AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Rural Energy Agency (REA) has contributed substantially in environmental protection and conversation in the country.
This was revealed recently by the director of a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Kibo Environment Conservation Group, Mr Daniel Mvungi, during the planting of 250 trees in Shaurimoyo, Majengo Ward, in Moshi Municipal Council in Kilimanjaro Region.
“Apart from its main objective of providing electricity to residents, REA has also saved deforestation in the country and this is because people are using electricity instead of firewood and charcoal, both of which are responsible for deforestation.
“Traditionally, Africans including Tanzanians, use firewood and charcoal as their main sources of energy in cooking and other activities.
Because of the fact that the population in the country continue growing year after year, the number of trees that have been cut down by people seeking firewood has also increased and this has led to environmental destruction. However, through REA there is a paradigm shift,” he said.
However, Mr Mvungi noted that REA had played a big role because people could use electricity at home instead of firewood and charcoal. He noted that REA played a big role also in the promotion of agricultural activities and small and medium enterprises in rural areas.
“REA has also facilitated the availability and use of electricity for rural social services such as health, education, water and communication,” said Mvungi.
In addition, Mvungi said the presence of extra energy sources including natural gas had replaced the use of firewood and charcoal not only in rural, but also in urban areas.
Speaking during the occasion, the chairman of Shaurimoyo, Mr Omar Danga, said many people had been sensitised on environmental preservation which he said would help preserve the environment in Kilimanjaro Region, where he hailed different environmental stakeholders for taking part in public awareness on environmental protection and conservation.
The chairperson of the Youth Network for Advocacy and Accountability Group, Ms Ansila Malawiti, said the group had been involved in tree planting while at the same time providing environmental education, whereby he said the group planted more than 6,000 trees in Moshi Urban in the past 12 months.
