Deforestation for Charcoal Production and its Effects on Environmental Sustainability
Matthew Emberga- Biem
ebiemmatthew@gmail.com
Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, and otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural or accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life.
Charcoal is a porous black solid, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when wood, bone, or other organic matter is heated in the absence of oxygen.
Charcoal production for urban energy consumption is one of the drivers of forest degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Urban growth projections for the continent suggest that the relevance of this process will increase in the coming decades accompanied with serious adverse implications on environmental sustainability.
Forest degradation associated with charcoal production is difficult to monitor and is commonly overlooked and underrepresented in forest cover changes and carbon emission estimates, especially in this part of the world. Apart from the energy supply demands of charcoal, it can also be used for: metallurgical fuel, industry fuel, making of glass, writing materials, utensils, and medicine. Thus, the uses of charcoal are many and great; since so many trees have to be cut down to meet the demand for it, leading to deforestation.
Nigeria is a leading producer of charcoal for energy use in West Africa despite its huge natural gas reserves that if and when rightly harnessed could easily meet the energy demands of the people and reduce and/or slow down the process of deforestation around our communities.
Charcoal production contributes to global warming through the production and emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ethane (C 2H 6) and nitrous oxide (N2O) among others. This in turn affects the general climatic conditions of a place resulting in loss of water table; unpredictable rainfall patterns; excessive insolation; desertification; flooding; landslides; and other conditions that affect humans, plants, and animals alike. According to a 2016 Food and Agricultural Organization report Nigeria ranks third in Africa (behind Tanzania and Ethiopia) in charcoal production with respect to forested areas cleared, with gross disregard to environmental sustainability, due to the fact that this sector of the economy is unregulated and unsupervised by government authorities.
What is environmental sustainability? Environmental sustainability is the responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long term environmental quality, bearing in mind the tripartite principles of: economy, society, and the environment.
Generally, the effects of deforestation for charcoal production could be any of:
- Habitat loss by animals and other organisms.
- Loss of forest resources such as honey and wildlife.
iii. Extinction of endangered species.
- Destruction of economic trees like shea butter trees, Iron trees, mahogany, locust bean trees, and other hard wood plants.
v Loss of medicinal plants, etc.
Conclusively, the government and other cooperate bodies should as a matter of urgency make and enforce laws that seek to protect and preserve our forests.
