Mozambique: Three arrested for attempt to sell a pangolin say they had two, ate one
Logging: More illegal China-bound wood seized in Beira, Mozambique
1:53 CAT | 24 Oct 2016
Folha de Maputo (File photo)
At least 50 containers, with 1,500 cubic meters of wood destined for export to China, were seized last week in the Port of Beira, in Sofala province, for being above the thickness allowed by law.
The wood, from a protected species known as Chanate [Colophospermum Mopane] , came from Tete province, and is thought to belong to a company only identified by the initials GPZ, and is cut into boards 18 cm thick, whereas the legal limit for exported planks is 12.5 cm. Some containers were already sealed and ready to be shipped to China.
According to the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development (MITADER), the approximate fine for such an offence is three million meticais, with the timber reverting to the state for sale at public auction.
According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) China is the largest consumer of illegal timber, often imported on a large scale by criminal organisations. The EIA says Mozambique is a prime example of “chronic failure of forest management when the insatiable demand for wood from China converges with weak law enforcement and corruption in the country”.
The inspection team that seized the illegal cargo was composed of officials from MITADER and the Forestry and Wildlife Services.
A few days ago, nearly 500 cubic meters of wood also due to be exported to China were seized in Nacala-Porto, Nampula province. The wood was supposedly from Malawi and had been falsely declared as cotton fibre.
Source: A Verdade
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