According to Mongabay, Olam, a Singapore-based agribusiness giant and FSC-certified palm oil producer, has allegedly deforested over 25,000 hectares of wildlife-rich rainforest in Gabon to develop palm oil plantations. Mighty Earth first filed a complaint against Olam in 2016 after publishing a report in December that year, alleging that Olam cleared nearly 40,000 hectares of rainforest. Olam denies these claims, arguing the cleared areas were highly logged and degraded secondary forest, not high carbon stock (HCS) forests as claimed by Mighty Earth. Olam’s group head of external affairs, Steve Fairbairn, stated that areas of high conservation value (HCV) were left untouched and are now strictly protected. He mentioned that about 50% of the most severely impacted and low-value regrowth areas were available for plantation development. Additional reports, such as one by the World Rainforest Movement, accused Olam of neglecting local community rights and making insincere deforestation commitments. It is suggested that Mighty Earth was motivated by the commercial timber value in the cleared areas, with timber revenues being invested in community-managed social funds.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Gabon, palm oil, primary production, agriculture, deforestation
Sources: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/probe-begins-into-alleged-deforestation-by-olam-worlds-largest-farmer/
An article by Mongabay details the case of illegal timber seizure in Antwerp. On July 8, 2019, Belgian authorities blocked a shipment of tropical timber from Gabon after a tip-off by Greenpeace. The timber, which was being exported by Wan Chuan Timber SARL (WCTS), a Chinese logging company operating in Gabon, has been exposed and fined for a series of grave offenses. The company receiving the shipment, Antwerp-based Compagnie de Bois Anvers, is now under investigation for a possible breach of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). The shipment came from Gabon, a country with 85 percent coverage of incredibly biodiverse rainforest, and whose forestry sector is inextricably linked to high level corruption. WCTS’s business model was alleged to involve structural over-harvesting, tax evasion, money laundering, and corruption. The company was extracting between two and three times its legal quota and was already cutting down forest in areas it was not supposed to have reached until 2030.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Gabon, timber, primary production, illegal logging, corruption and bribery, tax evasion, money laundering
Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/gabonese-timber-linked-to-illegal-logging-seized-in-antwerp/
In Gabon, the temporary suspension of a timber traceability monitoring system in 2023 raised suspicions of corruption within the Ministry of Water and Forests. Gabon has 88% forest cover, making forestry a major economic sector and a key area of interest for foreign companies. Timber originating from the country’s Nkok Special Investment Zone (SIZ), set up to promote local wood processing, must meet EU sustainability certifications. To ensure this, the TraCer monitoring system traces the origin of harvested wood and the methods used in extracting wood from this zone. Yet, in March 2023, the system was briefly suspended for a month due to administrative issues.
This suspension raised concerns in regard to corruption within Gabon’s Ministry of Water and Forests. Government inconsistencies concerning the verification of traceability and legality of timber entering the Nkok SIZ have notably been uncovered. In addition, allegations suggest that officials from the Ministry of Water and Forests were complicit in illicit timber operations when suspending the TraCer. The "Kevazingogate" scandal, which involved extensive trafficking of kevazingo, a protected wood species, despite a ban on its export, also exacerbated these suspicions. Officials from both the customs office and the Ministry of Water and Forests were implicated, highlighting systemic issues within Gabon's forestry sector.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Gabon, timber, primary production, illegal timber trade, corruption and bribery
Sources: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/corruption-threatens-timber-traceability-in-nkok-gabon/