The Mozambican government is proposing a total ban on all exports of unprocessed logs, regardless of the tree species from which they come.
The national director of forests in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Xavier Sakambuera, told the daily newspaper “Noticias” that a bill on this matter has already been drafted and deposited with the country’s parliament.
There have been many attempts in the past to outlaw the export of logs from particular species of hardwoods, but this would be the first blanket ban on the export of all logs. As such it is bound to meet with ferocious opposition from logging interests.
Current estimates are that Mozambique is losing 220,000 hectares of forest a year. This is due not only to logging, but to the uncontrolled bush fires associated with slash and burn agriculture, and the clearing of land for building purposes.
Sakambuera said the government hopes a ban will greatly reduce illegal logging, and will create more jobs in the timber processing industry.
SOURCE: http://www.poptel.org.uk/mozambique-news/newsletter/aim531.html#story9