Views: 5 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2024-10-23 Origin: Site
Gabon's leaders have reversed a 2018 ban on logging and will now allow the felling of Bawa (Kevazingo), a high-value tree that can take up to 500 years to grow to 40 metres tall, Reuters reports.
The Gabonese government has relaxed key logging rules protecting large quantities of smuggled hardwood to allow logging on "sustainably managed concessions" as long as they are backed by geo-reference and CITES permits, according to a statement issued by the Council of Ministers on Saturday (August 31).
Gabon's previous president, Ali Bongo, banned log exports in 2009 and expanded protected areas, requiring only high value-added finished and semi-finished products to be exported in order to reduce the direct export of logs.
This policy has indeed brought great troubles to Gabon's timber production and trade enterprises, including Chinese enterprises.
The new decree sets out strict measures to regulate the development of Bahua:
First, the export of finished products is obliged to obtain a CITES permit;
Second, build a geo-reference system to keep track of every tree being used;
Finally, local processing is encouraged to maximize the added value within Gabon.
More than 88 per cent of Gabon is covered by rainforests and timber is now Gabon's second largest export. In terms of forest area, Gabon is the second most forested country on Earth.
More than 40% of Gabon's timber products are exported to China, followed by the EU. In recent years, Gabon's timber trade has tilted towards China, making Gabon one of the most important destinations in Africa for the Chinese forestry sector.
In reporting on the matter, foreign media said that Gabon has been a center of illegal timber logging and illegal trade. They argued that the lifting of the ban would cause uncontrolled harm to Bahua.
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