ARUSHA, Tanzania, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania is set to install liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) plants in all public institutions to reduce usage of charcoal and firewood as the main source of cooking energy, a senior official said Tuesday.
January Makamba, Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office (Union and Environment), said that the move is part of the Tanzanian government's efforts to conserve forests, which are overwhelmed with massive deforestation.
Currently, it is estimated that 90 percent of Tanzanian population rely on charcoal and firewood as the main source of cooking energy.
The minister said that the LPG and CNG plants will be installed in public institutions such as schools, prisons, armies, hospitals and different colleges across the east African nation.
For years, public institutions have been blamed for being the big users of charcoal and firewood, hence the government's efforts to conserve forests.
Tanzania is home to one of the largest tree covers in the world, but it's at risk. A forest inventory by the Tanzania Forest Services Agency in 2015 found that forests and wooded areas cover over 48.1 million hectares of land, more than the entire state of California. It also found that wood remains the main source of fuel for Tanzanians, even in urban areas.
"We already talked to LPG and CNG suppliers, who have agreed to install a gas plant in public institutions," he said, noting that the new drive is meant to save the country's forests from rampant tree felling.
According to Makamba, charcoal and firewood are among the main drivers of deforestation, whereby reports show that an average of 372 hectares of forests is cleared every year.
It is estimated that Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam consume an average of 500,000 tonnes of charcoal annually and its demand has been growing every day.
