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Vol 7 (AAC) No 1

Published 1st November 2013


Gabon

Trees fall in the forest

Inspections of Asian timber firms reveal violations of forestry laws by companies in Woleu-Ntem and Ogooué-Ivindo provinces

The Direction Provinciale des Eaux et Forets du Woleu-Ntem shut down the sawmill of the Société Linshen Gabon on 18 October. Inspectors found that the Chinese company was unable to prove the provenance of its timber and that the mill was using logs that fell below the legal minimum size. Inspections on the ground have tended to be weak and rare, but the activities of Asian forestry companies are now receiving special attention from government as well as from local and international non-governmental organisations (AAC Vol 5 No 4, Illegal loggers taken to task). The extent to which foreign loggers, mostly from Asia, are exploiting the lack of regular surveillance is now all too apparent.

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