Tanzania intensifies campaign against polluting cooking fuels in Katavi Region
MPANDA: BENEZETH Kabunduguru, an expert from the Ministry of Energy’s Clean Cooking Energy Unit, has urged councillors in Mpanda Municipality to use their positions to encourage residents to abandon polluting cooking fuels and switch to clean cooking energy to protect the environment.
Speaking during a training session for the councillors, Kabunduguru said approximately 469,420 hectares of forest are lost annually due to various human activities, including the demand for firewood and charcoal for cooking.
He said the loss of forests contributes to environmental degradation and intensifies the effects of climate change, including rising temperatures, drought and increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns.
“Forest loss has significant impacts on the environment and ecosystems, including the decline of species that are at risk of extinction,” Kabunduguru said.
He stressed that the use of clean cooking energy, including gas, electricity and biogas, as well as other environmentally friendly technologies, is essential to reducing dependence on firewood and charcoal.
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According to Kabunduguru, public awareness on clean cooking energy should be prioritised at the municipal level, given the role councillors play in representing residents and overseeing issues that directly affect their communities.
The training is part of a programme aimed at building the capacity of local government leaders on the impacts of polluting cooking fuels and their role in promoting the adoption of clean cooking energy.
The training sessions have been conducted in Simiyu, Singida and Katavi regions, with the aim of increasing councillors’ understanding of the environmental impacts of firewood and charcoal use and strengthening their participation in encouraging communities to adopt clean cooking energy.
The initiative is expected to contribute to forest conservation, reduce environmental degradation and accelerate the adoption of clean cooking energy across the country.
