|
Ban could lead to illegal
logging
Thursday, July 26, 2001
Malindi timber and furniture dealers may be forced out of business
by a shortage of timber.
Some dealers are planning to import it from abroad and Central
Africa while others are resorting to illegal harvesting of old
mango and neem (mwarubaine) trees.
Following the banning of timber harvesting in Mount Kenya and
other forests in the Rift Valley, many of the large workshops in
Coast Province which rely on supplies from upcountry have been
forced to scale down their operations.
Some of the workshops export their furniture to Europe.
Hard and soft wood which is smuggled into Mombasa, Malindi and
Kilifi cannot meet the demands of the furniture dealers.
Environmentalists now fear that illegal logging of indigenous
trees would continue unless
the government allows controlled harvesting of timber from
forests.
A furniture maker in Malindi and Kilifi, Mr Newton Kibiribiri,
said he was already making contact with firms in South Africa and
Dubai to import modern state of the art furniture parts and
assemble them in Kenya due to the timber shortage.
Malindi small-scale furniture dealers, led by Mr C.K. Waweru, said
they might be forced to close down and declare redundancies.
He suggested that the government should allow controlled
harvesting of old exotic trees and replace them with young ones as
used to happen in the past.
"Banning harvesting of trees completely cannot be a remedy
and the government should realise that timber dealers and workshop
owners pay taxes and employ a large number of people," said
Mr Waweru.
Malindi environmentalist, Mr Godfrey Karume, said illegal
harvesting of trees such as neem, muhugu, mbambakofi and mango,
was on the increase and they might become
endangered.
More than 100 neem and mango trees have been felled within Malindi
town since the shortage started.
The cutting of six 100-year-old Neem trees next to Malindi Casino
by the management, however caused a major uproar among
environmentalists.
The owner of the Malindi Casino Mr Bobby Cellini however ordered
the felling of the large Neem trees on his land after securing a
permit from the Malindi District forest officer Mr J. Kifyatu.
The felled trees were quickly grabbed by timber merchants and sold
to various workshops in Malindi.
Four years ago, Mr Cellini was denied an opportunity to cut the
trees, which he claimed were interfering with his fence.
The Neem tree has been gaining popularity as a source of timber
and wood for curio carvers because weevils and other pests never
attack it.
|
