Despite the availability of clean and renewable energy sources which do not contribute to environmental degradation and climate change, the country’s pace of adoption to such kind of alternatives could best be described as minimal.
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Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) National Coordinator Julius Ng’oma made the observation at Chiuzira in Lilongwe’s Area 23 during an awareness meeting convened to promote use of clean energy sources.
According to a baseline study conducted, Chiuzira is one of the hotspots for charcoal and firewood sales whose use experts feel needs to be reduced as they highly contribute to environmental degradation and deforestation.
Last year, CISONECC partnered with OXFAM, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy together with Salima, Lilongwe and Blantyre District Councils through the Promoting Equitable Access to Clean Energy (PEACE) Project.
The initiative aims at helping the communities understand the dangers of using energy forms that destroy the environment while advocating for access to clean and renewable energy.
Ng’oma noted that communities in peri-urban areas fall within the demand and supply side with increased usage of charcoal and firewood hence the need to be made aware on the dangers of using the products unsustainably.
“They need to understand that so that they can change their perspective, attitudes towards management of the environment. They also need to be part of the process and part of the solution in terms of addressing environmental degradation and even forest degradation.
“We’ve seen that we’re making very very small steps in terms of transitioning to clean and renewable energy in the country. We have had a lot of programmes that the government has set aside and PEACE project is one of the projects that is there to complement what the government is doing in terms of ensuring that as a country we transition from dirty energy to clean and renewable energy.
“We cannot say that we’ve made big strides, the small strides we need to celebrate what we’ve done so far because it’s also a long process to actually change the communities’ mindset in terms of giving them other alternatives to be able to use”.
He was nonetheless upbeat the small steps will lead to some strides for Malawi to successfully transition from the dirty fossils fuels to clean energy sources.
Some of the women present during the meeting confessed that they don’t feel safe using some forms of energy such as gas citing safety concerns with children in their homesteads.
The CISONECC National Coordinator acknowledged that each energy source has its own associated dangers citing charcoal related accidents.
“We’re trying our best as Civil society and other players to raise awareness particularly ensuring that they get the message that each and every energy has its own advantages and disadvantages and also they need to take a bit of a caution when they’re actually handling energy related sources including electricity. People can be electrocuted when using it, even when using charcoal they’re a lot of things that can happen including gas”
Senior Group Kanyandule said as chiefs they have a big role in encouraging people to take part in environmental conservation because the impacts have been felt by most communities.
“This area is famous for charcoal and firewood use because some of the available clean energy sources are not readily accessible to us and we would’ve loved if these are made available within the community so that people can easily switch to these clean energy sources.
“I must admit charcoal is becoming very expensive by the day compared to the briquettes going at K9, 000 and as such, we appeal to the suppliers to make the products available to us so that the use of charcoal can reduce”
He pledged to continue enforcing the by-laws stating that those flouting them are ordered to pay a goat as a fine.
Truckloads of charcoal from Dzalanyama and Thuma forests come to the area which the traditional leader described as a matter of concern as forestry resources are continuosly being depleted.
