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Rádio Moçambique
Over six thousand cubic metres of timber have been seized by authorities since January in the central Mozambican province of Sofala. The seizures were a result of various infractions including illegal logging, the use of false documentation, and the felling of trees before they had reached the minimum girth.
According to the head of the provincial forestry and wildlife services, Paz Constino Martinho, the seized timber is being stored in a recently opened yard in the district of Dondo.
Martinho was speaking during a meeting called to harmonise the procedures for inspecting forestry products.
Martinho argued that the primary objective of inspection regime is not to apply fines for transgressions, but to protect forest resources and the environment. He explained that there is no continuous control at the local level as a result of a shortage of inspectors. Thus, the infringements are only detected when the timber is in transit or has arrived at its destination. He stated that this could be avoided if there were enough inspectors.
Sofala has 74 inspectors to cover 3,304,900 hectares of forest. Some districts have less than two inspectors whilst Martinho believes that six per district are needed to control forestry mismanagement and to assist operators.
There are no plans to increase the number of inspectors. However, the work is augmented by the environmental police, wardens in the hunting concessions, and members of local communities.
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