Charcoal needs choke forests
By Tumusiime Kabwende Deo
WEEKLY OBSERVER, 26th May 2005
Kampala’s charcoal consumption has shot from 874,214 tonnes to 1,310,460 tonnes in 10 years (1994-2004), an increase of 50 percent, which has doubled the pressure on existing forest cover in source districts. This trend has been blamed on the influx of city dwellers from an estimated 800.000 in 1994 to the current estimates of about 2 million.
A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Energy with the help of German Technical Corporation (GTZ) paints a gloomy picture of Uganda being without trees or forests by 2025.
The Ministry of Energy intends to discourage charcoal users by levying a tax.
According to the Ministry’s technical advisor, John Kuteesakwe, “an average family in Kampala consumes a bag of charcoal in a month, costing about Shs 15,000. The same family would spend averagely Shs18,000 on gas.
Once charcoal becomes more expensive, consumers will divert to gas.
The survey was officially launched during a workshop held at Bijja Hotel in Masindi recently. It was attended by representatives from the 10 major districts supplying charcoal to Kampala, the main consuming district. These include; Kiboga, Mukono, Mubende, Wakiso, Masindi, Nakasongola, Luwero, Mpigi, Kamuli and Kayunga.
According to the results presented by Richard Kisakye, a lecturer at Nyabyeya Agro-Forestry College, even source districts can hardly sustain their charcoal needs. “Already the source districts of Kamuli (?68,019.7 tonnes), Kayunga (196,675 tonnes) and Wakiso (172,455 tonnes) can hardly sustain all their charcoal needs. They depend on other districts in order to have enough charcoal both for local consumption and for sale to Kampala,” Kisakye submitted.
In addition, improved kilns like the Casamance have been developed with higher efficiency of 25% compared to the traditional kilns, which operate at 10% efficiency. The kiln is smoke-free and therefore does not pollute the environment.
The new kiln technology is expected to reduce the amount of trees felled to produce charcoal from the previous 200 kilograms of wood for a paltry 2 kilograms of charcoal. The improved kiln combustion could cut this figure by 15%.
In another development, Wilson Kasolo, the Principal of Nyabyeya Agro-Forestry College says Uganda has potential for industrial charcoal production. The study projects charcoal turn over at Shs 33 billion, which is a rich source of revenue.
This could be achieved if the readily available Eucalyptus trees are planted specifically for charcoal production. About their efficiency, Wilson says Eucalyptus has a maturation period of six years compared to the commonly used species of Combretum, Acacia and Terminalia which take over 20 years to mature.
However, Eucalyptus may not be preferred for charcoal production due to its less density, but with improved stoves, this could be a viable alternative in the near future.
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