CALVIN, Esagu John and Hidayat, Jafron Wasiq and Warsito, Budi (2023) ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CHARCOAL PRODUCTION ON THE SHEA NUT TREE VEGETATION COVER IN KAPELEBYONG DISTRICT, EASTERN UGANDA. Masters thesis, UNIVERSITAS DIPONEGORO.

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Abstract

With the ever-increasing poor population in the world today, charcoal remains one of the main source of energy mainly extracted from the Shea Nut tree to ease cooking processes and other related necessities, income generation inclusive. The valuable Shea Nut tree is however facing increasing threats from the local communities mainly due to charcoal production. This study therefore, analyses the state of the Shea Nut tree by focusing on the effect of charcoal production on the shea Nut tree vegetation cover in Kapelebyong District. A cross-sectional survey design was employed following both quantitative and qualitative data approaches. Landsat images (Landsat 5, 7TM & 8ETM) of the study area for 2002, 2012 and 2022 were classified using ArcGIS 10.8 and maximum likelihood classification was carried out to assess vegetation variation from 2002-2022. Social economic data on drivers of charcoal production was collected from a sample of 60 respondents engaged in charcoal production, MOLUCE plugin in built in QGIS 2.1 version was used to predict Shea Nut tree coverage by 2032 and key informant interviews were conducted to assess the sustainable Shea Nut tree management mechanisms. Shea Nut trees reduced by 2.3% from 2002-2012 and by 6% from 2012-2022. Therefore, basing on the periods analyzed, there was a sharp declining trend in the concentration of the shea Nut trees. The results depict that the major drivers leading to production of charcoal in the area included high demand from urban areas, need for income and unemployment. It is predicted that by 2032, the coverage of the Shea Nut tree in Kapelebyong District will have reduced to only 713 hectares (7.3%) from 1277 hectares (10.6%) of 2022. Therefore, charcoal production with other land uses like farming, and settlement have greatly resulted to Shea Nut tree deterioration. The study recommends that; use alternative energy sources should be encouraged, the local communities need to be provided with other alternative income generating activities, Government of Uganda through NFA need to enforce and strengthen the ways through which of Shea Nut trees are managed and utilized in order to minimize illegal cutting.

Keywords: Charcoal Production, Shea Nut Tree, Kapelebyong District, Eastern Uganda

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