BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Civil Society Organizations have urged Malawian to explore other energy sources as alternative to Charcoal that attributes to deforestation in the country.
The organisations told the news conference on Tuesday, July 12. 2022 in Blantyre that that the implementation of the Forestry Amendment Act 2020 should be followed by swift action in addressing the crimes related to forest in order to protect the forests.
The organisations also petitioned Malawians using charcoal for heating to explore such as bio gas as a means of heating food as the production of charcoal is attributing to deforestation in the country.
Speaking during the briefing, Herbert Mwakolomu, Director for Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, said protecting the forests in the country requires collective effort hence the need for Malawians to participate in the processes.
“As civil societies, we are encouraging everyone to take responsibility, whether it is at a local level or the media, everyone should be able to report what they have observed about corruption in the forest and among police officers.
“The use of alternative energy sources such as electricity and bio gas in the urban areas can increase the adoption to sort out the energy crisis through the availability of energy sources that are provided by the government,” said Mwakolomu.
The organization revealed that more than 75% of Malawians use Charcoal for heating which is resulting into deforestation hence leading to frequent water shortages.
This has also led to companies such as EGENCO investing billions of kwachas towards energy production.
The organizations also added that they are working hand in hand with government, police officers as well as setting up structures within the communities to reduce corruption on charcoal related issues.
Among the organisations include the Coordination Union for the Rehabilitation of the Environment, Civil Society Network for Climate Change, Center for Environmental Policy and Advocacy and National Network on climate Change and many others.