Rosewood: a call for tenders concerning the 174 tonnes seized in Mauritius

According to the l’Express de Maurice, the High Authority of Transition (HAT) of Madagascar contacted the Mauritian Government about its intention to sell the 174 tonnes of rosewood seized in Mauritius. As explained by the HAT, the repatriation of these precious woods would be too expensive for the transitional regime. Thus, selling them to all interested buyers in their current storage location is the best solution advanced by the Malagasy government.

It is to be recalled that these precious woods were intercepted by the Mauritian counter-narcotics brigade on the ship MSC Markela. These “goods” were about to be sent to Hong Kong. An investigation was initiated by the Mauritian counter-narcotics brigade after the interception. A Mauritian political personality is later recognized as being involved in this case. The independent Anti-Corruption Bureau of Madagascar (Bianco) has made trip to Mauritius to perform its own observation and investigation on the illegal wood trafficking. So far, the investigation yielded no concrete result.

At the same time, a coalition of NGOs working for environmental protection, including Global Witness and Environmental Investigation Agency, called for full transparency on the part of the Malagasy government concerning Madagascar’s stocks of rosewood and also on the sale of these precious woods if the current regime plans to do so.