Zambia charcoal restriction: Livelihoods affected by ban

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Zambia charcoal restriction: Livelihoods affected by ban


Zambia’s government is banning the production of charcoal in some areas of the country. Ministers say the move is needed to fight climate change. But many people rely on it to cook food and for their livelihoods – and say they have no alternative source of energy.

Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reports.

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11 Comments

  1. Energy is a basic human right, and from a human rights perspective and a legal perspective, it is quite common to speak about three obligations of the state. This entails the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil such human rights. Now the question is, are these three aspects taken care of in places where the government is banning the production of charcoal? It is should be noted that, in these places, most people do not have clear access to clean energy or electricity. We should also note that these communities lack a voice in energy decision making; they are not meaningfully engaged; lack a collaborative space to innovate and co-create alternative livelihoods. It is high time that stakeholders also rise up to help these poor communities who have depended on producing and consuming charcoal for years and help them find their development path, rather than leaving them in darkness.

  2. Africa only contributes about 3 billion o 4 % of the total GHG emissions, I don’t have issues banning Charcoal productions but providing other livelihood alternatives will be great to the affected families who depend on charcoal, most importantly funding local solar companies will be great

  3. But the govt isn't providing an alternative for the people, there is already a power crisis. We could look into the possibility of using coal domestically, in a crisis it's a matter of survival, it's better to preserve current trees and use coal from Maamba.

  4. Let me guess: The Zambian government wants to preserve the forests in order to sell carbon credits so rich countries can keep on polluting. How close am I?

  5. It is outrageous that laws banning this practice was not put in place sooner in such regions where solar thermal cooking can easily provide the required cooking energy.