8 Ways To Find The Best Web Design Agencies For Your…The NGO Global Witness is accusing Chinese timber company Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development of exporting more than $5 million worth of illegal timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China at the end of 2022.
Some $5 million worth of timber exported from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China in the second half of 2022 was felled illegally, according to a “There is a large legal loophole regarding imported timber,” said Charlie Hammans, who led the investigation for Global Witness. “China has made these statements about forests on an international level, but they haven’t enacted the necessary legislation to support their claims. China said that they would take action if asked by the DRC’s government, but that otherwise, it’s not their problem, which I find sad.
Stany Malezi is a farmer and father of 11 children. He lives close to a CKBFD concession in the north-central part of Mongala, near the provincial capital. Caterpillars are a nutritious staple food in parts of the DRC. People living near CKBFD concessions in Mongala province attribute a decline in forest resources such as these to reckless overexploitation of the forest by the company. Image by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR via
In 2021, OGF visited one of CKBFD’s sites in Mongala along with representatives from the environment ministry for an official inspection of the company’s logging activities. During this mission, they found that A shipment of raw logs arriving in Zhangjiagang from the DRC. Global Witness says Chinese authorities responded to notice of CKBFD’s illegal harvesting of timber by saying the offenses took place beyond their jurisdiction. Image from Wan Peng website .Mudodosi said he hasn’t seen any changes since Global Witness published its report into CKBFD’s illegal operations in Mongala and Équateur in October 2023, either administratively or on the ground.
“Those engaging in illegal logging know it. They’re helped by compatriots who know the law very well; they know that somewhere, there are things unsaid and loopholes, and they exploit the weakness of the law,” he said. “You’ll see the same investor and legal entity will get caught several times for the same offense because they know that the maximum fine for illegal trafficking, for example, is $1,000. They can take back as many logs as they want; the fine remains the same.