IT is gratifying to learn that the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) is working with the Forestry Department in a bid to control charcoal burning before the forests gets depleted.
This is a timely intervention. To control the indiscriminate charcoal burning needs concerted efforts before the environment is degraded and moreover, trees play a critical role in the water cycle.
Civil society organisations dealing with environmental conservation should fold their sleeves and join in the campaign to ensure that forests are secured failure to which the water table (underground water) would be disturbed and thus affect the rain pattern.
Deforestation and forest degradation are the second leading cause of global warming, responsible for about 15 per of global greenhouse gas emissions, which makes the loss and depletion of forests a major issue for climate change.
The rate at which the trees are being cut is quite alarming and ZEMA needs to act now if the authority is to safeguard our environment.
ZMEA public relations manager Irene Chipili said there was need for charcoal burning to be controlled as it threatened to deplete the environment.
Ms Chipili said it was in view of the foregoing that ZEMA was collaborating with the Forestry Department to ensure that charcoal traders first acquired licenses before they could do their business.
According to community survey that was conducted by the Green Initiative Zambia on energy use by various family sizes in Luanshya’s Twashuka Township and Twashuka Ward, it was discovered a family of five uses a 75kg bag every month.
The survey showed that families with at least five members not connected to electricity grid, uses 75kg of charcoal per month with a supplement of fire wood for warming bathing water.
Those families connected to electricity grid were all found with at least one 25kg bag of charcoal, and that they use two 25kg bags of charcoal per month with a normal supply of electricity.
Concerns raised by Zambia Medical Association president Aaron Mujajati should also be taken seriously.
Dr Mujajati expressed worry over the rise in the number of people who use charcoal in their homes. He said members of the public were endangering their lives by using charcoal in their homes as this leads to asthma in children, lung cancer, lack of consciousness and other related health problems.
It would be prudent therefore for ZEMA to come up with ways to control the illegal cutting of trees and help educate the public on the need to use other safer sources of energy other than charcoal.
The Forestry Department should be on high alert to arrest those trading in charcoal illegal.
We also appeal to government to improve funding to the Forestry Department which stands at about 0.4 per cent for it to operate effectively unlike the current situation where it is facing operational challenges that include lack of adequate transport and manpower.
Government should also expedite the process of reviewing the Forestry Act for it to be in line or respond to new trends in the environment.
There is need to tighten the penalties for those found flouting Forestry Laws as currently people are able to afford what they are fined and immediately  getting down to cutting down the Mukula tree at will.
It is therefore imperative that strict measures are put in place to avoid Zambia turning into a desert, loose business and investment due to degraded and depleted natural resources.