By Hopkin Reporter
The County Government of Kitui has embarked on review of the Charcoal Management Act (2014) to effectively regulate commercial charcoal production in the County to promote environmental conservation.
In this regard, the Ministry of Energy, Environment, Climate Change, Forestry, Natural and Mineral Resources, in partnership with the Resource Conflict Institute (Reconcile), held a consultative meeting with charcoal stakeholders in Kitui Town.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Charcoal Producers Associations (CPAs), Charcoal Producers Federation of Kenya (CPFK), Charcoal Transporters Association (CTA) and Kitui County Charcoal Transporters Association (KCCTA) as well as community leaders.
The discussions centered on modalities of rationalizing the Act to address the existing regulatory gaps to enhance control over charcoal activities in the County in a bid to protect the forest cover.
The Chief Officer for Energy, Natural and Mineral Resources Henry Nyamai underscored the need to reinforce the act noting that the trade is still rampant despite the 2018 ban.
“The ban limited charcoal transportation to only 2-3 bags within the county but cases of commercial charcoal activities within and outside Kitui boundaries are still rife,” he pointed out.
He indicated that a large percentage of the Kenyan population relies on wood fuel for energy supply and that about 82% of urban and 34% of rural households in Kenya rely on charcoal for cooking energy.
“Kitui County is renowned for her commercial charcoal production and supplies major cities including Nairobi and Mombasa. Therefore, there’s a need to review the Act for effective regulation of the venture,” he emphasized.
Reconcile’s Manager Beatrice Mutua expressed Welt Hunger Hilfe (WHH)’s commitment to support the County Government’s efforts to bolster the legal framework for sustainable utilization and management of Kitui’s natural resources.
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