Posted on 25
January 2010 - Madagascar’s government decision
to allow the export of endangered rosewood
may have disastrous consequences for some
of the country’s unique plant and animal
species, and further impoverish the large
island state.
Under past Malagasy
legislation it was illegal to export rosewood
timber that is not processed but the prime
minister recently extended an order legalizing
the export of illegally harvested wood.
Containers and multiple
stockpiles of rosewood that are still in
and around several ports in the island’s
north can now easily leave the country,
which is one of the world’s richest biodiversity
hotspots.
“We strongly condemn
the extension of the order as it only benefits
a couple of wood operators while the Malagasy
population is deprived of their natural
heritage and are left poorer than ever,”
said Niall O’Connor, Regional Representative
of WWF Madagascar and West Indian Ocean
Programme Office.
“The Prime ministers
comments now opens the doors for further
logging in the National Parks which puts
short-term financial benefits over the interest
of Malagasy people.”
In past years, Madagascar
has undertaken significant efforts to stop
environmental degradation, manage natural
resources and preserve its unique biodiversity.
But political mayhem
following a military coup in March led to
the exploitation and devastation of several
national parks which are home to hundreds
of species unique to Madagascar.
Masoala and Marojejy
National Parks and Mananara Biosphere Reserve,
were severely hit by ongoing logging activities
with Masoala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
being affected most.
“This situation completely
undermines years of work and millions of
dollars which were spent to try to preserve
the treasures of Madagascar,” O’Connor says.
In recent years, timber
traders have repeatedly said logs they've
harvested were the result of cyclones. With
protected areas being among the only places
where precious wood trees are still fairly
common, these forests will be targeted further,
says O’Connor.
A report titled Investigation
into the illegal felling, transport and
export of precious woods in SAVA region
Madagascar, published at the end of November
2009 by Global Witness, stated that “the
team observed intensive logging of rosewood
trees in the northeast of Masoala National
Park, and transport of logs to Antalaha.
The intensive transport of rosewood in broad
daylight, on sections of road policed by
Gendarmerie posts, both to the south and
to the north of Antalaha, demonstrates a
serious breakdown in the rule of law – if
not the active collusion of law enforcement
authorities with illegal timber traffickers.”
Illegal logging continues
in Masoala National Park with a possible
shift from rosewood towards Palissander,
another precious wood found in the moist
forests of Madagascar.
Missouri Botanical Garden
estimated the minimum number of rosewood
trees cut in the northeastern protected
areas at 45,1000 for Marojejy National Park
and the northern sector of Masoala National
Park, and at a minimum of 7,1000 and 15,500
from Makira Natural Park and the southern
sector of Masoala National Park.
The authors further
stated, that 170 containers were exported
on Dec. 4 2009, 4 days after the inter-ministerial
order from September ended. Rosewood worth
more than 220 Million USD has already been
exported, says the report.
Up to 20,000 hectares
of protected forest could be affected by
last year’s logging activities.
WWF’s Conservation Director in Madagascar,
Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana says, that the
consequences for affected ecosystems could
be devastating.
“With thousands of not
yet described plant and animal species in
Madagascar, we don’t know how many of them
depend directly on rosewood as a resource.
We also don’t know to what extent logging
activities were responsible for the decrease
of lemur populations over the last year.
But we fear that habitat disturbance and
bush meat hunting will push several endemic
species to the brink of extinction”.
