SOMALIA: Charcoal trade booming despite ban

IRIN – Although the export of charcoal has been banned by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the trade is booming in areas controlled by Islamist opposition groups, with locals saying volumes have risen sharply in past months. “The trade in charcoal in [the port city of] Kismayo seems to be picking up every day, with the current level and intensity being the highest ever,” a civil society source, who requested anonymity, told IRIN on 19 January. Previously cutting trees and burning charcoal was a low-key, low-technology affair, but “now they are using very sophisticated saws and equipment”. Read article

Tags: Africa, deforestation / habitat loss, energy & resources