Persistent deforestation for charcoal and firewood has placed Tanzania on the brink of climate change crises, including prolonged droughts and heat waves.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), charcoal and firewood remain major contributors to deforestation, accounting for 60-80 percent of black carbon emissions across Africa, driving substantial net carbon emissions.

The National Environmental Policy 2021 indicates that the rate of deforestation for firewood, charcoal, and construction materials is estimated at 469,420 hectares per year.

Fresh data is yet to be released on the annual deforestation rate, though reports suggest rampant deforestation in unreserved forests. The policy states that Tanzania Mainland has 48.1 million hectares of forests and woodlands, representing 55 percent of the total land area.

However, the report on the Status of Environment focusing on Land Degradation, Forest Degradation and Deforestation by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) for 2018/19 shows that 54 percent of the local government authorities (LGAs) indicated that deforestation levels are worsening over time.

Deliberate deforestation is cited by the country’s environmental laws as a crime against the state.

The National Environmental Management Act No. 20, 2004, Section 6 states: “Every person living in Tanzania shall have a stake and a duty to safeguard and enhance the environment and to inform the relevant authority of any activity and phenomenon that may affect the environment significantly.”

Additionally, Article 27 (1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1977 states: “Every person has the duty to protect the natural resources of the United Republic, the property of the State authority, all property collectively owned by the people.”

Cutting down trees for charcoal and firewood poses a significant threat to climate stability, as highlighted in various government and global agencies’ documents. Deforestation disrupts nature and biodiversity, essential for daily human life.

For instance, Tanzania’s National Climate Change Strategy 2012-2018 states that 80 percent of the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro have melted since 1912 due to deforestation, contributing to rising temperatures in the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA).

The report on Global Warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for 2022 reveals that two-thirds of the coral reefs are likely to disappear by 2030, and all coral reefs may vanish by 2050 if biodiversity destruction continues and temperatures increase above 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, a global target in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 report states that global warming has reached 1.1 degrees Celsius. The IPCC report finds that every tenth of a degree of additional warming will escalate threats to people, species, and ecosystems.

Ringo Mowo, Executive Director of the Sharon Ringo Foundation, stated that in its 2023-2028 strategic plan, the foundation aims to sensitize communities, especially students in primary and secondary schools, to participate in planting 10 million trees nationwide. So far, over 55,000 trees have been planted since early last year.

“The Foundation focuses on three climate intervention areas: climate action, environmental justice, and sustainable tourism. The main goal is to empower the young generation, women, and communities to contribute to environmental conservation,” Mowo said.

The 2015 joint report “Tree Harvest Guidelines for Sustainable Production of Charcoal” by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), the Tanzania Traditional Energy Development Organization (TaTEDO), MJUMITA, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation recommends that farmers with six to ten hectares of tree plantations should produce charcoal sustainably by harvesting only one hectare annually.

In 2022, the Vice President’s Office, Environment, and Union Ministry initiated a campaign requiring every district council to plant 1.5 million trees annually.

According to the ministry’s budget speeches, in 2023/24, a total of 266,970,203 trees were planted across 184 district councils, with 211,805,184 trees growing well, representing 76.5 percent of the planted trees.

Public institutions were also directed to transition to clean energy for cooking. In the same financial year, 169 public institutions complied with the directive to abandon firewood and charcoal as primary cooking energy sources.

These institutions included 30 colleges, 51 Community Development Colleges, and eight Vocational Education and Training Colleges.

Advera Mwijage, Director of Renewable and Alternative Energy Technologies at the Rural Energy Agency (REA), said that the agency had, since mid-2023, entered into a three-year agreement worth 34 billion Tanzanian shillings with the Tanzania Prisons Force to supply 15,920 LPG cylinders.

The agreement also obligates REA to supply the Force with 61 alternative charcoal stoves and establish LNG and biogas infrastructure in 129 prisons, with 78 prisons already equipped.

“The Agency has started supplying 200,000 improved stoves to rural communities and 500,000 gas cylinders of 15kg and 30kg at affordable prices,” said Mwijage.

This transition is critical, as an average of 33,000 Tanzanians die annually from health complications related to charcoal and firewood use for cooking.

Hamza Chipole, a charcoal seller at Mazizini suburb in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam, said he orders a truckload of charcoal each month, containing 240 sacks weighing 45 to 50kg each. The charcoal comes from Pwani, Morogoro, Njombe, and Iringa regions and sells for 37,000/- to 42,000/- per sack.

“I have been in this business for seven years. It’s hard to abandon charcoal consumption. Even when homes are connected to electricity and people have gas cylinders, they still rely heavily on charcoal for cooking,” said Chipole.

The NationalClimate Change Response Strategy 2021-2026 states that Tanzania’s economy depends on climate-sensitive sectors contributing significantly to employment and GDP growth.

These sectors include agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries, construction, and transportation. The strategy aims to attract diversification of clean energy sources for household and industrial consumption by 2026 to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Peter Malika, Head of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Tanzania, highlighted clean cooking as a business opportunity that creates employment. Malika noted that UNCDF is implementing a sustainable clean cooking solution initiative called CookFund, an EU-funded program worth 80bn/-, targeting deforestation reduction.

“The CookFund has supported more than 60 companies in the clean cooking value chain with 7.3 billion Tanzanian shillings to facilitate investments in improved stoves production and clean solutions;

Supporting these investors helps establish a viable economy and competitive markets, increasing the availability and affordability of clean cooking technologies,” said Malika.

The government is committed to fully facilitating the shift to clean cooking energy solutions aligned with international agreements.

It coordinates organized approaches to implement the National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024/34, which targets achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 on universal clean cooking.

Bryan Schreiner, UNFPA Resident Coordinator to Tanzania, commended the ten-year strategy, noting that it will promote the realization of SDG3, emphasizing good health for all, and SDG13, which obligates countries to take dedicated actions toward mitigating climate change.

Schreiner asserted that clean cooking is not rocket science, as the solutions are simple and the technology relatively straightforward and affordable.

“Clean cooking is not just a matter of convenience but a matter of life and dignity for millions of people around the world,” he said.

To be continued.