Kaduna to enforce forest laws, tackle charcoal business

Abubakar Buba, Kaduna state commissioner for environment and natural resources, says the ministry will take action against those in the charcoal business to protect the environment. 

NAN reports that Buba spoke in Kaduna on Thursday at an event organised by the Centre for Water and Environment Development (CWED).

The event was held in commemoration of this year’s World Water and International Day of Forest.

Buba said the state government has given the ministry the authority to implement and enforce all forest laws.

He said his team has met with the leaders of the charcoal dealers association in the state to ensure they stop felling trees and adopt pruning.

He said pruning of trees, which involves only cutting down the branches would give the trees a chance to continue surviving and growing. 

“For us not to say we ban them totally from cutting down the tree, they should prune them,” he said.

“Before pruning the trees, they must get approval from us then our forest rangers would go with them to show them how to do it.

“Doing so will ensure our trees sprout back and the vegetation cover is not carried off. Sometimes the trees even overgrow and need to be pruned.”

The commissioner also said the ministry had organised several workshops for women in the state on the use and making of briquettes.

He added that all the efforts would bring down the demand for charcoal, ensuring that the environment is conducive and protected.

“Two weeks ago, we trained about 250 women on how to make briquettes and gave them the equipment to set up their companies in their various localities,” he said.

On his part, Halliru Usman, director of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), said there is adequate water supply across the 23 LGAs in the state.

Usman said the sustainable urban and rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene (SURWASH) programme would further address water scarcity in Kaduna. 

“We have built either solar, motorised or hand pump boreholes across all communities in the whole LGAs in the state,” he said.

“In two months, the people’s suffering regarding water supply will be gone.”