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Logging ban opens black market
for good timber
Since logging was banned seven years ago, timber has become one
of the most sought-after commodities in the country.
By Nation (Kenya), by Mburu Mwangi
May 30, 2006
The shortage resulting from the ban has turned timber products
into some kind of holy grail, particularly with the rapid
expansion of the construction industry.
This is why illegal activities in gazetted forests have continued
to increase, luring hundreds of forest workers into highly
lucrative illegal schemes.
It is easy to speculate why the forests on the Uasin
Gishu-Kericho-Koibatek circuit have become a notorious hub for
tree "poachers".
First, attention by conservationists has been focused on Mt Kenya
and one part of the Mau Complex water catchment areas, leaving the
forests in the three districts without adequate policing and
vulnerable to exploitation.
The Uasin Gishu DC, Mr Andrew Rukaria, aptly describes the rush
for timber: "With the shrinking timber resources, beneficiaries
can do anything to have exclusive rights over the resources."
With many of the licensed saw mills driven out of business by lack
of quality timber, the option left to survive is to log illegally.
There are many complaints about alleged discrimination in the
issuance of logging licenses. This has poisoned the relationship
between the licensed loggers and those shut out.
Only two weeks ago, some unlicensed saw millers reportedly led a
gang of hooligans in vandalising property belonging to Pan Paper
Mills, one of the three licensed loggers in the country, said Mr
Rukaria. The other licensed loggers are Raiply and Timsales.
The district forest officer in Uasin Gishu, Mr Francis Misonge,
has been a victim of this violence.
"Recently, I was beaten by irate residents and a Government
vehicle damaged. I suspect they had been incited by some saw
millers who are unhappy about the licensing procedure," he said.
During investigations, a forest officer told of many death threats
for spying on loggers. "We'll bury you alive. We will kill you,
your wife and children if you continue interfering with our
business", read some of the short text messages on his mobile
phone.
Despite reporting these threats to the police, no one has been
arrested and the forest officer is now resigned to his fate.
The DC, who expressed shock over the involvement of his officers,
says this is a case of a game warden-turned-poacher since the law
spells out clearly the duties of the Provincial Administration in
protecting the environment from degradation.
The Nation caught a local chief red handed supervising an illegal
logging operation.
District commissioner Rukaria laments the loss of exotic and
indigenous forests because of the illegal activities and arbitrary
settlements.
To allow the settlement of "squatters" in forests like Kipkurere
was a disgrace, he said. The Government has now realised that out
of the 3,000 squatters evicted, only 250 were genuine. Some
so-called squatters owned as much as 200 acres of the forest, said
Mr Rukaria.
The Government, says the DC, is looking for an alternative site to
settle the genuine squatters.
It is believed the acreage under forest cover is far below what is
reflected in Government records as most of the gazetted forests
are now settlement areas. The situation has been worsened by the
eviction of shamba system settlers and the retrenchment of
hundreds of forest workers.
For example, in all, the six forest stations have 241 workers and
this number includes 94 forest guards. It is estimated that for
effective management of the forests, each station should have at
least 50 workers. The money allocated for replanting of seedlings
is also too little to make an impact, say forest officials.
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