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RC warns govt officials for aiding illegal tree felling
2006-04-12 07:46:54
By Amri Lugungulo, PST, Kibaha
The Coast Regional Commissioner, Dr Christine Ishengoma, has warned that the government would not hesitate to sack or to take stern legal action against village leaders who are agents in the environmental degradation by letting in dealers of forest products in the region.
Dr Ishengoma made the warning recently during the climax of the national tree planting day held at Mng’aru village in Rufiji district at regional level.
She said the government would take action after finding that government leaders were illegally issuing permits to dealers who go about with their rampant harvests of forest products in the region.
’’Even though the village leaders receive some little payment for their actions, the money is not posted into the village funds and instead directly into their pockets,’’ she said.
She said the permits are issued to groups of people from outside the villages pretending they are clearing the forest for cultivation while in fact they cut the trees for charcoal burning and firewood.
The groups who seek forest areas for their ’’business’’ that include charcoal burning would normally shift away from the villages to other villages for the same business immediately after selling the charcoal, the RC alleged.
’’Such groups of people are reported in Bagamoyo, Kisarawe, Mkuranga and Rufiji districts. These are not good to the society as ultimately the region will experience drought due to lack of rains and there will be no farms, pastureland, water for domestic use as well as food shortage,’’ she said.
Addressing a rally at the village after planting 550 trees near Mng’aru prison in Kibiti Ward in the region, Dr Ishengoma said Coast Region was among the regions which had bad history of rampant forest products harvest and this has been enhanced due to the availability of the market — the city of Dar es Salaam.
She disclosed that there were also reports that the products, especially charcoal are illegally exported to foreign countries in large quantities by greedy dealers who have no any interest of the regional development except leaving it semi desert.
Said she: ’’It is high time now for those who rely on charcoal burning business as the only way of their livelihood, to seek, from now onwards other alternatives. District councils should make plans to introduce other projects to enable their people, especially the youths, to survive.’’
Earlier, the Regional Natural Resources and Tourism Officer, Johansen Bukwali, told the rally that a total of 13,272,712 trees have been planted between 1999 and 2005 in the region.
Bukwali, who is also an Assistant Administrative Secretary in the RC’s office, said 60 per cent, or (equivalent to 727,997 trees), up to 70 per cent (equivalent to 849,330 trees) of all the trees planted during the period until last planting season could be seen growing, particularly in areas with water.
He said for two consecutive seasons, national tree planting seasons in the region used to be held in April during the rains which enabled many trees to grow.
He added that this year the region’s district councils, individuals, environmental groups and other NGOs expect to plant about 801,372 trees.
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