As we told you earlier this month, illegal timber harvesters can now be fined up to quadruple the standard amount under the revised forestry act. Now this is just one more approach to combatting illegal extraction and exportation of hardwoods. A lot more needs to be done – including continuous training of forestry officers. Today the Forestry Department concluded a 2 day timber identification workshop in Belmopan. 15 forestry officers got to learn more about the different types of hardwood and what special features they should look for when confiscating flitches of timber. Courtney Weatherburne explores how this workshop complements the amended act and the overall work and responsibility of the forestry department.
Mahogany is one of the most well-known and sought after hardwoods in Belize. Other prized timbers are rosewood and Cedar but these are just 3 of many species of hardwood.
Percival Cho - Forestry Expert
“Now there is species like Hobio, Granadio, you probably haven’t heard of those things, black cabbage bark right.â€
There are 42 species, about 20 of which can be bought and commercialized in Belize. But the diversity and richness of Belize’s supply is and continues to be under threat by illegal logging. And the Forestry Department has been doing all they can to preserve these resources – just recently the forest act was amended to implement harsher fines for illegal harvesting of certain species of timber. With this adjustment, illegal harvesters can be fined triple or even quadruple the standard amount based on what species they extract.
But in order to effectively implement this revised regulation, the forestry officers need to know how to differentiate between the different species and about 15 of those officers are learning more about these varieties.
Lee McLoughlin - Terrestrial Coordinator, Wildlife Conservation Society
“Today we are here to build capacity in one of the skills that is needed to identify or differentiate those legal or illegal materials, to empower enforcement officers with the capacity to actually make better cases out in the fields and not make errors that can compromise cases for prosecution.â€
At first glance, it’s hard to tell the which species is which among these blocks and pieces of wood but a lot more is revealed through the micro features.
Alberto Garcia - Forest Ranger
“To my experience I use colour, and the bark and the grains as well. These are the growth rings, these rings usually can tell you the growth of a tree from each year, you can see the growth of what the tree puts on in one year. Then the grains are different, some are porous, bigger, some of them smaller.â€
It is this knowledge that these forestry officers need to have out on the field when they confiscate the illegally harvested wood. They have to examine the flitches of timber as it is found and when it is brought in. It will be even more necessary now given the atmosphere these stricter penalties have created.
Percival Cho - Forestry Expert
“Pressures are always increasing for wood, so illegal logging has been on the rise especially with rose wood being such a high value species and being demanding by external markets to the extent that it is, that impacts locally what people do and the temptation people have to enter upon land they don’t have permission to enter upon and extract this wood and smuggle it out of the country. So the pressure are increasing and since seize came into effect of all species of rosewood just last month January there is now that increase because the supply is kind of control at the moment. So the value will probably go up which probably will increase the temptation and illegal logging.â€
The workshop was organized by the Wildlife Conservation Society. The forestry department continues to make major illegal harvesting busts. As we reported in early January, the forestry department confiscated 1000 board feet of rosewood along with 2500 board feet of Santa Maria from the Gomez Estate in Toledo.
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