Mufuruki: Keep people aware of adverse impacts

Dar es Salaam. Keeping the public abreast of charcoal business effects is one of the best ways, which can help save the country’s forests and environment at large.

That is one of the views raised during the Mwananchi Thought Leadership Forum 2019 by  Ally Mufuruki, who is a prominent businessman and also the chairman of  the National Environment Trust Fund  (NETF) board of trustees.

The forum, which took place on the February 7, was debating on the charcoal economy and environment. It was graced by the minister for state in the  Vice President’s office for Union Affairs and Environment, Mr  January Makamba.

Mr Mufuruki, who is also the founder of InfoTech Investment Group and founding chairman of CEO Roundtable of Tanzania,  also challenged the business community to always take into consideration the negative impacts their businesses had on the environment.

He said: “The impact of charcoal trade to the nation is bad, which threatens existence of forests in the next 50 years,” he said.

 “When we talk in numbers, people fail to visualize the kind of effect we are talking about. They take it lightly, that is why I advise people to take time and visit areas which have been affected by deforestation because of the charcoal trade,” he said.

He blamed the charcoal business for causing adverse effects on forests, warning that if it is left uncontrolled, the country will suffer from severe impacts fuelled by weather related vagaries.

“After identifying all these effects, continuing with the charcoal trade is like committing suicide,” said Mr Mufuruki. The businessman noted that the policy makers in the government should formulate policies that may help control the destructive charcoal business.

He said it was high time they considered that charcoal is still the main source of energy for many years to come because almost 90 per cent of the country’s 56 million population is dependent on it.

He also suggested that the government should provide incentives to inventors of alternative energy sources in terms of subsides, scientific research and capacity building through training.

“The government has a unique positions in this matter and we also need policy-makers who are sensitive to the environment. If we start giving out incentives likes subsides to these alternative source inventors, the problems associated with charcoal business will eventually be history,” said Mr Mufuruki.

According to Mr Mufuruki charcoal business is not well valued because if the real value of the product were to be estimated, the revenues could be more than the average national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said: “A huge number of Tanzanians are stakeholders of the charcoal business. The charcoal business value stands at $75 billion while the national gross domestic product (GDP) is only $50 billion.”

Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) reports that 48.2 million hectares in the country is covered by forests, which is 54.6 per cent of the entire country land scape.

It has been reported that around 400, 000 hectares of forests are cut down every year due to the use of charcoal and firewood. Statistics show that 70 per cent of the energy used in Tanzania is firewood, 20 per cent is charcoal, eight per cent from oil and a paltry  two per cent is electricity.

NETF operations

NETF plans to start providing financial assistance to researches in environmental sciences and also increase the number of experts in the field by giving scholarships.

Mr Ali Mufuruki, who serves as the fund’s chairman of the Board of Trustees, made this revelation during the Mwananchi Thought Leadership Forum that the Fund, which was established in 2004, faced some operational challenges in the past three years, but efforts to resolve them have borne fruit and the organisation was now operating at full capacity.

“The Fund has seven major objectives including providing funding for research in environmental sciences and conducting capacity building across the country,” he said. “We would fund environmental sciences research because one of the big challenges in our country is understanding the important role of the environment,” he added.

The fund’s chairman said NETF will conduct capacity building activities in all parts of the community, including schools, colleges, and government offices on how to protect the environment and how to cope with its impacts.

According to him, the Fund will also provide scholarships for students wishing to pursue courses on environment because there is a shortage of experts in the area.

Other functions include rewarding and recognising environmental activists, helping challenged communities through grants and producing publications that will educate the public on the importance of protecting the environment. He added: “It will also fund the national environmental advisory council to discuss the issues pertaining to environment.”

In carrying out these operations, the NETF expects to obtain funds from the government and its local, and international partners.