Illegal logging has spiked over the past five
years in Mozambique, finds a new report by researchers at the University of
Eduardo Mondlane. The report, published
on the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s web site, assesses timber
production, consumption, and exports, finding that nearly two-thirds of logging
is currently illegal. The report notes that harvesting is exceeding sustainable
levels, threatening the long-term viability of the industry and putting local
livelihoods at risk.
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Forestry expert Sam Lawson, who assisted with
the study, estimates that $250 million of illegal timber is cut each year,
depriving the country of important tax revenue that could go toward law
enforcement and better forest management.
Lawson adds that the report “is especially
timely” because the official who has presided over the country’s forests
during the period — Minister of Agriculture Jose Pacheco — is on the shortlist
of Presidential candidates who may stand in the election scheduled for later
this year. An investigation last year linked Pacheco to a major timber
smuggler, but the minister denied wrongdoing.
The report was immediately welcomed by NGO’s
who went on to call for forestry reform in the country.
“The Government can no longer deny or
ignore the frightening extent of the problem. For years civil society has been
asking for urgente action before Mozambique’s forests cease to exist,”
said Anabela Lemos of Justica Ambiental, a Mozambican NGO, in a press release.
“Various studies were produced from national and international NGOS, and
all of them reached the same conclusion. As such, we cannot understand the lack
of action from our Government.”
The report concludes with a call for a
moratorium on new logging licenses; greater transparency from the government on
forestry information; and the establishment of an independent forestry
watchdog.
According to data published by researchers last
year, Mozambique lost more than two million hectares of forest between 2000 and
2012.
Read more at ENN affiliate Mongabay.
Logging
image via Shutterstock.