The paramount Chief of the Pulima Traditional Area in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region, Kuoro Osman Deiwia Nankpa III, has put an immediate ban on the cutting and using of trees to burn charcoal either for commercial or private use.

The ban which takes effect from Saturday, February 25, 2023, was announced during the celebration of this year’s Gandawii Nabahilme festival in the Sorbelle community over the weekend.

The move, according to the Paramount chief of Pulima Traditional Area who also doubles as the president of the Gandawii Traditional Area, is to curb the gradual depletion of the region's forest cover.

The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, in a keynote address read on his behalf by the Sissala West District Chief Executive, Aisha Batong–Hor, described the current reduction of the vegetation as another security threat that needs to be tackled head-on.

He, therefore, attributed the recent rain and weather pattern to such human activities.

For his part, the Member of Parliament for the Sissala West Constituency, Mohammed Adams Sukparu while commending the chiefs and elders for the event, admonished the constituents to be united to achieve a common goal through.

Meanwhile, a 46-year-old charcoal burner who spoke off record said the decision by the chiefs to ban the use of dawadawa and shea trees for charcoal was good, even though it might not be favourable to all players in the industry.