Amuru impounds over 1,000 bags of charcoal

Amuru, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Amuru district authorities have impounded over 1,000 bags of charcoal in the latest crackdown on illegal commercial production and transportation of charcoal. The bags were impounded between Friday last week and Monday at Akuru Kwe Village in Lamogi Sub-county and Otwe Town Council.

The move follows the latest directive by the Environment Minister Beatrice Anywar banning the issuance of all forms of documentation facilitating the commercial production and transportation of charcoal and all forms of forest products in the Acholi Sub-region.

Amuru Resident District Commissioner, Stephen Odong Latek told Uganda Radio Network in an interview Monday that six trucks and a lorry carrying the charcoal were impounded in the operation that kicked off last week.

Latek says six of the trucks impounded are currently parked at the National Forestry Authority (NFA) offices in Gulu office, adding that 400 bags impounded in Otwe Town Council are being offloaded for possible auctioning.

“We are generally enforcing the ban on large-scale charcoal production in Amuru with the view of conserving the environment notwithstanding the Minister’s directive. The rate at which the environment is being destroyed for charcoal is alarming and if we don’t do something the situation will be worse in the long run,” said Latek.

Latek noted that as they await the Minister’s guidelines on implementing the ban, they will be carrying out routine monitoring and impounding charcoal to save the environment. The NFA sector Manager for Aswa River Range Jimmy Ouna, says that the truckload of charcoal impounded had no documents indicating their origin and licenses for charcoal production.

Ouna notes that their teams are currently building up a case against people found transporting the charcoal so that they are arraigned in court for prosecution. According to Ouna, ever since the Minister issued a directive in the region, NFA started implementing the ban on the issuance of documents for large-scale charcoal production and its transportation with immediate effect.

He however says some of the trucks of charcoal currently passing through the region are coming from the neighboring Adjumani district where the ban hasn’t yet been instituted. Minister Anywar first issued the directive banning the issuance of documents for commercial charcoal production on January 11, 2023, and restricted it to Gulu District only citing its central location along major transit routes.

However, in a February 24 letter, the Minister extended the directive to cover the entire Acholi Sub-region following feedback from leaders in the region. According to the Global Forest Watch, the Aswa Range had 95.1kha of tree cover, extending over 52% of its land area by 2010. However, in 2021, it lost 31.3ha of tree cover, equivalent to 11.1kt of Carbon dioxide emissions.

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