Taraba State, through its Task Force on Environmental Protection, Public Safety and Prohibition of Land Degradation, has said the fear of desert encroachment and other environmental degradation is behind the current effort to curb tree burning for charcoal.
There has been an outcry in the state over the rising cost of charcoal, caused primarily by the ongoing effort to curtail the illegal cutting of trees.
Some families said the crisis has led to more hardship, especially in the face of the high cost of gas and fuel for domestic use.
However, the government, through the chairman of the task force, Gen. Jeremiah Faransa, said the government is aware of the hardship.
He said the state government wants to control the illegal carting away of economic trees. He further noted that a cartel is involved in the illegal burning of trees, adding that the state is losing to the nefarious activities.
According to him, charcoal has become an export product from the state, insisting that the activities of the loggers must be checked.
He said going forward, those cutting trees must also plant more, adding that the current burning of trees for charcoal in Taraba State only benefits the cartel reselling the product outside the state.
He said: “The charcoal is sold in Jalingo for N4,500 but resold at N12,000 in Abuja. The cartel is the one benefiting.”
Faransa said the state government is looking for ways to alleviate the suffering of the people through innovative means beyond charcoal.
He avowed that the Taraba State government is not against the use of firewood for cooking but rather frowns upon the unscrupulous destruction of economic trees.
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