Watch: More than half a million cubic metres of illegally felled timber confiscated – Mozambique

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Watch: More than half a million cubic metres of illegally felled timber confiscated – Mozambique

11:21 CAT | 28 Jun 2017

Diário de Moçambique / Miramar

An estimated 570,300 cubic meters of wood has been confiscated at Inhamizua administrative post in Beira, Dondo. in Sofala, and at Inchope administrative post, in Gondola district, Manica, because it was felled during the period of special 90-day forestry exploitation closed season starting April 10 this year.

Respective fines totalled 3,593,861 Meticais.

The information was released by the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development inspector Herminda Sueia, who revealed that the wood was identified in the yards and other places in Inchope where it was hidden.

The seizures, she said, took place thanks to a tip off and were carried out by a team composed of the ministry inspectorate, the National Agency of Environmental Quality Control, the Provincial Services of Forest and Wildlife and the Police of Natural Resources Protection.

“From work carried out, it was possible to verify that the wood inspected was felled during the closed period. This shows that the offenders used schemes to evade forestry inspectors. Some wood was hidden away from the yards. The transgressors have been fined and the wood will revert to the state,” Sueia said.

The special closure period followed the normal closure from 31 December to March and was aimed at the conservation of timber, as well as at facilitating the reorganisation of the sector at a time when the monitoring of forestry and wildlife resources is being carried out by the National Agency for Environmental Quality Control.

The decree revising the agency was recently approved, and restructuring aims to adequately equip inspection with human and material resources to carry out its mission of controlling the exploitation of forestry and wildlife resources.

The forestry and wildlife sector, Sueia said, was aware that the inspection sector was facing personnel shortages, and there was a need to strengthen it, in terms of material resources as well.