NEMA orders for arrest of commercial charcoal dealers

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has ordered the law enforcement agencies to crack whips at ''illegal'' commercial charcoal dealers across the country.
NEMA says it has not issued any environmental impact assessment report to any commercial charcoal dealer.
The directive comes at a time when Uganda is losing its tree cover to increasing levels of illegal commercial charcoal production across the nation, with northern Uganda bearing the brunt.
Dr Barirega Akankwasah, the NEMA Executive Director, said police, local government and other enforcement agencies must act to stop the vice.
“The Uganda Police, District Local Governments, NFA and all other Law enforcement agencies are requested to apprehend for prosecution anybody found engaging in commercial charcoal production without ESIA Certificate by NEMA,” he said.
According to him, unregulated acts of commercial charcoal production decimate the already threatened forest cover, increases air pollution and degrades land. He said the resultant impacts of climate change, respiratory diseases and loss of productivity of land can have far reaching consequences to the economy and wellbeing of the people.
The National Environment Act, No.5 of 2019 Schedule 5, lists commercial charcoal production as an activity that requires mandatory Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). It is an offence under Section 157 of the Act to commence an activity which requires ESIA before obtaining a certificate of approval from NEMA.
The Act stipulates that any individual upon conviction attracts a fine not exceeding Shs2 Billion or imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years or both, while for a corporate body, the same attracts a fine not exceeding Shs10 Billion.
Dr Akankwasah said to-date, NEMA has not issued any ESIA certificate for any commercial charcoal production and as such, and the commercial charcoal production across the country is illegal.
The charcoal battle
The battle to save the tree cover from charcoal burners has often pitted the environmentalists and local people against the security forces that often protect the commercial charcoal transporters. 
Last week, Mr Gilbert Olanya, the Kilak South MP was arrested by police in Gulu City after his team intercepted trucks of charcoal and reportedly incited locals to loot the charcoal.
Mr Olanya who recently launched a campaign on the escalating illegal charcoal trade in the region along with a group of vigilantes said he would not stop the fight. He accused the police and environmental authorities in the region of failing to curb the vice.
Prior to that Mr Odonga Otto, the former Aruu County MP intercepted a truck loaded with 380 bags of charcoal worth Shs24.7 million from Angagura Sub County in Pader District, and asked locals to offload and distribute among themselves.
Early this year, ministry of environment banned issuance of documents facilitating the commercial production, trade, and transportation of charcoal. However, local leaders in the region say despite the ban, many trucks loaded with charcoal pass through security roadblocks manned by the police on a daily basis.
Amuru District authorities last month impounded over 1,000 bags of charcoal in a crackdown to implement the ban on illegal charcoal production and transportation.
A 2021 research report by Global Witness pinned security forces for aiding illicit charcoal trade in the East African region. In Uganda, the report pointed accusing fingers at the army, police and environmental protection police unit for aiding loggers and charcoal burners engaged in illicit charcoal business.
According to the findings, charcoal harvesting is a significant cause of forest degradation in many parts of the region and that Uganda loses 72,000 hectares of the country’s forest cover each year resulting from harvesting firewood and charcoal.
The report further said charcoal-related forest degradation threatened other aspects of rural livelihood and also destroyed precious habitat for wildlife.
Majority of Ugandans use forest products for cooking, with electricity connectivity standing at only 27 per cent. This puts a huge demand of forest products to meet the energy needs.
Criminal links
The report said while the analysis does not reveal a large organised crime problem, it showed a grey market in which poor, ineffective or inappropriate regulation gives rise to all forms of organised crime. It also said while laws or regulations are flouted at some point in the value chain, the final sale of the charcoal is not illegal.
The report also implicated the army in both logging and charcoal crimes in public forests, particularly in the forests where they have been deployed to prevent environmental crime.
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