Synod bemoans lack of alternative energy sources
Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has said there is need for the country to find alternatives to charcoal and firewood usage in order to address environmental degradation.
Moderator of the Synod, Reverend John Gondwe, said this on Saturday during the synod’s inauguration of a tree planting campaign called Tree Cover Malawi project.
Gondwe said that although the government has been taking some action in dealing with charcoal burners, there is more work to be done.
“Those people who burn charcoal do not do so for the sake of doing it but the country depends on wood energy as the only reliable source of energy and we have to find other alternatives if the country is to win the battle against deforestation,” Gondwe said.
On the tree planting campaign, Gondwe said the exercise is coming as a complement of government’s efforts in addressing deforestation in the country.
He said the project is in line with what the synod council agreed when it met in 2016, that every church member has to plant at least a tree this year.
“Since we are just starting, for this year we will plant 20,000 seedlings. The synod has over 250 churches with over one million Christians. So if each member could grow one tree, it means we will have at least one million trees planted,” he added.
He, however, said that the country lacks adequate and relevant policies on environmental conservation, saying poor enforcement of existing policies is what is contributing to environmental degradation.
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