Cameroon Determined to Ban Log Exports in 1999

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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1/7/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE

Cameroon continues, despite major opposition, to move to ban log

exports. The move is being hailed as contributing to forest

conservation as well as local development opportunties.

g.b.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: Feature Cameroon Determined to Ban Log Exports in 1999

Source: Reuters

Date: January 5, 1999

YAOUNDE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The government of Cameroon is to push ahead

with a 1994 forestry law that bans the export of logs from July

despite a rearguard fight by some exporters who say local processors

have nowhere near enough capacity.

"The law was enacted by parliament and promulgated by the president of

the republic. Government therefore has no choice but to implement it,"

Environment and Forest Minister Sylvestre Naah Ondoua told a news

conference in Yaounde in December.

The law allows his ministry to issue forestry permits up to midnight

on January 19, 1999. All permits then in existence will be valid until

the end of the financial year, June 30, 1999.

Secondary log species with no ready outlet on international markets

will not be affected by the ban, "because we cannot just allow such

species to rot away in the forest," Ondoua said. Industrialists said

they would be meeting ministers in April for talks on which species

could still be exported.

Five tree species account for 70 percent of national production, but

Cameroon's forests have more than 300 species and 60 of them are

commercially exploited.

The pressure to ban log exports has come from ecological movements

both inside and outside Cameroon and reflects the desire of the

government, urged on by aid donors, to promote sustainable forestry in

line with the goals of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

In addition, some tropical wood importers in the West are now

insisting on forest certification-- proof that timber comes from

countries making efforts to sustain their forests.

A high-level summit on forest conservation will bring together Central

African leaders and senior aid agency figures in Yaounde in March, aid

workers said, so the government will want to have implemented the new

law by then.

SOFTENING THE BAN

Before the Asian financial crisis, Cameroon earned 19 billion CFA

francs ($34 million) in export taxes from logs. The crisis, and now

the log ban, mean most of that will be lost.

"But that is no cause for panic as the government has taken or is

working on measures to soften the effect of the ban," Ondoua said.

These include fiscal concessions to make local wood processing

attractive and the upgrading of the Mbalmayo Forestry School to

provide training for processing specialists.

The government plans to set up a National Timber Authority to organise

the domestic market.

Drawing inspiration from Tanzania, Cameroon is also planning to make

more use of its vast wildlife resources, granting hunting rights or

game licences to the highest bidders.

In all, Ondoua believes the implementation of the law will create some

20,000 new jobs.

Statistics from the Department of Forestry indicate that by 1996,

there were 71 processing units in the country, up from 69 in 1994,

though two-thirds of these were basic saw mills.

Asked if Cameroon's wood processing sector was ready to cope with the

bulk of its log production, Ondoua said 11 processing units had been

set up in the past two years and 12 others were in the pipeline. Eight

old plants had been upgraded.

"You will see that our economic operators have been responding to the

law and I can say we are ready for it," the minister said.

All the same, some exporters think it is too early to introduce the

law.

Despite huge investment in the local wood processing industry in

recent years, only 1.2 million cubic metres of wood is processed

locally. This is expected to rise to 1.7 million cubic metres when all

the new units start operating.

Including exports, Cameroon currently produces around 2.9 million

cubic metres.

"What will happen to the rest, that is , the 1.2 million cubic metres?

The log ban will mean a 40 to 50 percent drop in production, which

will have repercussions on other sectors, in fuel consumption and

spare parts," one major exporter said.

"It (the ban) will mean a loss of around 80-100 billion CFA francs in

tax revenues on these sectors for the government, or around 10 percent

of total tax receipts."

Other wood exporters say that is alarmist.

"There is certainly going to be some loss in the first few years but

if the plan the minister outlined...is correctly implemented, I think

we can still make up for the loss," said another exporter.

Cameroonians will still see trucks bringing logs to Douala, the

country's main processing centre and sea port, after the ban on log

exports becomes final from July, Ondoua said.

In addition to the allowed exports of secondary species, Douala will

continue to handle timber transported by lorry from neighbouring Congo

Republic and Central African Republic. ($-560 CFA francs)

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