Baraza

A Kenya Forests Service (KFS) crackdown on illegal charcoal trade in Kinango, some 70 km southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, nabbed six 3-ton trucks loaded with more than 5,000 bags of charcoal in two days starting 1 December 2009. The operation, involving 15 forest rangers, one commander, two forest officers and the District Forest Officer (DFO) also fined the 6 trucks KShs 50,000 ($650) each in addition to forfeiting their charcoal load.

To ensure that the truck crews forfeited the charcoal, the DFO had to rush to the Kwale District Coats (under whose jurisdiction Kinango is) to obtain an order allowing the crack team to confiscate the haul. The team then started disposing the charcoal by selling it to local people at KShs 300 ($4) per bag on 3 December. This is the normal way of disposing of impounded charcoal. Buyers were however suspicious thinking that they were being trapped resulting in a slow start to the disposal process. By end of Day 1 only 1/3 of the load had been sold.

According to  Elias Kimaru of the Kwale landscape project of the WWF in the area more than 3,000 bags of charcoal are getting out of the area on daily basis to supply Mombasa and Nairobi. “It is also believed that some charcoal is being exported to Middle East.” Kimaru told WildlifeDirect.

Most charcoal bags weigh 50 kgs (heavy charcoal from indigenous trees). “Taking the rate of conversion from wood to charcoal to be 10%, we are talking of more than 1500 tonnes of woods is being converted from trees to charcoal daily”, adds Kimaru

According to Kimaru, most of these trees are harvested from private ranches and county council land (unprotected public land).

The result of this wanton destruction of tree cover is accelerated micro-climatic changes in the area with the inevitable outcome of prolonged drought which Kimaru says is turning the area into a desert. The Kinango area for instance has not recieved any significant rainfall for more than four years. “An area like Kilibasi which used to be self sustaining in food production in mid 80’s can not feed itself at the moment.” says Kimaru. “Water pans have dried and most cattle have died. More than 41% of the people depend on relief food on permanent basis while the poverty levels have increased to all time high of 71% (the District is among the poorest in the country).” he adds.

Ending the charcoal menace is hampered mostly by politicians who insist that charcoal burning is a means of livelihood for the local people. But Kimaru disagrees: “If it was a livelihood we would have expected a decrease in poverty levels [not] an increase.”

There is an urgent need for politicians to show willingness to link the high rate of tree destruction with increasing poverty levels in Kwale District. This is of course not likely in the near future given that – as Kimaru suspects – “some power people are benefiting from this illegal activity and they would like the status [quo] to remain.” This is corruption which in most African countries is the key impediment to conservation of forests, wildlife and entire ecosystems. It is also driving Africans deeper and deeper into poverty.

Some organizations are however working towards providing alternative fuel methods to at lease reduce local demand for charcoal and other wasteful wood fuel uses. In my next installation, I will bring you the story of one such organization that is harnessing the power of the volunteer movement to develop more efficient methods of domestic fuel consumption for local people.