By
Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Kintampo (B/A), Sept 18, GNA – Smallholder
charcoal producers in the major charcoal-producing districts in the Brong Ahafo
Region, have appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a review
of the existing regulatory regime on charcoal production, to address some of
their concerns.
The smallholder charcoal producers who were
mostly from Nkoranza North, Kintampo North and South Districts as well as
Techiman Municipality, said the existing regulation, which required them to
acquire and use metal kilns in production coupled with the cumbersome
procedures in acquiring environmental permit, were discriminatory and a disincentive
to their operations.
The appeal was in response to a call on
charcoal producers by Mr Anthony Duah, the Techiman Area Head of EPA, urging
them to comply with the existing regulation on charcoal production since that
would help sustain tree resource base while at the same, saving the environment
from excessive pollution.
According to Mr Duah, charcoal production and
related activities on the environment was gaining much attention in recent
times-this underscored the urgent need for all stakeholders to comply with
regulations to sustain both their businesses and the environment.
He was speaking a forum on charcoal organised
by Tropenbos Ghana as part of the Ax Project, which was being implemented in
partnership with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), University of Ghana and the University of Copenhagen.
The Ax project, which spans 2015-2019, seeks
to access challenges and discuss the way forward along the charcoal value-chain
in Ghana.
The forum, supported by DANIDA, brought
together research scientists, academia, EPA officials, and officers from the
Energy Commission.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the
Forestry Commission, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, charcoal
producers and transporters, merchants as well as traditional leaders from the
charcoal-producing enclave in the Brong Ahafo Region.
According to the smallholder producers, the
existing regulatory regime was more oriented to large-scale producers and fell
far short to their ability to meet and comply with it.
It was therefore important for the EPA to
review it and come out with a regime that would address their peculiar needs to
enable them comply voluntarily.
A study by Tropenbos Ghana indicated that
Ghana’s annual national charcoal production in 2016 was about 600,000 metric
tons.
Mr. Joseph Asante, Project Officer of the Ax
Project, said the framework for estimating national charcoal production would
require repetition on annual basis to monitor trends in production.
This required the collaborative efforts of all
stakeholders along the charcoal commodity value chain.
GNA