Thursday , 28 March 2024
enfrit
Following a mitigated attempt to cooperate with the former transitional regime, the Voahary Gasy alliance of ecologist associations and groups operating in environmental protection projects in Madagascar is having a ruder tone. The Alliance lodged a complaint against the State to denounce the exceptional resumption raw and half processed precious wood export.

Export of precious wood: Voahary Gasy lodging a complaint against the state

 

The ecologist alarm siren has been heard but things did not change for so much. The Voahary Gasy alliance is playing the aggressive attack, and takes the case in court. Indicted in defense is the State. The political context has its share of influence in this tough decision following talks engaged between both sides. No matter how much did the HAT transitional government boast its Task Force’s efficiency in the fight against the smuggle of precious wood, associations involved in the protection of the environment have only one responsible to blame in their sight: the State with its ministerial order. Voahary Gasy is calling, from now on, upon the cancellation of the N°38244/2009 decree, and a moratorium in-between.   

 

The line between being faulty and guilty is narrow. The administrative court must enact on the legality and legitimacy of the decree adopted by several of the Roindefo government’s ministerial departments allowing the export of raw and half processed precious wood in an exceptional way. The business is juicy, but not for State. According to Voahary Gasy, only some privileged operators are taking advantage from this controversial decision. The intention was not bad at all since the measure allowed to put previously cut and stored timbers on the market. However, it also triggered a wave of illegal cuts, particularly those of Rhodes Oil Plants. In Madagascar’s primary forests, the toll is heavy. 

 

The N°38244/2009 decree of September 21st, 2009, jointly adopted by the ministries in charge of the environment, Finance and Trade, granted legality to the export of raw or half processed precious wood. Operators have to pay royalties of Ar 72 millions per container. The operation looks politically correct since Ar 12 millions of these royalties are granted to the ADEF (Action against Environmental and Forests Destruction), and the remaining Ar 50 millions to the public Treasure. The stock’s clearance is restricted in up to November 30th, 2009, and to 25 containers per operator.  

 

325 shipped containers recorded by the custom services can provide an idea of how many cut precious have gone. This cargo, previously illegal without the exceptional measure, returned royalties of 72 million ariary per container. Together with the 5% of the selling price as custom and various taxes, collection royalties of  Ar 500  per kg, the jackpot is rather significant. 900 containers of precious wood are likely to be “laundered” by the governmental decree according to Voahary Gasy. The ecologists are denouncing this easy way of making money, and suspecting the state to have opened the export of precious wood to fill up its drying out coffers. However, the State happens to lose a bit more than what is rated by Voahary Gasy.  

 

A legal and controlled exploitation rate of two trunks of precious wood per hectare, turning out legal 37cm thick logs, would provide the State with 50 million US$ dollars in royalties from an export turnover of 250 million US$ dollars. The illegal stock to be laundered by the exceptional measure ought to be returning a wee bit more than 40 million US$ dollars in royalties and taxes. The economic operation is clearly interesting, but the price to pay on the environmental plan is very expensive according to the ecologists. About no less than sixty years are necessary to regenerate a precious wood tree trunk.