“Blood Timber” For Sale! - Stop the practice says Greenpeace

Fiona Musana, Greenpeace Africa communications manager

Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her government should stop the
flow of azobè timber from a country recovering from decades-long
conflict. Marred by a bloody history, many Liberians not only lost
their lives but also resources like diamonds, and timber that was
illegally logged during the conflict, and shipped to Italy in February
2009. This timber is planned for use in maintenance of Rome’s Metro
system.

A detailed history of how the timber, abandoned after the war, got to
Italy can be found in a March 2009 Sustainable Development Institute
(SDI) briefing paper “The Hunter’s Whistle.” The paper finds that the
Liberian Forest Development Agency (FDA) authorised the shipment of
timber, despite several illegal activities that occurred during the
auction and sale of the logs. (1)

While the FDA is the manager and regulator of the forests, reports
including by the UN Panel of Experts in Liberia, in its December 2008
noted that the “high level of discretion being used by senior FDA
management in implementation of some aspects of the National Forestry
Reform Law and FDA regulations is of concern” (2)

With diamonds banned on the international market, the then president
Taylor turned to timber, doling out large chunks of forests in
exchange for money and arms. Most of the cargo was bought by Italian
company Interwood Srl, which recently won a €720,000 contract with
Me.Tro Roma Spa, the company responsible for upgrading Rome’s metro
system.

“This blood timber they plan to use in our train tracks has fuelled
destruction, war and climate change” said Chiara Campione, Greenpeace
Italy forest campaigner. “As one of the biggest gateways in Europe for
illegally logged timber, Italy is a disgrace. It is way past time the
Italian government stopped funding the illegal timber trade, and
instead started doing something to save the climate by committing to
fund forest protection.”

Tropical deforestation is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Ending forest destruction is one of the fastest and easiest
ways to avert catastrophic climate change.

Although President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf scrapped all timber
concessions issued under previous regimes as her first executive act
upon election in 2005, three forest management contracts were recently
presented to parliament for ratification.

Greenpeace warns that a decision by the Liberian Legislature to ratify
these and subsequent contracts will have disastrous consequences for
the country’s development and the long-term sustainability of forest
resources. An overhaul of the system and personnel in FDA is critical
and public dialogue on alternative use of the remaining forests
essential.

This potential disaster must be stopped now, before the country and
other African nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo commit
themselves to long, large scale logging agreements on false and
illegal premises.