Teddy Nsamba, Director Busoga Forest Company (BFC) says they opened up a charcoal company in Mayuge to sustainably burn charcoal for export from off-cuts obtained from poles in 2012. The factory recently closed after government failed to issue BFC with a permit.
She says government loses revenue after the charcoal factory was closed because of failure to get a charcoal export permit from the ministry of water and environment, after getting a letter of no objection from National Forestry Authority (NFA).
The Forestry Company has more than 6000 hectares of trees planted in Dokolo and Mayuge districts.
Dr. John S. Balirwa, a private forester in Kamuli district says sustainable charcoal burning would help foresters earn income from the off-cuts of branches.
Gilbert Kadilo, NFA spokesperson says charcoal burning by private foresters is sustainable. He says all those who asked for recommendation letters to back up their quest to acquire permits from the Ministry of Water and Environment were given.
He notes that for development to happen, people should have sustainable sources of energy and this includes energy from bio fuels like charcoal.
According to the NFA, close to 80,000 hectares of private forest are cleared every year across the country for timber and charcoal.
According to world agroforestry.org website charcoal is one of the most commercialized resources in sub Saharan Africa.
Tony Anyayo, an environmentalist says private foresters should be given permits in order to comparatively tap money from European markets that are ready to buy charcoal from Uganda.
He says sustainable charcoal burning by private foresters can be a solution to poverty alleviation and reduction of unemployment in rural areas today.
But Water and Environment minister Samuel Cheptoris says the non issuance of the production and export permit to private foresters is in line with what countries in East African Community agreed in order to restore the forest cover in the region that was heavily encroached on in the last 20 years.
Uganda's forests continue to disappear as a result of pressure from the expansion of agricultural land, increasing population, increasing demand for charcoal and fuel, unchecked logging and weak enforcement of the forest protection laws.
A 2012 National State of the Environment report indicates that Uganda loses its forest cover at a rate of 1.8 percent per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, the country lost 31 percent of its forest cover. This translated to a decline from 5 million hectares to 3.6 million hectares.
According to the World Bank, the planet has lost 1.3 million square kilometres of forests since 1990 - an area larger than South Africa.
One in every ten square kilometres of forest cover has been lost between 1990 and 2015 in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions.