UK authorities charged with enforcing the EU Timber Regulations (EUTR), have sanctioned 14 British importers of Cameroon products for being linked to illegal logging.
In a statement on Thursday morning, Greenpeace Africa said the timber from Cameroon was coming under increasing scrutiny in the international markets.
“Cameroon’s authorities must examine this new set of sanctions and start investigating the companies in question as a first step to tackle the illegality and corruption in the timber sector,” Mr Eric Ini, the Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Africa said.
Valuable habitat
“Furthermore, Cameroon must also ensure that the Voluntary Partnership Agreement co-signed with the EU is fully implemented to stop illegal logging and strengthen forest governance in Cameroon.”
The Netherlands took a similar action in March.
Cameroon’s forests were among the most species-rich in the Congo Basin, providing valuable habitat for endangered Western Lowland Gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants, amongst other species.
But conservationists say unsustainable and illegal logging was leading to deforestation, destruction of the ecosystem and diminished resilience to climate change.
Major threat
Creation of roads by logging companies facilitates bush meat hunting, posing another major threat to Cameroon’s biodiversity and often preventing proper regeneration of logged forest habitats.
Uncontrolled logging operations in Cameroon were a frequent cause of social conflicts, as they often occurred without the consent of forest-dependent communities, who see their resource-base destroyed with rarely any benefit in return.
Since 2010, when the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) came into force, Cameroon’s government has made little effort to tackle illegal logging.
The risk
Following the announcement of Dutch sanctions, the Cameroon government publicly defended the company accused of involvement in illegal activities.
Cameroon is so far considered a “high-risk country” by some European authorities.
Under European law, companies importing timber must demonstrate that they have taken strong measures to minimise the risk that their imports were sourced from illegal operations.
A blind eye
“This action by the UK government sends a clear message to the timber industry that illegal timber has no place in Britain,” said Mr Richard George, the Head of Forests, at Greenpeace UK.
“Illegal logging is devastating Cameroon’s forests, and companies in the UK and other EU countries are complicit in this destruction by ignoring their responsibility to check the legality of the timber they are importing. Belgium and Italy, as the biggest importers of Cameroonian timber to the EU, must stop turning a blind eye to suspect timber and actually enforce the law”.