Amuru district officials have suspended all commercial activities related to tree cutting and other forest material extractions due to indiscriminate destruction forests in the area.
The decision was reached on Wednesday last week following violence in the district over tree cutting and charcoal burning which left two dead and 30 nursing serious injuries.
Trouble started after a 17-year-old boda boda operator identified as Brian Oola a resident of Pabbo Sub County in Amuru district disappeared under unclear circumstances.
Reports indicate that Oola was hired by two of the men who are believed to be charcoal dealers from Luwero district but he(Oola) never returned and his motorbike went missing, prompting locals from Pabbo to attack commercial charcoals dealers, most of whom are from outside of the Acholi region.
Amuru has witnessed a rapid depletion of its forest cover over the last four years as communities, which had been forced to live on hand-outs while in the internally displaced persons’ camps due to LRA led violence, give their farmland away to commercial charcoal dealers for a fee.
At least 1,693 commercial dealers are believed to have been operating in Amuru district in the last three years.
The areas most affected by tree cutting for commercial charcoal burning are, Pogo and Labala parishes, all in Pabbo Sub County, Okidi parish in Attiak Sub County and Guruguru near Kilak hills, where the Lamogi fought the British in 1911.
Others are, Oberabic parish in Amuru Sub County and Corner Lukung and Cindi, all in Amuru Town Council.
Local farmers are selling an acre of trees on their land for between 100,000 to 1,000,000 million shillings, depending on the tree species which charcoal dealers believe produce the best charcoal.
Michael Lakony, the District LCV Chairperson says the decision [to ban commercial charcoal activity) is meant to protect natural forest cover from depletion.
Lakony explained that each of over 1,000 individuals mostly from central Uganda cut a minimum of 20 trees every day to make charcoal.
However the district has allowed those with licenses to operate until the June 30(end of this month) when their permits are expected to expire.
Every week, 30 lorries are believed to be plying between Amuru and the central region ferry between 4,000 – 5,000 bags of charcoal.
Residents blame the current change in weather to the destruction of forests which play a vital role in rainfall formation.
Bosco Onek, a resident of Olwal, in Lamogi Sub County, one of the most affected areas says if urgent measure is not taken to stop the current trend, famine is likely to strike the area.
The Amuru Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Bilak Jalmoro says only families who cut down trees to make charcoal either for domestic use or sell part of it to meet their domestic needs will be allowed to operate but not the large scale dealers.
Jalmoro also warned the communities against attacking commercial charcoal dealers, some of whom a re still stuck in their camps following violence which saw dozens of them roughed up by locals.
Amuru initially had 401 square kilometres of forest cover, but now environmentalists estimate the cover at only 190 square kilometres, a reduction they attribute to charcoal burning, the need to open up farmlands, and attempts by people to expand construction in their villages.
