The high demand for charcoal in urban areas on the Copperbelt has been attributed to an increase in charcoal usage as a cheap alternative source of energy.
Chief Machiya of the Lamba people of Mpongwe said there is excessive demand for charcoal by both households and industries in urban areas that has ultimately propelled an increase in charcoal production.
The chief said this demand has led to indiscriminate cutting of trees in rural parts of The Copperbelt province.
Chief Machiya has called on the department of forest to suspend the issuance of production and conveyance licences in the district to curb production of charcoal.
He said when Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Collins Nzovu called on him at his palace.
“Fleets of trucks have kept flocking the chiefdom to load the commodity which is being used in various production industries in urban areas,” he said. Chief Machiya said government should also discourage the usage of charcoal by industries and encourage other alternatives of energy such as coal.
Chief Machiya also called on government to employ more forest officers at district level if deforestation is to be curbed.
And Mr.Nzovu said government will partner with the traditional leadership in Machiya in preserving the forests whose cover he described as intact.
Mr. Nzovu said his ministry has made headways in putting in place mechanisms that will facilitate recruitment of honorary foresters to increase monitoring and management of forests.
Meanwhile, Mpongwe District Commissioner, Burton Mukomba said there is need to arrest the upward demand for charcoal in urban areas if trees are to be preserved. – ZANIS
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