Deforestation and The increasing demand for charcoal trade is becoming a big problems to the entire region of African continent’ which quickly need to be tackled before it lead the entire region into a mess
Africa’s charcoal trade, referred to as” charcoal business or “black gold” by traders in the region, has become more profitable than the forests where trees are being indiscriminately cut down for charcoal-burning. For the rural population, charcoal trade is an opportunity to earn
Charcoal production triggers deforestation because charcoal is made out of wood and the only way to get wood to make charcoal is to chop down trees. Charcoal is used for many different things including as cooking fuel, metallurgical fuel, industry fuel, making glass, writing, utensils and medicine. Since the uses of charcoal are many and great, it is one of the causes of deforestation since so many trees have to be cut down to meet the demand for it.
“People are cutting down trees indiscriminately without thinking of the future,
According to the National Forest Authority (NFA), more than 73,000 hectares of private forest are cleared every year across the country and over 7,000ha of protected forest reserves are destroyed annually for timber and charcoal.
The majority of the time unsustainable charcoal production does not come from farms or plantations but from people chopping down trees in rangeland and government forests. The amount of deforestation can vary by region depending on factors like the tree cutting methods used and if the government has any laws in place to regulate charcoal production.
The majority of deforestation caused by unsustainable charcoal production takes place in Africa. The African countries with the highest rates of deforestation are by far Nigeria and Tanzania. Some of the specific areas under threat are the Miombo Woodlands in Tanzania and the Sambisa Forest in Nigeria.
Many measures that are being taken by governments across the world to try and curb the production of unsustainable charcoal. Countries can pass new laws to attempt to regulate the production and distribution of the charcoal industry.
Governments can help and encourage to get everyday people and the private sector who produce charcoal to plant new trees when they chop them down to keep the process of charcoal production sustainable.
Governments can also pass laws or start agencies to supervise and monitor the management of forest associated with charcoal production and controlling charcoal producing practices by enforcing better charcoal production methods.
As for us African Climate reporters,our job is to educate and enlighten the people of the region on danger of cutting down forest tress and the impact of global demand for charcoal in the region
