Uganda Charcoal Ban Puts Producers, Locals, Police in Conflict

Charcoal¹ is processed wood that is mainly used for cooking.

But in the East African nation of Uganda, charcoal making is causing conflict with local people in the country's north and police. People who say they are concerned about the environment are acting² as police to drive away charcoal makers³.

In the poor northern part of Uganda, making charcoal is one of the only ways people can make money. Charcoal is very important for cooking and heating in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

But for years, local people and government officials in Uganda have been concerned about the effects of charcoal. While there are still many trees in Uganda, deforestation is a problem. In 2022, the International Monetary⁴ Fund said Uganda has lost nearly one-third of its tree cover over the past 20 years.

The environmental concerns prompted the Ugandan government to pass a national climate change law in 2021. The law permits local officials to make rules to restrict activities that hurt the environment.

But there are still many trees in northern Uganda and people who make charcoal see the area as a good source of wood.

A conflict has developed between people who make charcoal and Ugandan officials. People who do not support the charcoal business are getting involved in chasing away charcoal makers and tree-cutters. They are called vigilantes.

Before the charcoal ban, a vigilante group in the Gulu area attacked a truck carrying over 300 bags of charcoal. Odanga Otto was one of the attackers. He was charged with robbery, but Uganda's top justice called him a hero.

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, who is from northern Uganda, said this year: "I have not heard anybody who is destroying our environment being charged." He went on to ask, "If you steal from a thief, are you a thief?"

One week after Owiny-Dollo's statement, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni issued an executive⁵ order banning the commercial production of charcoal in northern Uganda.

Charcoal making is still permitted in other parts of Uganda, but the tree cover in the north makes the area attractive for illegal charcoal production.

Shortly after the president's ban, reporters from the Associated Press went into the forest with officials from the Gulu area. They were 335 kilometers from Kampala, the capital.

Patrick Komakech is a local official from the Patiko sub-county. When he heard people running away, he chased them, but all he found was a recently cleared area. He saw tree stumps⁷, still wet.

Komakech was upset and almost started to cry when he saw the missing trees. The cut trees had been piled up in one part of the clearing. Smoke came from another group of trees that were burning.

Charcoal makers collect the dust from burned wood, mix it with a material to make it stick together, and then press the mix into small balls or squares. They fill large bags, load them onto trucks and bring them into Ugandan cities for sale.

Komakech said the people who cut the trees and make the charcoal are outsiders. "They do this thing without the mercy of leaving any vegetation⁸."

He kicked at the logs on the ground and said they were from the shea tree, which can provide both fruit and oil if they are farmed.

After a time, the charcoal workers came back from hiding and spoke⁹ with Komakech. They said they were only trying to keep up with demand and earn some money.

Recent numbers from the World Bank show that Uganda's population is growing by about three percent each year. The organization says it will grow from about 46 million today to over 100 million by 2060.

As a result, the nation needs fuel that is not costly¹⁰. Some homes have gas, but most people in cities still use charcoal for cooking meals.

Peter Ejal was one of the people making charcoal. "Even those policemen who are coming to beat us, they are cooking with charcoal," he said.

Another charcoal-maker said: "When we finish this place we will go on to another place."

A number of groups make money on each bag of charcoal. Landowners in the north sell charcoal rights by the hectare. In northern towns, the cost of one bag is about $14 but closer to Kampala, prices are higher.

Both President Museveni and Otto, the vigilante, said some members of the Ugandan military make extra money by protecting the charcoal trucks as they drive into the cities.

Otto said he and other vigilantes are working to make the charcoal business "risky¹¹." He said vigilantes helped police take control of many trucks.

"As of now," he said, "you drive 100 kilometers, and you will not find any single truck carrying charcoal."

With the success of the vigilantes, it has become harder to make charcoal. But, the price will go up. That will make more people want to burn trees to make charcoal close to where they live.

Without the trucks to carry the charcoal bags, activists¹³ opposed to charcoal worry the producers will just give the bags to a large number of drivers on motorcycles who would then take them to a waiting truck somewhere else.

Alfred Odoch is an environmental activist¹² in northern Uganda. He supports the vigilantes. He says they are preventing large numbers of trees from being cut down. He wants to limit charcoal making to families who want to sell two or three bags per week.

"The fight for environmental justice," he said, "is not only for one person."

Words in This Story

prompt –v. to start something

executive order –n. a rule made by a leader or president that does not go through the usual political process

commercial –adj. describing something done as a business

vigilante –n. a person who does not have authority but tries to catch and punish criminals

thief –n. a person who steals

attractive –adj. good looking or appealing

stump⁶ –n. the part of a tree that remains¹⁴ in the ground and connected to the roots when it is cut

mercy –n. kindness or forgiveness

vegetation –n. trees and plants that cover the land

1 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

6 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

7 stumps   

（被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分

参考例句：

• Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
• If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆，如果你不快走，上学又要迟到了。

8 vegetation   

n.植物，草木，（植物）生长

参考例句：

• As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠，沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
• The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。