The timber launderers: Build a house with illegal timber and after a while it becomes legitimate
Copyright 2001 Bangkok Post
July 22, 2001
"Over 100 houses were authorised to be moved out of Phayao last year. We believe this is being done for commercial purposes, and it must be stopped," Forestry Department Director-General Plodprasop Suraswadi told Sunday Perspective.
He suspects that each of those 100 houses were made of teak and other hardwoods illegally logged from protected forests. Under a joint regulation between the Interior and the Agriculture and Cooperative Ministries, wooden houses can be removed from a province if the owners request permission from the provincial governor, after a minimum waiting period of five years for teak houses and two years for houses made from other hardwoods.
Last year, Phayou province had the highest number of approvals for owners to move their houses elsewhere. According to Director-General Plodprasop, 'influential people' build houses like these from illegal timber, wait for the time to elapse, then ask for permission to dismantle and move them.
He says that although the houses have been registered under the name of the owners, in accordance with local regulations, it is just another way to launder the wood. Agents in the northern woods buy the timber either from loggers or villagers. From even a casual glance, it is obvious that the houses are not meant for habitation - they have no windows or ventilation.
"All you see is big poles roughly nailed to wooden planks on all sides of the houses," said Dr Plodprasop. Another sure sign is when no one moves into the houses after completion.
A forestry source told Perspective that before forwarding the requests to the governor for approval both the district forestry office and the provincial district office must certify that the requests by house owners to move their houses are genuine.
The timber traders are always on the lookout for teak houses in the North, especially in Phayao and Phrae, and also for other hardwood houses in the Northeast. The source said the traders commonly dismantle several houses at a time to be transported mostly to Bangkok.
Another tactic used by the timber launderers is to first take the illegal logs to junkyards which are allowed by law to sell all kinds of old articles, including timber, without needing to record where it came from.
Sometimes the sellers throw the freshly sawn timber into the mud for a few days. After they take it out it is regarded as old wood.
"I'm going to ask the Judicial Council to clarify whether 'old articles' and 'old wood' are the same," said the forestry official.
Many of the junkyards are at Ban Huay Lan, in the Dok Kham Tai district of Phayao, where they sell 'old wood' but no other articles.
Timber junkyards can also be found at Ayudhya, Pathum Thani, Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Ratchaburi and Nakhon Pathom.
STERN COUNTER MEASURES
According to Dr Plodprasop, the incident at the sanctuary checkpoint at Baan Nam Pook in doi Pha Chang wildlife sanctuary in which a game warden was killed (see front page story) was the result of run-ins between forestry officials and villagers involved in illegal logging. The villagers and officials get wood from inside the sanctuary to make their houses and then sell either parts or whole houses on to the traders.
"Exploiting the trees in the sanctuary is a lucrative business for the illegal loggers, but it is a disaster for the country's forestry resources. Anything that leads to the destruction of the forests must be stopped," said Dr Plodprasop.
He also commented on the tragic toll on forestry officials due to attacks by outlaws. Since early 1998, eight wardens in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have been killed in the line of duty. Another 6 were wounded by forest poachers. "We'll never stop protecting our precious forestry resources on behalf of the public and the country," he added forcefully.
On June 25, Dr Plodprasop signed an order to establish an operational command team to tackle the problem of exploitation of forestry resources in Phayao province. Areas targeted are the sanctuary in Pong district, national forest reserves, and a national park in Pong, Chiang Muan and Dok Kham Tai districts.
The order is also aimed at tycoons who support illegal logging in Phayao.
The operation began in early July and will last until the end of September this year. Eighty forestry officials have been assigned to road patrols, and another 150 wardens are on foot patrols in the wildlife sanctuary and national park.
"The idea is to eradicate influential groups supporting illegal logging and trading. There must be no further poaching of trees in Phayao, whether large or small, and no more hunting in the sanctuary. The responsible officials must strictly perform their duty," he said.
Before starting the operation on July 4, Chiang Rai forestry Regional Office Chief Damrong Phidej ordered forestry officials and authorities involved in the illegal removal of the wooden houses to cease their support, or otherwise face "very harsh disciplinary and legal action." A reward of 100,000 baht has been offered for information leading to the conviction of any forestry official, or 50,000 baht for any forestry employee, involved in illegal logging. Mr Damrong said that he himself would add another 10,000 baht to the rewards.
He added that forestry district officers must be more carefull about forwarding requests for the removal of old timber houses and concluded with a stern warning: "Those of you who are helping to facilitate the illegal logging groups have got to stop in accordance with the policy of the Forestry Department chief (Plodprasop Suraswadi). I already have a list of forestry officials and others against whom complaints have been lodged at the Prime Minister's Office. You have no future."