More than 350 seized containers of a precious wood have gone missing in Gabon. Kevazingo is considered sacred in Gabon and misuse of the wood has been banned by the Gabonese government.
Between February and March, at two Chinese-owned depots at the Owendo timber port on the Libreville peninsula, customs officers had discovered the collection of rare hardwood -worth millions of dollars– loaded into containers bearing labels from the Ministry of Forest and falsely described as Okoume, another kind of timber cleared for export.
After authorities discovered the fake documentation, a ministry official based at the port and his team were arrested on suspicion of trafficking the wood. Last year, Gabon banned the exploitation of kevazingo after illegal felling reached disturbing degrees.
Kevazingo species take many years to mature, is highly valued in Asia and fetches very high prices. Top quality kevazingo, also known as bubinga, can fetch up to $2,000 per cubic metre.
The wood is listed as under threat by CITES, the international convention covering endangered animals and flora.
Forests make about three-quarters of Gabon’s land mass.
The ministry of water and forests is responsible for regulating the industry. The forestry industry creates about 17,000 jobs in Gabon and is second only to the petroleum sector in terms of foreign earnings and accounts for 60 per cent of non-oil related GDP.
In March, a British NGO warned of illegal practices in kevazingo, accusing a Chinese group of trafficking the wood in Gabon and also the neighbouring Republic of Congo.
Last month, Gabon suspended a logging licence issued to a Chinese timber company after a British watchdog group, the Environmental Investigation Agency, accused the firm of bribery and breaches of forestry laws.
