By Juliet Kimara
The state minister for water and environment, Flavia Namugera has advised Gulu district to heavily tax charcoal dealers to deter and limit the rate of tree cutting and conserve the environment.
Namugera was on Monday speaking as the chief guest during the national celebration of the World environment Day held at Pece Stadium in Gulu town. The celebration was held under the theme: “Conserve Wildlife, Sustain livelihoods.”
Namugera observed that hundreds of bags of charcoal leave Gulu for other districts on a daily basis and yet the local leaders have the mandate to stop the practice that is causing changes in the climate of the region.
The minister added that Ugandans should use the wild life and the environment properly to contribute to development and sustainable livelihood.
Atto Francesca, Gulu district environment officer says that it is possible for the district to levy heavy taxes on the charcoal dealers who she admits are depleting forests at a very fast rate. Atto, however, said districts that neighbour Gulu have no concrete measures in place to stop massive tree cutting. She did not name the districts. But Nwoya and Amuru are some of the districts that have reported rampant cases of tree cutting for charcoal.
The Gulu Environment Officer said the fight against charcoal dealers should be a concerted effort by all the districts affected by tree-cutting for charcoal business.
Gulu district recently banned the charcoal business but this has not stopped Lorries full of bags of charcoal from leaving the district each day in the direction of Kampala.
