Transcript Document

FORESTRY IN ZAMBÉZIA:
“CHINESE TAKE-AWAY”
ORAM, 2005
Introduction
How forests are supposed to be managed:
• According to policies, laws, international agreements
calling for:
sustainable forest management for
poverty alleviation
How forests are actually being managed:
• Stripping out precious timbers for export to Asia
as logs
• Bypassing local resource rights and economic
development
• Degrading the resource and rendering it
unmanagable in the medium-long term
What should happen?
DN/SPFFB
Operators
Resource inventory
Approval by communities;
benefit sharing agreements
Delimitation of
permanent forest estate
Sound management plans
Delimitation of concessions
Harvesting + regeneration
Processing + Export
Supervision by SPFFB
= Sustainable Management + Economic Development
What is actually happening?
DN/SPFFB
Operators
questionable inventory
+ annual allowable cut
communities cheated of
resources and benefits
no permanent forest estate
or spatial control of logging
Too many operators +
fictitious management plans
licensing of unqualified operators
+ unsustainable concessions
illegal harvesting +
no post-harvest treatement
most timber exported as logs
collusion by SPFFB
= Sustainable poverty + forest resource degradation
Industry
paralysed
WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS ?
• Large number of operators without experience or
professionalism abusing the resource
• Exploitation of local labour (below minimum
wage, or not paid at all)
• Little contribution of forests to sustainable rural or
industrial development;
• no benefits to local people,
• Lack of controls on volumes and areas harvested
rendering resource unmanageable
• culture of corruption perpetuated
WHAT IS DRIVING THE SITUATION?
• Asian buyers secure logs by providing easy credit
that attracts a large number of cowboy operators to
get into logging,
• Booming Chinese economy with high demand for
logs.
• Involvement of politicians and government officers in
forestry
• Government supports Asians interests through policy
and regulation
• Donors, consultants and civil society are unwilling to
speak out!!
• Mozambique is not alone!! – the forests of Papua
New Guinea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Russia and
Congo Basin are also being stripped to the detriment
of indigenous people and local economies.
FORESTS OF ZAMBEZIA
Zambezia, total area:
10,270,622 ha
Saket 1994
Forest type
Cover
%
Area
(ha)
PMSR 2001-2 *
Cover
%
Lowland high density
> 75
187.500
>70
Lowland mid-density
50-75
597.410
Lowland low-density
25-50
Tall thicket
20-40
Total Productive forest
* Technical problems delayed
publication until late 2005
Area
(ha)
Diff %
152.300
-19
40-70
1.093.600
+ 83
1.146.959
10-40
2.014.400
+ 75
1.142.455
<10
309.300
- 73
3.569.600
+16
3.074.324
Annual Allowable Cut
Zambézia total area: 10.270.662
ha
Saket 1994
PMSR 2005
Productive forest area (ha)
3.074.324
3.231.900*
Total comercial volume (m3)
3.761.164
15.143.219
Annual allowable cut (m3/yr,118
spp)
98.615
683.000**
Annual allowable cut (m3/yr, 7 spp)
17.000
72.533
* Excluding reserves
** For 75 species
The PMSR report does not even mention this
remarkable increase. Can it be true??
Who gets what?
YEAR
Simple licence
operators
Industrial
operators
(with concession)
TOTAL
2003
(m3)
15,419
2004
(m3)
28,655
10,337
20,865
(2,265)
25,756
(???)
49,340
A BOOMING FOREST SECTOR
2000
2003
Industrial operators
11
24
Concessions request
2
49
Simple licence loggers
27
144
Concessions in Zambezia
2001
2002
2003
2004
No. of Concession
Applications
9
27
49
36
No. of Companies
6
17
30
30
339
1.132
1.564
1.449
Total area (‘000 ha)
There are concession applications for over half of Zambezia’s commercial forest
area. Half of these applications, including nearly all the best forest, have been
made by Asian buyers with influential national partners, and other foreign
companies.
Scandals in forest sector governance (1)
• SPFFB licenses many more operators
than it can supervise.
• Concession applicants are allowed to log
their areas before preparing
management plans!
• Management plans are approved that
propose to harvest timber in < 10 years.
• Operators systematically under-report
the volume of timber harvested –
perhaps by 50%
Scandals in forest sector governance (2)
• Illegal export through Quelimane port
revealed by contradictory forest statistics
different agencies: DNFFB, SPFFB, CFM,
DPIC – and direct observation!
