Charcoal burners will soon be registered as part of an initiative to conserve the country’s forest cover. Officials of the Energy Commission disclosed this during their just-ended tour of the Upper West Region. The commission says registering the charcoal burners will make it easy for the Energy Ministry to support them with funds to be able to plant their own trees. The tour took the officials to Wa West, Nadoli, Jirapa and the Sissala West districts to interact with chief executives, presiding members and a cross-section of the public. This enabled them to know, at first hand, the energy needs people in the area are facing, Joy News’ Upper West correspondent Rafiq Salam reported. Sissala West District Chief Executive, Mr Robert Wavei, expressed concern about the incessant burning of refuse in the district. He said the assembly is working to stop the people from burning charcoal but stressed the need to first educate the people. “We would want people to plant their own trees and harvest their own trees,” the DCE said. He said the district would not in that circumstance be worried about the commercial burning of charcoal “because it would have been from the sweat of the people but not the natural vegetation that we have [all] been born to [enjoy].” Funding for charcoal burning The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Dr Fred Kwabena Ahenkora, said the natural vegetation is being depleted at an alarming rate and soon charcoal burners in the country will be registered in order for them to get funding from government to plant wood for the production of the commodity. Although many homes use natural gas for cooking and other activities, several others have yet to discover its value. Story by Rafik Salam, Wa