By Sule Aliyu, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Government is set to distribute 500,000 energy cooking stoves to residents and produce briquettes as an alternative to firewood and charcoal as part of effort to curb deforestation in the state.
The State Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Danlami Ahmad Kawule made this known during a ministerial press briefing where he presented the achievements of his Ministry held at the Conference Hall of the State Secretariat
According to the Commissioner, to reduce the reliance on firewood and charcoal for cooking and the effects which include desertification, health hazards, and environmental pollution, the state is providing support to residents in the state by producing briquettes and efficient energy cooking stoves.
He decried the limited knowledge about the production and use of briquettes as an alternative to firewood and charcoal, stressing that lack of awareness has also contributed to the continued use of firewood and charcoal as cooking fuel which in turn contributes to deforestation, emissions and other health hazards associated with smoke emitted from its use.
The Commissioner said that on assumption of office, the Ministry has been organizing sensitization programmes where residents of the state are educated on the importance of tree planting and nurturing.
Kawule said that under the Ministry of Environment, a strong committee was established to curtail the production of charcoal in the state, adding that the production of charcoal has reduced drastically in the state.
The State Project Coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Dr Ibrahim Kabir said that the intervention is geared towards reducing the production of charcoal and firewood used for cooking to the barest minimum, adding that 3,000 efficient energy stoves will first be launched in the pilot phase to monitor the impact for three months.
“We are going to kick-start the full provision of the 500,000 efficient energy stoves as part of the state’s intervention effort. We are doing that to enforce the executive order under the Bauchi Environmental Protection Agency. It is not that the state is not doing anything to stop the illegal felling of trees, but government decided to proffer another alternative to discourage charcoal production, so the process is ongoing to provide these stoves”
Also speaking, the Director General BASEPA, Mahmud Muhammad Bose said that the Charcoal production business is a big syndicate, hence the agency is thinking outside the box by converting waste to energy which is an alternative to charcoal.
He said that the agency is partnering with UNICEF and WaterAid where youths will be trained under the safely managed sanitation programme to convert faecal sludge and other organic waste into briquettes which can be used for energy.
“If this project is successful, it is going to reduce pressure on charcoal consumption in the state. We also engage people in aggressive forestation which will also go a long way in minimizing the charcoal business”.