25 May 2007 - Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania – Millions of dollars worth of
timber revenue is being lost each year in
Tanzania because of poor governance and
rampant corruption in the forestry sector,
according to a new report by TRAFFIC International,
launched today.
The report — Forestry, governance and national
development: Lessons learned from a logging
boom in southern Tanzania — documents alarming
levels of corruption, illegal logging and
exports of forest products from Tanzania.
Annually, timber royalty losses amounted
to US$58 million during 2004 and 2005. Trade
losses are also significant: China imported
ten times more timber from Tanzania than
is documented by Tanzania’s export records,
implying a 90% loss of revenue from this
source. Up to 96% of potential timber royalties
were lost by central and district governments
due to under-collection — entire District
Council budgets could have been increased
several times over.
“It’s a national tragedy,” says TRAFFIC’s
Executive Director, Steven Broad. “Income
from a sustainably managed timber industry
should be assisting national development
and alleviating poverty, not ending up in
criminals’ bank accounts.”
“We’re now in the situation where the Tanzanian
forestry sector is highly dependent upon
donor funding despite having the clear potential
to be self-sufficient from timber revenues.”
Uncontrolled timber harvesting in southern
Tanzania grew rapidly from 2003, largely
because of increasing overseas demand, especially
from China. Driven by greed and profit,
some operators broke laws, paid minimal
wages and minimal prices for harvested logs
— just 1% of their export value. Meanwhile,
Tanzanian hardwoods commanded high prices
internationally, compared to timber from
West and Central Africa. The unsustainable
harvesting has led to environmental degradation
and the loss of commercially viable hardwoods
in many areas.
“Although community-based forest management
is widespread in Tanzania, rural communities
unfortunately just aren’t demanding enough
accountability. Who’s cutting their forests
down, and where are the profits going?”
asks TRAFFIC’s Simon Milledge, an author
of the report.
More than half of the 28 logging companies
studied had close links to senior forest
or government officials. In some rural areas,
the involvement of village leaders in the
timber trade has led to an unfair distribution
of profits, and at higher levels, there
are many examples of self-dealing, nepotism
and cronyism.
“The Tanzanian government has tried to
regulate the timber trade, through harvest
and export bans, the establishment of forest
surveillance units, and a review of licensing
and harvesting procedures, but serious governance
shortfalls have undermined these commendable
measures,” says Milledge.
“While the situation has improved somewhat
since 2006, the government still needs to
do much more to tighten up its regulation
of the industry and stamp out the corruption
within it.”
“It’s not a question of stopping the logging
and exportation of forest products, but
of proper regulation of the timber industry
and taking advantage of existing bilateral
trade opportunities with countries such
as China. Proper enforcement in the forestry
sector will bring benefits for the whole
nation.”
The report details how forestry-related
corruption and other factors affecting good
governance are preventing Tanzania reaching
the goals set out in the country's National
Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty
(2005).
Forestry, governance and national development:
Lessons learned from a logging boom in southern
Tanzania was funded by the Norwegian embassy
in Tanzania and written jointly by TRAFFIC,
the government of Tanzania, and the Tanzanian
Development Partners Group.
Richard Thomas, Communications Officer
TRAFFIC International
Simon Milledge, Deputy Director
TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa
