29 11 13 GREENPEACE – Germany seizes Congolese wood in strongest EU action yet against illegal timber trade
“This
sends a strong signal to all loggers and their buyers in Europe to steer clear
of dodgy business.
We urge German authorities to conduct a full inquiry and not let the companies
involved off the hook,”
said
Danielle van Oijen, forest campaigner at Greenpeace Netherlands.
EU
countries must increase efforts to implement and enforce the European timber
regulation, said Greenpeace. Illegal timber will continue to enter
the EU market,
unless strong action is taken against those who break the law.
The
seized timber is from the endangered wengé tropical tree species. It was logged
by Lebanese-owned Bakri Bois Corporation (BBC) in the DRC. The BBC logs
were taken to the Belgian port of Antwerp in April 2013 for Swiss-based timber
trader Bois d’Afrique Mondiale and were eventually placed on the EU
market by three German timber companies. A separate batch ended
up in the Czech Republic
for processing.
“Illegal
and destructive logging must stop for the sake of the forests and the millions
of people who depend on them. The Congolese government should cancel BBC’s
illegal concession contract and investigate and prosecute anybody involved in a
suspected falsification of official documents. Not one splinter of illegal wood
from the DRC must find its way to Europe,” said Raoul Monsembula, country
coordinator for Greenpeace Africa in the DRC.
The
timber was logged under an illegal concession contract, according to a
government-approved report
by independent
DRC forest observer Resource Extraction Monitoring.
A joint field mission by Greenpeace Africa, Global Witness and local NGOs
confirmed these independent reports and found other
cases of irregularities.
Media
contacts
Greenpeace
Africa: Najia
Bounaim – Communications Manager,: +27 799 304 743, najia.bounaim@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace
Germany: Andrea Cederquist – Forests & Biodiversity Campaigner
andrea.cederquist@greenpeace.