Government should replace total charcoal ban with a tree planting policy
Environmental protection must be achieved through practical solutions that the people can afford and implement.
The Government’s efforts to ban charcoal production and operations should be reconsidered and replaced with a practical, sustainable policy that promotes tree planting, reforestation, and responsible use of forest resources.
It is estimated that approximately 96% of the population relies on firewood or charcoal for cooking.
For many households, particularly in rural areas, these are the most accessible and affordable sources of energy. A total ban on charcoal without providing affordable and accessible alternatives would place an enormous burden on ordinary citizens.
Expecting the entire population to switch to electricity or gas immediately is unrealistic. Many households cannot afford the initial costs of purchasing the necessary equipment or meeting the recurring costs of these alternative energy sources.
Furthermore, enforcing a total ban would require extensive monitoring and enforcement across communities and individual households. Such an approach could be costly, difficult to implement, and vulnerable to corruption and selective enforcement.
Instead of relying primarily on prohibition, the Government should make tree planting a central part of its environmental conservation strategy.
I propose the following measures:
Mandatory tree planting: Require charcoal producers and other commercial users of wood fuel to plant an agreed number of trees for every tree harvested.
Community tree-planting programmes: Encourage households, schools, local governments, cultural institutions, and community organisations to establish woodlots and participate in reforestation.
Sustainable charcoal production: License and regulate charcoal producers who use trees grown specifically for that purpose, while protecting natural forests and other environmentally sensitive areas.
Affordable alternative energy: Gradually promote electricity, gas, improved cookstoves, and other clean cooking technologies as their affordability and accessibility improve.
Public sensitisation: Educate communities about the importance of protecting forests, planting trees, and using natural resources responsibly.
Strong enforcement against illegal logging: Target the destruction of protected forests and unlawful harvesting rather than imposing restrictions that ordinary citizens cannot realistically comply with.
The Government should recognise that environmental conservation and the economic welfare of citizens must go hand in hand.
Policies that ignore the daily realities of ordinary households risk creating public resistance and encouraging illegal activities.
A tree-planting order, backed by effective regulation and public education, would offer a more practical and sustainable approach than a blanket charcoal ban imposed without affordable alternatives.
I therefore call upon the Government to review the charcoal ban and consider a balanced policy that protects the environment, safeguards people’s livelihoods, and promotes a gradual transition to cleaner energy.
Environmental protection must be achieved through practical solutions that the people can afford and implement.
