International markets affect round wood export ban

Round wood export ban in 2008 was able to control wanton cutting of precious and protected tree species in Malawi, until recently when international trade in round wood resurfaced, government has said.

Principal Secretary responsible for the environment in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Dr Yanira Ntupanyama told The Nation in an exclusive interview that ‘the stimulus appears to be a lucrative market for round wood in China and other Far East countries’.

Round wood is defined as wood in its rough natural state as felled, or as otherwise harvested, with or without the bark, which can be round, split, roughly squared or in other shapes. This includes other forms of wood such as roots, stumps, branches etc. Common round wood commodities are logs, poles and fuel wood.

There was an observation in Malawi that there are insufficient forests that can sustainably supply round wood from hardwood trees, for domestic, let alone export use.

To protect the remaining indigenous hardwood forests, therefore, government—through the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Mining in consultation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade—issued a ban on exportation of hard wood in form of round wood or any other form, in 2008.

This was done under the umbrella of the Control of Goods Act 18.08 of the Laws of Malawi.

The ban is aimed at restricting the harvesting and exportation of hardwood which is seriously threatening the survival of important protected tree species in Malawi and surrounding countries.

The Department of Forestry has been collaborating with the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), the Malawi Army, the Malawi Police Service and other law enforcers to stop illegal possession and transportation of round wood through regular law enforcement patrols and at road blocks.

Personnel at border posts have been instructed to detain and confiscate any round wood which is being exported without licence and permit from the Department of Forestry.

As part of the processes, since the 2008 ban, the Department of Forestry no longer issues licences and permits for export of round wood. The only exception has been where the department has been issued Court Orders.

To ensure that the general public and all law enforcement agencies are aware of the ban and other legal instruments on round wood, government has been making a series of press releases aired on the radio and placed in the popular newspapers.

However, despite this implementation of the ban, the department has met many challenges especially in recent months when the China market has surfaced, notes Ntupanyama.

Apart from that, added Ntupanyama, the other challenge has been the ambiguity of the ban especially how to treat round wood that has been illegally imported from Zambia and officially auctioned by the Malawi and Zambia governments in Mchinji and Kasungu.

“Especially the fact that in Zambia it is also illegal to export round wood,” she said.

She added that there has also been ambiguity on how to treat round wood that is in transit from Zambia which is accompanied by valid documents from the Zambian government.

Even inadequate support from law enforcement agencies due to budgetary limitations and possibly corruption has also been one of the factors.

Ntupanyama has challenged the public to support government in implementing the ban.

She has called on the public to report cases of illegal possession, transportation and export of round wood and import. She has also called on the public to not allow any logging of the same as it results into environmental degradation; to support law enforcement activities, for instance, through community policing groups and village natural resource committees.