Rosewood: A Hot Cake Commodity
The harvesting of rosewood trees in Kayoro and its environs in the Kassena Nankana West district of the Upper East region is destroying the only existing wild life corridor in the region. Kassena Nankana Municipal, Builsa North, Builsa South, Bawku West, Talensi and Nabdam Districts in the Upper East region are districts blessed with this natural resource, rosewood. The Upper East region with a fragile ecology system has few water bodies for harvesting of water for livelihood activities and for farming purposes. Sadly, some unscrupulous foreigners in collaboration with people from the affected communities in the above districts and others elsewhere in the country have taken the laws into their own hands to cut and cart rosewood in tracks for export.
Rosewood, a valuable commodity
Rosewood, as the name suggest is a hard dark reddish wood of a rosewood tree having a strongly marked grain used in valuable cabinet works for the elite class of society. A rosewood tree takes over hundred years to grow. The tree is pruned when matured else it would die after reaching its maturity.
Research shows that China alone imports close to 96% of all rosewoods lumber exported out of Ghana. A twenty foot container of rosewood in an international market ranges between US$ 20,000 to $US 30,000 which is equivalent to 84,250.00 Ghana Cedi and 126, 375.00 Ghana cedi respectively.
Sadly, the company behind the cutting down of this economic tree in Kayoro is said to have paid only 3,000.00 Ghana cedi to the chief of Kayoro on behalf of the people before allowing to carry out the whole exercise of cutting. That explains that the community has lost approximately 628, 875.00 Ghana cedis of the five containers said to have been exported so far.
Angry community members demand what is due them
The illegal cutting of the trees and the miserable amount of money alleged to have been paid to the chief of Kayoro, Pe Batabi Oscar on behalf of the community angered some members of the community who thronged the forest in search of these unscrupulous persons to wipe them out.
Their search on Tuesday led to the arrest of five chainsaw operators who were lodged in the forest while working for their paymasters whom some are said to be Chinese individuals. The operation which was facilitated by Julius Awaregya, project coordinator of Organization for Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability (ORGIIS), brought together members of the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) as well some officials of the Wildlife Division of the forestry commission. The team in the exercise confiscated two motorbikes, chainsaws, gallons of fuel and other materials used by the illegal loggers.
The five persons arrested namely Masawudu Abu, Masawudu Bukari, Ebenezer Osei, Bismark Anane and Sulemana Jemeiru who are all natives of the Brong Ahafo region were detained at the Navrongo police station pending investigation. The community members who have been blindfolded alleged that wife of Kayoro chief is paid 500.000 Ghana cedi weekly to render catering service to the illegal loggers.
A track driver, Derry Lambert who hails from Tema but does this logging business for about ten years now said his bosses who are Chinese nationals have employed him in the trade.
“When we finish loading the whites will come and give us a paper to go. As at now the whites are loading somewhere and when they finish there they will come here” he said.
He added “when we are going we present them [customs] our documents like the forestry, the customs, the police, VAT, TIDD (Timber Industry Development Division of the Forestry Commission) and everything before they allow us to go”.
Chief denies allegations
The illegal logging started in Kayoro three weeks before the charged community members stormed the forest on Tuesday, 3rd January to cause the arrest and confiscation of items. However, the chief of Kayaro traditional area, Pe Batabi Oscar in an interview with A1 radio in Bolgatanga said he has not been in his community for the past two weeks and was informed after the five people were arrested. Responding to the allegation of his wife playing a role in the illegal activity he declared “I am informed the one cooking food for them is a small girl in the community but not my wife.”
Forestry Commission contradiction
The commission on 13th of July, 2016 issued a permit letter to the district chief executive and the Kassena Nankana west district assembly to grant permission for evacuation of rosewood logs/billets that have been reportedly felled illegally in the various communities within the Navrongo forest division. This same letter was addressed to all assemblies in the region in which rosewoods were reported to have been felled illegally. The letter called on the forestry commission, regional Security Council representatives and other monitoring team to “supervise the evacuation exercise and device strategies to prevent the felling of fresh rosewood trees in all communities within the Upper East Region.”
