
