For years, inhabitants of Ando-Kpomey village, around 65km north of Togo’s capital Lome, have anarchically cut down trees for firewood and charcoal.

Koto and his fellow watchdogs are doing all they can to end the destruction, warning villagers that by harming the environment they also harm their own livelihoods.

“The development committee keeps a close watch,” said Koto, who for two years has guarded the forest surrounding his village of around 500 people.

Each year, the small West African nation suffers more than 3,500 hectares of forest degradation, representing more than five million destroyed trees, the environment ministry says.

That very high rate has accelerated in recent years, mostly because firewood is the main energy source for cooking in 90% of households.

Gas is beyond their reach while other forms of energy are not widespread.

Access to cooking gas for many Togolese has worsened since the Russian offensive in Ukraine, which made fuel and gas prices soar.

“The situation is very critical. Inside the country, there is practically no forest left,” said Sebastien Balouki, director of the NGO Reboisons Vite le Togo (RVT) dedicated to reforestation.

“Everything has been destroyed for firewood and charcoal making. We must act quickly.”

A forest code approved in 2008 provides for prison sentences ranging from one month to two years and fines of 20,000 to 1 million CFA francs (approximately US$31 to US$1,560) for offences committed.

But in Togo, where 60% of the rural population live in the greatest poverty, it is difficult to enforce such a law.

“The penalties vary according to the extent of the destruction. But the text suffers in its application,” said a Togolese environment ministry official, who requested anonymity.

Togo is not alone on the continent.

Nearly one billion Africans do not have access to a clean source of energy for cooking, according to a report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation published in 2022.