The authorization which was due to expire on 31st October, 2016 further cautioned stakeholders to “note that under no circumstance should fresh trees be felled and also any application for extension of time after the three (3) months will not be entertained.”
Nonetheless, the time frame given to lift lying rosewood elapsed, fresh rosewood were cut at the time the team besieged the forest. But speaking to A1 radio, Upper East Regional director of the Forestry Commission, James Ware denied having knowledge of the existent of the illegal loggers.
“We do not give permit to people to cut trees and we have not given permit to anybody to cut trees at the Kayoro area.”
The forestry commission is to among other things protect and reserve all forest areas through its monitoring exercise. The question now is how come the illegal loggers invade the forest without the notice of the commission. It is either the commission is part of this illegal activity or they are not proactive in monitoring to ensure that the forest is preserved.
But Mr. Ware has a contrary view. “The trees are not monitored like you have things in your room that you monitor so when it is far off from where the officer is it will be difficult for him to know that something is happening.”
He denied allegations that officials of the commission were involved in this illegality. “If our men are inside there we will prosecute them.”
DCE walked the media out of his office
The District Chief Executive of Kassena Nankana West District, George Nonterah whose jurisdiction this illegal activity is ongoing when contacted to ascertain the truth walked out his office the media personnel together with coordinator of ORGISS, Julius Awaregya. The DCE who was on phone at the time the team arrived at his office was heard saying “You [Julius Awaregya] came with these people [media] and you expect me to speak to you, I will not. Please go from here” he yelled.
Worried stakeholders
The Organization for Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability (ORGIIS) a local NGO that is into forest conservation expressed worry over the deforestation of the forest. Aside the Kayoro operation project coordinator of ORGIIS, Julius Awaregya through an insider from the forestry commission in the region mobilized leading to the arrest and confiscation of 5 tracks at Banu in the Sissala East district of the Upper West Region loaded and ready to be exported out of the community. An arrest was made and items belonging to the illegal loggers were seized at Banu and at Nakong in the Kassena Nankana West district respectively.
Project coordinator of ORGIIS, Julius Awaregya who facilitated operation is worried that the Forestry Commission, the District Assembly, the Chief and other authorities who are supposed to protect the natural resources are aloof while these unscrupulous persons take turns to deforest the forest after millions of dollars from international donors have been sunk to preserve the forest.
“We will make sure we seize everything and sell everything and give it back to the community because the trees belong to the community. I am now looking for the DCE who will dare come and ask us what we are doing; the forestry commission to dare come and ask us.” He added “they are taking it [rosewood] to China to make furniture and sell to our parliament and the parliamentarians will seat and be making yeah yeah.”
GJA fume
The Ghana Journalists Association is peeved over the development blaming authorities for playing a role in this illegally. Upper East Regional Chairman of the Association Eric Amoh in an interview with A1 radio stated that the chief, the forestry commission and the assembly are not being honest to the affected communities and the region at large.
“There is no way he [Kayoro Chief] would say he doesn’t know anything about trees being felled in that forest. Your wife is cooking for the people and you say you don’t know? So your wife couldn’t tell you that I have strangers and the strangers have asked that I cook for them?”
It seems the issue of rosewood is unending in the region and other parts of the country. The public has blamed the forestry commission and chiefs of communities in which the cutting have taken place and have accused them of taking monies and paved way for the activity.
Mr. Amoh sides with the public saying “It is not something new, this rosewood trees have been cut so many years and people have called authorities to it and the same tactics they used to fell the trees is what they used. The forestry director cannot say that he has no men as forest guards, people who are paid to protect the forest.”
If this illegality continues, International organizations such as the World Bank, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who are investing millions of dollars targeting to reclaim and sustain the natural resource will pull off their support. If traditional authorities and the local governance system continue to condone such illegality as attributed by many, the consequences are that animals and plants that survive in the forests will die.
The illegal loggers who burn the forests and cut down other economic trees like the shea, berries (shibishibi), locust trees, dawadawa tree among others must be stopped through all availably appropriate means. The contribution of these activities to climate change are dire and a threat to life.
By: Joshua Asaah|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
