NGO Promotes Firewood Alternative To Curb Deforestation

Mr Lucky Enegide, Programme Officer, Envirmedic, an NGO, on Friday advocated alternative cooking technique to firewood to curb deforestation.

Enegide told the press in Abuja that the use of firewood was one of the major causes of deforestation in Nigeria.

According to him, government at all levels; NGOs and private partners must come up with interventions to tackled it in order to address excessive emission of smoke that affects the ecosystem.

He said his organisation had been able to produce an eco-friendly stove called: “Eco- stove’’ as part of solutions to the problem.

“The eco-stove uses just two or three sticks of wood to cook instead of a whole lot and it has a chimney where the smoke goes through, thus stopping one from inhaling it.

“So far, it has attracted both foreign and local attention and some organisations have indicated interest in mass producing it.

“This will enable it to reach the rural communities where the use of firewood is on the increase. It cuts cost’’, he said.

Enegide said that Envirmedic had been able to train women in six communities in Delta on how to produce and use the stove on their own.

He said the intervention, which was in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Environment, UNDP and sponsored by Ecobank, was welcomed by women.

According to him, they have so far produced over three thousand eco-stoves.

“Community response is loud and the project has been appreciated because when they think of where they will trek before getting firewood and also its negative impact, they embrace the idea.

“Some of these communities don’t even have firewood anymore and some do not have enough money to buy kerosene, so this calls for substitution.’’

He called on other stakeholders in the sector to key into the project as well as come up with other initiatives that would address environmental hazards and eradicate poverty in Nigeria.‎