• Widespread bribery and corruption
• Loss of government revenues of about
$200,000/year in Zambezia alone
• Timber prices paid by Asian buyers
reduced to cover “cost of doing business”
Contradictory Gov’t Statistics
Year
SPFFB
Licensed
(m3)
Extracted
(m3)
Port
authority
Exported
(m3)
Exported
(m3)
2000
18,090
28,043
6,512
865
2001
32,682
26,622
18,417
42,352
2002
42,175
33,200
28,461
52,422
2003
31,744
25,397
20,084
40,640
2004
49,340
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
Either we continue, as now to …
• Cut and export as much as possible
while you still can!
• Degrade the resource!
• Impoverish the communities!
• When its gone - sell up and leave!
Or: civil society lobbies for sustainable forest
management for poverty alleviation!
WHAT SHOULD WE LOBBY FOR?
A moratorium on log exports.
WHY?
Zambezia has the capacity to process at least
35,000 m3/year, and all timber types.
National, regional and international markets exist
for Mozambican processed timber.
Mozambique should add value to its own timber,
rather than exporting logs and jobs to China
Other immediate measures
• Moratoria on:
– annual logging permits (licenca simples)
– new concession approvals
until systems for sustainable management are in
place, and operators can demonstrate their ability to
log responsibly.
• Demand independent review of previously
approved concession management plans
• Revise legislation to give communities
rights to the timber on their own land
ENVISAGED OUTCOMES
• Foreign log buyers will leave or switch to
exporting processed timber
• The “credit system” buyers have been using to
support inexperienced simple licence operators
will be abandoned
• Only the more dedicated professionals operators
will continue in forestry – cowboys will leave.
• Existing industrial capacity will be better utilised
and developed, creating more jobs for
Mozambicans.
Alternative vision for forestry
• Harness forests for economic
development
• Integrate forestry in provincial and national
development planning
• Sustainable management of forests for
wide range of products
• Value-added processing of forest products
• Community-based concession
management and processing
Who should do what
Government (at national, provincial, district levels):
• constructive engagement with China to promote
Mozambique’s economic development, not just China’s
• crack down on corruption in DN/SPFF
• establish and enforce regulations for best practice in fores
management
• fulfil commitments to sound governance
• legislate to give resource rights to communities
• market support and financial incentives for in-country
processing
• improve infrastructure (roads, power) needed for forestry
• facilitate regular dialogue with all stakeholders !!!
Who should do what
Operators:
• Realise forestry is a privilege NOT a right.
• Promote high standards of forest
management via professional associations
• Collaborate with local communities and
respect their rights
• Process and transform timber locally
• Diversify products and markets
• Develop Zambézia’s forests for benefit of all
Who should do what?
Communities:
• Commit to sustainable management of own
forest resources for community development
• Organise themselves for effective decisionmaking and benefit sharing
• Seek management partnerships as appropriate
Local NGOs:
• Facilitate and support community processes and
interactions with private sector.
Who should do what?
International NGOs:
• Provide Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM)
• Support local NGOs
Donors:
• Put pressure on GOM to fulfil its policy
commitments
• Financial and technical support
• Constructive multi-lateral engagement with China
What the “Chinese take-away” means for
Mozambique
• Chinese presence in Mozambique could obviously bring
many benefits, BUT:
• THE CHINESE ECONOMY SHOULD NOT BOOM AT THE
EXPENSE OF POORER COUNTRIES LIKE MOZAMBIQUE.
• We must work with Chinese and other timber importers such
as India, to ensure that:
MORE PROCESSING AND MORE BENEFITS FROM
FORESTRY STAY IN MOZAMBIQUE.
For that: POLICIES PROMOTING ENLIGHTENED NATIONAL
INTEREST ARE NEEDED
CHINESE IMPORT OF FOREST
PRODUCTS
YEAR
1997
2005
2015
VOLUME (m3)
40 million
134 million
300 million*
VALUE ($)
6 billion
16 billion
32 billion*
* (mid-level estimate)
•
[email protected]
CHINESE EXPORT OF FOREST
PRODUCTS
YEAR
1997
2005
VOLUME (RWE)*
4.2 m m3
23 m m3
VALUE ($)
$3.6 billion
$17.2 billion
In 2005, 80% of all forest exports were timber products,
primarily furniture and wood-based panels
Approx. 70% of timber imported into China is re-exported
* round wood equivalents
White et al, (2006) Forest Trends
WHERE DO CHINA’S FOREST PRODUCT
EXPORTS GO?
• Between 1997 and 2005 US imports of Chinese wood products
boomed an astonishing 1000%
• In 2005, US imported 35% of its total wood based products, from
China.
• Europe is the second biggest importer and imports increased almost
800% in the same period.
• Japan …
•
[email protected]
SO ….
• Americans, Europeans and Japanese are the
biggest consumers of the “Chinese-takeaway
timber” and should take action”!
• they must join local and international initiatives, and
exercise consumer pressure to fight illegal and
unsustainable logging.
OBRIGADO