Rwanda National Police could be an active partner and enforcer of effects to protect the environment, but when the institution continued to use wood fuel, it was as well adding to environmental and other health woes.

But now Police Training School (PTS) Gishari in Rwamagana District has turned to using clean energy as part of RNP’s environmental protection policy in conformity with the national environmental protection programme.

According to PTS commandant Joseph Mugisha, the idea to switch from wood fuel to gas came as part of the grand plan of reducing reliance of wood, which was not only dangerous to the environment but also not user-friendly.

"As an institution that champions environmental protection, RNP found it necessary to shift from the traditional way of cooking which was contributing to climate-related risks,” said Mugisha. Mugisha said besides the environmental aspect, clean energy comes with extra advantages like sanitation and efficiency.

"Gas is efficient and has reduced cooking time by at least two hours on every meal,” he said.

Worldwide, medical experts have indicated that diseases caused by smoke from open fires claim 4.3 million lives every year.

It has also been proven that the use of firewood creates an unsustainable pace of deforestation that leads to mudslides, loss of watershed, and other environmental consequences.

Environmentalists say that using firewood for cooking contributes up to 25 per cent of black carbon emissions, a pollutant that contributes directly to climate change.

"From what we cook to how we cook, our food connects with our lives in many ways. That’s why having access to clean energy for cooking is as equally important as the need for food,” Mugisha said.

He added that the school is ready to showcase the new kitchen installation so Rwandans can collectively take part in environmental conservation.

PTS has installed a 2800-kilogramme gas tank that has a capacity of running for three months.

Four months ago before the school installed the new gas system, it would spend on average Rwf22,000 on firewood a day, sometimes from as far as Nyagatare or Rulindo District.

PTS used at least two bunches of wood each day, and with each bunch coming out of 10 trees, the Police school needed 600 trees a month, or 7,200 trees annually, for wood fuel.

Jeremy Ufitinema, chief chef at PTS, switching to gas came with a lot more advantages than imagined, adding that there "There is nothing more thrilling like cooking for hundreds of trainees in the quickest time possible and in a smart way,” he says.”

Besides PTS, Rwanda National Police intends to extend the same cooking system to all its units across the country as means to environmental protection.editorial@newtimes.co.rw