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In Guinea, from Monday, June 14, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forestry banned “the cutting and transport of firewood throughout the national territory, until further notice”.
Issuance of hijacking permits is also prohibited. A measure that the ministry justified with “the report on excessive logging and illegal use of forest resources.” This press release follows the announcement of seizures of illegally felled timber in the prefectures of Faranah and Mamou.
For the national civil society network for environment and sustainable development, the total ban on austerity is unrealistic, as many Guineans exercise it for their daily needs. Rather, it advocates the network for sustainable forest management. For Sékou Amadou Diakité in charge of Rénascedd, speaking at the microphone Moktar Bah, The Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests should first consult with timber operators before making such a decision.
At the same time, he denies the weakness of this press release, which according to him does not specify the conditions for the application of this ban.
Sékou Amadou Diakité is responsible for Rénascedd
The services responsible for enforcing this decision are sometimes non-existent but also poorly equipped. So my first reaction is mixed, it will be hard to follow. the second is that I am in favor of sustainable management of resources but not in favor of a total ban. We are in the countryside. Communities have the right to use. That is, communities can use this wood to build their houses, to do their daily activities. 85% of societies live on natural resources. We work with the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests. We are partners of this ministry, and in principle the partners should be informed, involved in such decisions.
On the other hand, for Ibrahima Balaya Diallo, chair of the Guinea Civil Forum, a good-looking non-governmental organization, a radical move like this total ban on logging is necessary. He explains it to the microphone onAmelia Tulet.
Today, the Guinean forest is devastated.
Balaya Diallo, President of the Guinea Civil Forum
Today, the Guinean forest is devastated. In 1960 we had 14 million hectares of forest, today we are on 700,000 hectares. The reasons are the use of coal in households, the introduction of new crops that require deforestation, such as palm oil, cocoa or coffee. All these new crops require a lot of deforestation. There are also intrusions by administrative officials, who today give permission to people who today chop Guinean timber and send it through neighboring countries, such as Sierra Leone, so that he goes to Asia. So if the government today had not made such a decision, I am convinced that in the long run we will not even have 100,000 hectares in this country. Imagine that there are already 700,000 left. .
