Uganda Charcoal Ban Puts Producers, Locals, Police in Conflict

Uganda Charcoal Ban Puts Producers, Locals, Police in Conflict

Charcoal is processed wood that is mainly used for cooking.

But in the East African nation of Uganda, charcoal making is causing conflict with local people in the country’s north and police. People who say they are concerned about the environment are acting as police to drive away charcoal makers.

In the poor northern part of Uganda, making charcoal is one of the only ways people can make money. Charcoal is very important for cooking and heating in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

Patrick Komakech walks through piles of trees cut for charcoal in Gulu, Uganda, May 27, 2023. The burning of charcoal, an age-old practice in many African societies, is now restricted business across northern Uganda amid a wave of resentment by locals who have warned of the threat of climate change stemming from the uncontrolled felling of trees by outsiders. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

But for years, local people and government officials in Uganda have been concerned about the effects of charcoal. While there are still many trees in Uganda, deforestation is a problem. In 2022, the International Monetary Fund said Uganda has lost nearly one-third of its tree cover over the past 20 years.

The environmental concerns prompted the Ugandan government to pass a national climate change law in 2021. The law permits local officials to make rules to restrict activities that hurt the environment.

But there are still many trees in northern Uganda and people who make charcoal see the area as a good source of wood.

A conflict has developed between people who make charcoal and Ugandan officials. People who do not support the charcoal business are getting involved in chasing away charcoal makers and tree-cutters. They are called vigilantes.

Odonga Otto stands near a truck carrying bags of charcoal in Gulu, Uganda, May 28 2023. Before the charcoal ban, local activists formed vigilante groups in districts such as Gulu, where Otto, a former lawmaker, led an attack on a truck that was dispossessed of about 380 bags of charcoal. Although Otto has since been charged with aggravated robbery, the country’s chief justice praised him as a hero. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Before the charcoal ban, a vigilante group in the Gulu area attacked a truck carrying over 300 bags of charcoal. Odanga Otto was one of the attackers. He was charged with robbery, but Uganda’s top justice called him a hero.

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, who is from northern Uganda, said this year: “I have not heard anybody who is destroying our environment being charged.” He went on to ask, “If you steal from a thief, are you a thief?”

One week after Owiny-Dollo’s statement, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni issued an executive order banning the commercial production of charcoal in northern Uganda.

Charcoal making is still permitted in other parts of Uganda, but the tree cover in the north makes the area attractive for illegal charcoal production.

Shortly after the president’s ban, reporters from the Associated Press went into the forest with officials from the Gulu area. They were 335 kilometers from Kampala, the capital.

Deo Ssenyimba crouches next to sacks of charcoal in Gulu, Uganda, May 27, 2023. The burning of charcoal is now restricted business across northern Uganda amid a wave of resentment by locals who have warned of the threat of climate change stemming from the uncontrolled felling of trees by outsiders. "We are not going to stop," Ssenyimba said, who has been active in northern Uganda for 12 years. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Patrick Komakech is a local official from the Patiko sub-county. When he heard people running away, he chased them, but all he found was a recently cleared area. He saw tree stumps, still wet.

Komakech was upset and almost started to cry when he saw the missing trees. The cut trees had been piled up in one part of the clearing. Smoke came from another group of trees that were burning.

Charcoal makers collect the dust from burned wood, mix it with a material to make it stick together, and then press the mix into small balls or squares. They fill large bags, load them onto trucks and bring them into Ugandan cities for sale.

Komakech said the people who cut the trees and make the charcoal are outsiders. “They do this thing without the mercy of leaving any vegetation.”

He kicked at the logs on the ground and said they were from the shea tree, which can provide both fruit and oil if they are farmed.

After a time, the charcoal workers came back from hiding and spoke with Komakech. They said they were only trying to keep up with demand and earn some money.

Recent numbers from the World Bank show that Uganda’s population is growing by about three percent each year. The organization says it will grow from about 46 million today to over 100 million by 2060.

A man ferries a sack of charcoal along a road in Gulu, Uganda on May 28, 2023. Uganda's population explosion has heightened the need for cheap plant-based energy sources, especially charcoal. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

As a result, the nation needs fuel that is not costly. Some homes have gas, but most people in cities still use charcoal for cooking meals.

Peter Ejal was one of the people making charcoal. “Even those policemen who are coming to beat us, they are cooking with charcoal,” he said.

Another charcoal-maker said: “When we finish this place we will go on to another place.”

A number of groups make money on each bag of charcoal. Landowners in the north sell charcoal rights by the hectare. In northern towns, the cost of one bag is about $14 but closer to Kampala, prices are higher.

Both President Museveni and Otto, the vigilante, said some members of the Ugandan military make extra money by protecting the charcoal trucks as they drive into the cities.

Otto said he and other vigilantes are working to make the charcoal business “risky.” He said vigilantes helped police take control of many trucks.

“As of now,” he said, “you drive 100 kilometers, and you will not find any single truck carrying charcoal.”

With the success of the vigilantes, it has become harder to make charcoal. But, the price will go up. That will make more people want to burn trees to make charcoal close to where they live.

Without the trucks to carry the charcoal bags, activists opposed to charcoal worry the producers will just give the bags to a large number of drivers on motorcycles who would then take them to a waiting truck somewhere else.

A sack of charcoal is filled in Gulu, Uganda on May 27, 2023. Uganda's population explosion has heightened the need for cheap plant-based energy sources, especially charcoal.(AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Alfred Odoch is an environmental activist in northern Uganda. He supports the vigilantes. He says they are preventing large numbers of trees from being cut down. He wants to limit charcoal making to families who want to sell two or three bags per week.

“The fight for environmental justice,” he said, “is not only for one person.”

I’m Dan Friedell. And I’m Caty Weaver.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a story by the Associated Press.

____________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

prompt –v. to start something

executive order –n. a rule made by a leader or president that does not go through the usual political process

commercial –adj. describing something done as a business

vigilante –n. a person who does not have authority but tries to catch and punish criminals

thief –n. a person who steals

attractive –adj. good looking or appealing

stump –n. the part of a tree that remains in the ground and connected to the roots when it is cut

mercy –n. kindness or forgiveness

vegetation –n. trees and plants that cover the land

___________________________________________________________________

We want to hear from you. Do you think the ban on charcoal will help the environment in Uganda?

Here is how our comment system works:

1. Write your comment in the box.
2. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google.
3. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with “D” on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.