CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Médard Libani, Congo-Brazza, Septembre 1999
THEME = ECOLOGY
Timber used to be a major national resource.
Now there's serious problems - at the same time, reason for hope
Local timber used to be the country's main national resource for export. Today, there's serious concerns for this trade. Why? Because too many trees of one kind have been cut down; the timber is exported in its natural state, so prices are low; there's excessive cutting down of timber; too many of the best trees are cut down, especially in the Niari area. Moreover, as already mentioned, it's the raw timber which is exported - not much is done in the saw mills to prepare the wood for sale apart from cutting it.
A citizen of Pointe-Noire, Congo's economic capital, puts it this way: "Congolese oil is going down in price per barrel. Our timber production and exports should be making up for this, especially at a time when the economy is slowing down." The national timber industry is not sufficiently diversified and is badly structured. Potential there is, but the fact remains - timber production has never got past 900,000 cubic metres per year. If this isn't improved on, there's no hope of reviving the industry.
Marious Mganbou is owner-manager of Dopio, a local cottage-type- industry saw mill in Brazzaville. He says: "During the 1980s, our kind of saw mill spread everywhere. The fishermen who use our wood for building boats, were prepared to pay anything between 60,000-200,000 CFA francs for unbarked logs depending on their length. Such is not the case today."
This type of saw mill has developed completely illegally. Most of them are not registered with the appropriate ministry and this dissuades many buyers. Nevertheless, they do offer substantial price reductions. Maxime Gama has a saw mill at Mpila, in Brazzaville's 6th District. He says: "We are selling a metre of plank for 2,000 CFA francs, whereas a modern-type saw mill will charge anything from 2,500-3,000 CFA francs.
Since Congo's 1997 civil war, a number of illegal operators have been trafficking in timber along the River Congo. A forest ranger describes what's been happening: "The river is infested with pirates possessing the most sophisticated and modern means, including well-equipped dugout canoes. They raid the log rafts as they float downriver from the forest areas of northern Congo".
The timber is then "re-directed" to illegal saw mills established on the sandbanks along the River Congo or on the other side of the river in Congo-Kinshasa. The fact remains, the whole business is nothing more than organised crime on a wide scale. Both Congo's, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, must work together in stamping out this modern-day form of piracy. Another Forestry official puts it this way: "Many government departments such as security, defence and foreign affairs, must be involved in the fight, because it's a question of stealing major sums from the national ec-onomy".
Between June 1997 and April 1998, more than 13,000 cubic metres of timber were stolen. This represents 1.2 billion CFA francs when sold on the local market, or nearly 1.8 billion CFA francs when sold for export. This is a serious loss to business. There's also a lucrative trade in illegal timber exporting going on between Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic.
Congo's timber trade is suffering from the effects of increased production costs, especially when it comes to transport, fuel, etc. For more than a year, many companies in North Congo have been re- routing the timber for export, via Cameroon, because they can't get it through Congo.
Companies associated with the timber trade such as the rail-link Congo-Océan, the Industrial Timber Company (CIB), and other forestry concerns in North Congo have suffered nearly 20 billion CFA francs in lost revenue. CIB, alone, has spent nearly 7 billion CFA francs so as to be able to export its timber via the port of Douala in Cameroon. 30% of goods passing through Douala is Congolese timber. This means there are employment cuts and loss of VAT for Congo.
Henri Djomobo is Minister of Forestry Economy and Water Resources. He says people living within Forest Reserves, know about and appreciate the rules and regulations governing the exploitation of timber in these areas. After all, it's their natural heritage. "Forest rangers and ecologists patrol the forest reserves so as to check on poaching and illegal tree-felling. At least, here, something is being done for conservation. Such controls should enable us to get our hands on those who are destroying our patrimony. Inquiries will soon be undertaken to enable us to determine the extent of the damage. There's nobody living in these particular areas, which means anyone cutting down trees here, is working illegally".
From now on, officially approved timber companies will be exploiting these zones. Requests for new work permits to operate in North Congo, especially in Likouala region (Mokabi, Lopaka and Ipendja), have been made through official channels. All this means that there will be productive local economic activity while at the same time, national interests will be protected. Such a project has been undertaken in Bétou and Enyélle with the establishment of the Cristal company.
Some months ago, the price of certain petroleum products fell, but today the market has risen and there is reason for optimism. Referring to the timber trade, ecologist Martin Adolphe Nkouka says: "Of course, prices will always fluctuate, but nothing like what happens with oil. We must increase production and augment the amount of wood processed in local saw mills.
Exporting finished products is important for increasing revenue, both for obtaining foreign currency and for national economic planning. Mr Nkouka explains: "We've just completed a general inspection of the nation's forests and water resources. Now follows the setting up of a data base of findings from the interior of the country and from ports such as Pointe-Noire, Douala (Cameroon) and Matadi (Congo RDC). Likewise from ports where our goods are discharged. This will enable us to determine if there is a regular export trade in timber.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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