By RFPosted on 20-08-2019Modified on 20-08-2019 at 11:38

The Big Island is sadly known for these many trades of precious woods and especially rosewood, exported very often to China, even if cutting and export are prohibited. Madagascar has pledged not to sell any more, "for the moment".

The announcement arrived Monday, August 19 by the delegation of the Ministry of Environment of Madagascar at the conference of Cites, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This is Madagascar's first participation in this meeting, which is taking place in Geneva.

" No commercialization of precious wood is envisaged at the moment, " Lala Ranaivomanana, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment, said in a speech to the Cites Standing Committee. If the Malagasy state manages to take control of all the precious woods already cut and to have the necessary capacities in terms of forest control, the sale can resume, says the ministry.

The sale will be intended primarily for local use, for the rehabilitation of works of art and crafts. A positive but insufficient decision for civil society organizations engaged in the defense of the environment.

" We must first punish the current and past barons of the mafia rosewood traffic , " said Ndranto Razakamanarina, the president of the Alliance Vohary Gasy. This is a prerequisite for better governance of natural resources. "The head of this platform bringing together 27 Malagasy NGOs also regrets that" the Ministry of the Environment does not associate the true civil society, especially when it comes to inventory inventory on the ground . "

The same goes for the Lampogna coalition, which operates in the east of the country, where most of the precious wood grows. Its founder, Clovis Razafimalala, deplores " the lack of transparency of the state on the management of precious wood stocks ".

" To manage the stocks, it is necessary to set up a joint commission with the civil society and the local authorities which know perfectly the mechanisms of this traffic, continues this defender of the natural resources. Then we will decide together what to do with this cut wood. For example, do not manage the stock by counting logs but in cubic meters or tons, because you can cut a log to get four and it still allows traffic . "

The Ministry of the Environment has announced that the Special Court against the trafficking of rosewood and ebony set up last year sentenced 19 defendants to 20 years of forced labor and a fine of 25 000 euros each.

    On the same subject

    Madagascar: big stakes before the Cites against the traffic of precious wood

    Madagascar: an alarming report on the exploitation of precious woods on the island

    Rosewood traffic: the DRC also affected

    Gabon: François Wu speaks about the business of precious wood kevazingo

    Precious wood traffic in Gabon: suspects deny their involvement

    comments