Charcoal trade: Balancing act between livelihoods, urgency to preserve forests

By Rajabu Athumani and Hamida Sharifu

Tanga/Morogoro. “I completed my primary education in 2007, and since then, I have been involved in the charcoal business to support my wife and three children,” says a charcoal producer in Madebe Village, Handeni District, Tanga Region, Hassan Bashiru.

Bashiru claims to produce an average of 10 to 15 bags of charcoal per day sold between Sh2,000 and Sh7,000 per bag at the site of charcoal production.

He notes that the availability of alternative employment opportunities would encourage charcoal producers to transition to more sustainable income-generating activities.

Bashiru says despite the fact that the fact that many of those involved in the charcoal production are aware of the environmental impacts associated with their work.

Another charcoal producer, Hamisi Makuya, urged the government to enhance agriculture and improve infrastructure for smallholder farmers, enabling them to earn more profits from their farming activities and ultimately abandon charcoal production.

Costa Mluge, another charcoal producer from the Mafili Area in Mvomero District, Morogoro Region, says he has spent over ten years in the charcoal business and even contracted tuberculosis due to charcoal dust. However, he resumed charcoal production after his recovery, as he had no alternative source of income.

“I don’t have enough education and skills to make me competent in the labour market or employ myself. This is the work that helps me provide for my family,” says Mluge.

“Honestly, engaging in charcoal production is tough and dangerous due to the threats posed by wild animals and snakes. But what can I do to provide for my four children?” Mluge observed.

Furthermore, he shares that one charcoal kiln provides an average of 10 to 12 bags, currently sold at Sh12,000 to Sh15,000 per bag.

A charcoal and firewood trader in Morogoro Municipality, Ms Matha James, says she has been in the business for a year now, hinting that she earns money for paying house rent, school fees for her children, and providing her family with daily necessities.

“I receive wood and charcoal from producers in Mvomero District. I conduct my business with confidence since I am a licensed dealer of charcoal and firewood,” she says.

She says she recognises the dangers of deforestation, but she claims that the high costs of alternative energy sources are a barrier to consumer transition.

She also notes that food vendors constitute her primary customer base.

Ms James explains that food vendors find it more cost-effective to purchase charcoal or firewood to cater for their daily needs at Sh500 or Sh1,000 per rather than switch to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which requires a refill cost of over Sh20,000.

Forest depletion

The National Comprehensive Programme for Environmental Conservation and Management (2022-2032) estimates that 469,420 hectares of forests are depleted annually due to human activities, including energy demands.

The programme says since 2019, citizens have been required to plant and maintain a total of 185,000 hectares annually, equivalent to 2,280,000 trees per year for 17 consecutive years, to restore the lost forests.

The UN-funded programme document released in 2022 reveals that 50 percent of the produced charcoal in the Coast, Lindi, Morogoro, Iringa, and Tanga regions is sold and consumed in Dar es Salaam.

For instance, Handeni District in the Tanga Region has been identified as one of the districts facing heavy tree cutting for charcoal production, targeting the lucrative Dar es Salaam market. District reports say 600 bags of charcoal were seized from Lugala Forest Reserve in Kwamsisi in the district in 2022, spanning 7,800 hectares, degrading over 50 percent of the reserve.

The Mvomero District Commissioner, Ms Judith Nguli, says the district has issued 111 permits between 2023 and 2024, including 44 for charcoal, 56 for logs, and 11 for firewood.

“The cost of permits for harvesting forest products under the TFS management stands at Sh12,500 for a 50-kilogramme bag. These costs are low compared to the price of gas, where the costs for a small cylinder exceed Sh20,000,” she says.

Government strategies

Madebe Village chairman in Handeni District, Mr Kassim Malumbi, acknowledges that many residents have turned to charcoal production as their primary source of livelihood. He cautions that any decision to ban the activity would have serious repercussions on the daily lives of the community.

Mr Malumbi explains that extensive harvesting takes place deep within the forests, where individuals typically produce an average of 20 to 100 bags of charcoal.  He adds that authorities are working tirelessly to educate citizens on reducing their involvement in environmental degradation.

Handeni District Commissioner, Mr Albert Msando, says the government has taken special measures to educate citizens on the need for transition to clean cooking energy by reducing the issuance of charcoal production permits.

“We will continue to limit the issuance of permits. If someone applies for a permit to harvest 2,000 bags, they will only be granted a fraction of that amount as part of our efforts to curb tree cutting and eventually phase out permit issuance altogether,” says Mr Msando.

He explains that they are developing alternative solutions and educating citizens on creating employment opportunities by organising festivals, conferences and through the media to encourage and promote the transition to clean energy.

For her part, the Mvomero District Commissioner, Ms Nguli, underscores the importance of educating citizens. She reveals that the district has introduced the ‘Tutunzane’ programme, which encourages citizens to adopt environmentally friendly farming practices.

“This is after discovering that many residents living close to national reserves are engaged in charcoal production,” she says.

Through this campaign, she says seeds for sesame, sunflower, and other crops unaffected by wild animals are distributed to farmers. According to her, the council also incentivises groups engaged in environmental conservation activities, forests, and those that shift to alternative energy sources.

Environmental stakeholders

The Mvomero District Senior Environmental Officer, Mr Msangi Ramadhani, said that one organisation in the district has received grants to support conservation efforts.

He says existing conservation groups in Mkindo and Bungoma villages have created energy-saving stoves that use less charcoal. The technology has been spread to neighbouring villages.

“We also promote the formation of environmental conservation committees in the villages to educate citizens about clean cooking energy through meetings and other forums,” he says.

A stakeholder for sustainable environmental management from the Suhode Organisation, Mr Frank Luvanda, says civil society organisations play a significant role in helping the country achieve the 10-year national strategic goals.

He says apart from environmental destruction, fossil fuels have been causing health challenges to citizens globally, including in Tanzania.

“And that is why our grandmothers in the villages were accused of witchcraft simply because their eyes had turned red due to excessive use of firewood as the main source of cooking energy,” he says.

Any comment on this story supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation should be shared via WhatsApp: 0765864917.