Feature

NEW VISION, Thursday, April 21, 2016

39

eating Karamojas future away

Cox Apamaku, RDC,
Nakapiripirit district

Sacks of charcoal lined up at Doctors Corner, about 7km from Nakapiripirit town, Nakapiripirit district
This,
Lokiru
says,
discourages
enforcement
officers against charcoal
burning.
The practice, she says, is
slowly escalating to alarming
levels with visible devastating
effects.
Lately, charcoal traders,
mainly from Bugisu, have
penetrated deeper into the
villages. They come with
empty sacks, which they leave
with the charcoal burners.
As they come to collect the
charcoal, they bring along
saucepans and beer, which
they exchange for
sacks
of charcoal. This is done
alongside monetary trade.
There was a lot of forest
regeneration during the
insurgency because people
feared to venture deeper into
the rangelands. Barely three
years after peace returned,
the forest cover in Kotido is
no more. One can stand at
one spot and can see 5km
ahead, Lokiru adds.
The targeted tree species
for charcoal burning in
Karamoja sub-region include
the desert date (ekoreto in
Akarimojong),
faidahbia
albizia (egirigiroi), acacia
and
gum
(Nyekwakwa)
Arabic.
Each of these tree species
is vital. The leaves of the
desert date are eaten as
vegetables. The tree also
bears edible fruits. Acacia
restores soil fertility because
it fixes nitrogen in the soil.
Studies indicate that crops
in gardens with acacia yield
more than where the trees do
not exist. Gum Arabic is used
for dying clothes, Lokiru
says.
Since the start of the
disarmament campaign in
2000, a total of 29,357 guns

Lotyang explains.
In Amudat district, charcoal
burning is rampant in Karita
sub-county, while it is more
in Lolachat, Nabilatuk and
Kakomongole sub-counties in
Nakapiripirit district.
According Cox Apamaku,
the Nakapiripirit district
Police commander, the Police
have tightened enforcement of
the by-law against commercial
charcoal burning passed by
the district. Apamaku says
consequently,
the
Police
erected two checkpoints along
the Nakapiripirit-Muyembe
road; one in Namalu and
another way inside Pian
wildlife reserve. Other Police
check points, he says, are in
Alerek in Abim district on
the Kotido-Abim-Soroti road,
Nadunget on the MorotoSorti road and on Giriki route
that connects to Amudat.
All these checkpoints are
located along the major routes
to and from Karamoja sub-

region. No vehicle, either

private
or
Government,
carrying more than two bags
of charcoal, is allowed to
cross, Apamaku says.
But still they do. And not
one, numerous vehicles!
A district councillor in
Nakapiripirit who preferred
anonymity,
reveals
that
truckloads of charcoal cross
the checkpoints at night. The
charcoal ban, the councillor
observes, rather than check
the practice, has turned into
a cash cow for the Police
manning the checkpoints.
Apamaku denies these
claims of fraud. However, he
admits the charcoal traders
mainly use the AmudatGiriki-Muyembe road as law
enforcement there is slightly
lax.
However, a trader who has
been in the charcoal business
since 2012, says the rapport
one builds with the Police
at the checkpoints and local
politicians counts in the trade.
At the checkpoints, you
can part with sh30,000 to
sh50,000, depending on the
size of the truck. But this is
not fixed. It is not a receipted
transaction.
So it all depends on the
rapport, says the trader who
sought anonymity.
This, plus many setbacks,
confirms as to why commercial
charcoal trade in Karamoja
may take quite a while to be
eradicated and the reason
desertification may occur to
the semi-arid region earlier
than expected.

Women hawk sacks of charcoal to their different customers in Moroto town

IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS
l Forests release oxygen and absorb carbondioxide,
one of greenhouse gases that trap the heat escaping
from the earth surface into the atmosphere.
l Forests act as catchment for water bodies such as
lakes and rivers. The hydro-electric power produced
along the Nile would be compromised if forests are
cut down.
l Forests are habitats for wildlife, which attracts
tourists.
l Forests also protect water bodies from siltation
and also ecologically fragile areas, particularly the
mountainous areas.
l Forests are important for cultural heritage and they
are home to indigenous communities such as the
Batwa in the west.
have been recovered.
According to the Uganda
National Household survey
report 2010, 95% of Uganda
households use wood fuel

(wood and charcoal) as a main

source of energy for cooking.
Though Uganda has a total
forest cover of over 3.7 million
hectares, 92,000 hectares are

cleared annually.
Compared to the other
districts in the sub-region,
charcoal burning is relatively
low in Moroto. This is partly
due to the existence of the
Police and army barracks
in the area, who enforce
stringent
checks
against
perpetrators.
John Lotyang, the Moroto
natural
resource
officer,
explains that the impact of
the continued clearance of
trees in Karamoja is already
manifesting
through
the
changing weather patterns.
In the past, this region
would receive rains from
March to May, before a short
dry spell sets in. Then rains
would resume from August
to November. Lately, we can
even enter May without rains.
The result is frequent famine,

Traders in Kanalobai village, Rengen sub-county in

Kotido district stand near sacks of charcoal

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the participating National Forestry Authority seed centres at Banda, Namanve, Nandagi, Jinja, Gulu, Mbale, Mbarara and Masaka. Not-for-profit
institutions like churches, schools, and CBOs with at least half an acre to plant, can send their request to plantatree@newvision.co.ug Tomorrow we
bring you the profile and how to plant and care for Grevillea trees.