Nicaraguan Logging Moratorium Canceled Amidst Controversy
8/16/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Logging Moratorium Canceled Amidst Controversy
Source: Nicaragua News Service
Published by the Nicaragua Network Education Fund
Volume 7, No. 32
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: August 16, 1999
Byline: Jeff Shriver
In what has been termed an unconstitutional act by numerous deputies
in the National Assembly, President Arnoldo Aleman issued a
presidential decree that legalizes the logging, marketing, and
exportation of cedar and mahogany. The decree also applies a 7.5% tax
on exportation of these woods.
Aleman's move reverses a moratorium he placed months ago on the
cutting and sale of cedar and mahogany that most deemed ineffective.
Walmaro Guttierez, executive secretary of the Sandinista bench in the
National Assembly, stated that the only body with authorization to
create new tax laws is the legislature. Guttierez said that Aleman's
lifting of the ban on logging mahogany and cedar threatens other tree
species that are in danger of extinction. Sandinista deputies will
appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. "The President is opening
the doors to indiscriminate exploitation of these precious woods
throughout the national territory," Gutierrez said.
In a related development on Saturday, Matagalpa police stopped 22
trucks that were transporting more than two hundred cubic meters of
mahogany, cedar, and "pochote" without the required documents from the
Ministry on the Environment (MARENA) and outside of the inventory of
exportable trees which the government carried out last year.
Matagalpa Chief of Police Evenor Gutierrez pointed out that the
impounding of the trucks, which were hauling lumber with an estimated
value of $300,000, is part of "Operation Ecology" established by the
National Police to prevent lumber contraband.
According to the chief of police, the trucks were carrying more than
just precious wood. "As a result of Operation Ecology we have
discovered 6.7 kilos of cocaine and 61 pounds of marijuana camouflaged
beneath the wood," stated Gutierrez. Truck drivers and others
involved will be tried on charges of illegal lumbering activities and
drug trafficking.
Commentaries on Aleman's move came from various sectors. Victor
Campos Cubas, of Centro Humboldt, said that although the moratorium
was mostly ineffective, its suspension now legalizes the extermination
of the last remnants of forests in Nicaragua. It also increases the
profit margins of the 96 lumber companies in the country. According
to Campos, a sound national forest policy should have been created
previous to the decree.
There is currently no political will to put a policy in place which
places value on the forest or provides incentives for the local
landowner. "The 7.5 % tax will not affect the lumber company but
rather the property owner where the wood is cut," he said. Under
current policies, "the forest is considered a disturbance to
agriculture."
Rene Vallecillo, former Vice Minister of Finances under the Chamorro
government, said, "The policy is not heading in the right direction.
If what they want to do is eliminate contraband, they have to remember
that taxes will equally cause contraband." He said that Aleman is
being advised poorly by his political and economic advisors.
Indigenous leader Samuel Mercado Sanders said that Aleman's decision
may be effective if funds generated from the tax are used to establish
better forest management practices. (La Tribuna 8/12; La Prensa 8/12,
8/15).