Rosewood is one of the most exotic hardwoods in Belize. It only grows in limited quantities in the Toledo district and that's why an alarm was raised recently when reports surfaces saying that it was being hauled out by the "millions of board feet..."
Well, according to the forestry department - there aren't even millions of board feet in the forest, but they did indeed intercept a truck with seven thousand plus feet of illegally cut rosewood. That what media from the Toledo district has circulated.
Chief Forest Officer Wilbur Sabido says there is certainly a demand for it:
Wilbur Sabido - Chief Forest Officer
"Certainly we do understand - and we do know that there is a lot of rosewood coming out of the Toledo District. But from the reports that we have received, we're talking about - possibly around the tune of 60,000 board feets of rosewood that has actually been extracted over the past 18 months. At the end of the day, the rosewood that is being bought is exported out of the country to the Chinese markets."
Jules Vasquez
"The one that is being bought legally?"
Wilbur Sabido
"The ones that are bought legally, there are several licenses that have been issued to date, however we do recognize that there is a high level of illegal loging that is take place."
Jules Vasquez
The pictures we have seen is of one truck that was seized with illegally-cut rosewood, what are the circumstances of this. Was anyone charged?"
Wilbur Sabido
"Well, on that particular case, we intercepted a truck last week Friday, and we gave the individual to demonstrate his illegality of the material, because when we intercepted them, they actual contained approximately 7,000 that was unstamped rosewood. Certainly there was an individual that was charged. His name is Giovanni Vegao. He was the actual driver of the vehicle. In terms of charging, we basically laid a charge, illegal possession of forest produces. That is presented to the Magistrate, and the Magistrate then decides on what the actual fine will be. But we do know that there is quite a bit of rosewood that has been cut illegally, unstamped, so the Forestry Department is taking the necessary steps to do a sweep of the Toledo District to confiscate this material. In ecologic speak, we're basically looking at the excerptions or the local extinction of a local specie. And so, it is concern to the Forestry Department. One of the things that we've done is actually place immporatorium on the exportation of any rosewood. AS a consequence of - realizing that there is quite a bit of material that has been cut illegally, that people would want to pass off as material that is legitimate, and thereby, exporting it. What we are also doing - as I mentioned - is working with the local authorities, BDF, police, to do a sweep of the area to try and identify the areas that have rosewood, that is is already cut, confiscate those, and basically introduce those - legitimize them, and eventually got stock in for Value added ."
Sabido clarified that Giovanni Vega is not related to the Minister of Natural Resources.
He also added that he has not yet been processed through the court...
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