Latest Forests Monitor Report Published!

10/08/07: The Timber Trade and Poverty Alleviation in the Upper Great Lakes Region is now complete and ready for download.
UPDATED: Additional reports have now been added, as background information to the main report.

The Timber Trade and Poverty Alleviation in the Upper Great Lakes Region

Executive Summary

This report focuses on the trade in timber produced in the eastern DRC and Southern Sudan and traded with neighbouring countries, examining the trade patterns and players involved. The objective of the study is to identify what actions can be taken in order to improve the contribution of trade to the stability and economic development of the region. This study should be considered against the backdrop of weak governance and very low levels of capacity within the DRC itself and neighbouring countries to licence and monitor production of timber, monitor trade, collect data on trade volumes, timber species and value for both forest management and revenue collection purposes.

An overview of the timber trade volumes and routes was compiled through field work, which involved discussions with traders, transporters, forestry officials and local communities that depend on the forest, together with the collection of data at border crossings and at five main markets in DRC and Uganda.

It was concluded that almost all commercial timber exploitation in eastern DRC is nonindustrial logging using artisanal techniques such as pit sawing. Transport of the planks produced is by head load to the roadside and subsequently by truck to the local markets or to the border. Commercial cutting and trade in eastern DRC forests is heavily focused on a few particular high-value species, notably African mahogany (Entandrophragma sp., known as Sapele, or Libuyu) and African teak (Milicia excelsa, formerly Chlorophora excelsa, also known as Iroko). A large proportion of the high-value commercially harvested timber is exported in the form of rough-sawn un-dried planks (around 95%), with little or no value added. Most of the timber is exported from eastern DRC to Kenya and Uganda in approximately equal share, and is consumed in the cities of Kampala and Nairobi.

This research revealed that approximately 50,000 m³ of timber are exported each year from eastern DRC, and that almost all of it is consumed in Uganda and Kenya. It was estimated that in order to generate this volume, approximately 250,000 m³ of standing volume must be being cut each year in eastern DRC forests. Most of the timber is sourced from three main areas:

1) The Ituri forests around Mambasa,
2) Riverine forests further to the north-east of the country, and
3) Closed forests around Walikale (Goma) and Itombwe (Bukavu).

The lack of equipment is currently restricting the scale of cutting in closed forests in eastern DRC to within a limited distance of established roads. Where equipment is available it continues to be provided or pre-financed by predominantly Ugandan negociants, or merchants. Supplies of easily accessible major commercial species are increasingly scarce and farther away from the border, leading to price increases. Logistics for producers and traders are also difficult.

While harvesting fees and official export taxes in eastern DRC are relatively low, other official and unofficial taxes to cut, transport, and export or import timber are considerable.

Almost all of the value which remains in Congo is retained by military and government officials. Better regulation and tax collection on trade could enhance revenues to the State, but in themselves could, if unduly high, actually reduce the net ‘margins’ on the trade and leave even less revenue for communities engaged in the supply chain.

The trade does generate some employment for different groups, almost exclusively men on the production side while some women are involved in the sale and marketing side of the trade, though no statistics are available. Outside of the employment income it is clear that there are little or no returns to local communities. The anarchic exploitation of forest resources leads to a qualitative and quantitative deterioration of forest resources. Considering the value and nature of the resource, as well as perceived rights of ownership, the continued supply to the trade under current practices is eliminating alternative future development options. There is some evidence that unofficial taxes on timber continue to fund armed groups in eastern DRC.

In conclusion, it is clear that trade in the DRC’s natural resources has a role to play in poverty alleviation. However, presently those players with personal interests and a strong influence on policies and institutions ensure that the current systems are kept in place. The current situation is thus responsible for numerous conflicts, and all the while the local communities are pushed to one side. It would appear that the poverty suffered by communities which still depend largely on the forest resources will not be alleviated to any significant degree, if at all, by the timber trade.

It remains essential that timber sector and trade reforms take place urgently given the currently unsustainable rates and inequitable nature of exploitation of the forest resource base and distribution of the ensuing benefits.

Handled properly, trade in timber could become a pillar for peace and stability. On the other hand, attempts to expand the trade before adequate measures to control it have been put in place may instead serve to compound existing problems of illegality, unsustainability and inequity. In this context, any and all caution exercised now will benefit the country, the region and the global environment as a whole.

It is critical that the levers for reform are used in the correct order. If the basis for the current trade in timber or any other resource is inequitable there seems little point in improving conditions for that trade, such as better transport routes, and quicker border crossing times. These initiatives will simply entrench current inequalities, corrupt or failing systems and may not contribute to poverty alleviation.

A suite of measures therefore needs to be applied in order to increase the forest sector’s contribution to local development:

Detailed analysis of the legal framework for both forest resource allocation in relevant provinces of DRC and trade, taxation and regulation, to identify areas where improvements and clarification are required to provide the right incentives for sustainable and equitable resource use.
Action based on the research above to clarify and complete the legal framework for timber production and trade, including:
A clear legally based, and equitable allocation of rights to control, and harvest forest resources at the community level;
Clearly defined land use planning and forest management objectives at the provincial and district level;
Procedures for regulating and verifying production to supply the trade.
Simplification of the taxation and trade regime

Dissemination of information on established (improved) procedures governing production and trade among:

Traders, processors and exporters;
Relevant departmental officials, especially tax authorities and criminal investigators concerned with forest and timber trade, customs authorities;
Communities and other resource owners.

Increased cross-border cooperation between DRC and Uganda and other border countries as well as Uganda and Southern Sudan through:
Engaging the relevant government bodies to develop mutually recognised legality standards for timber export/import;
Cooperation in the design and processing of customs forms and paperwork – drawing on other international models from COMESA countries.
Promotion of basic procurement and chain of custody standards, which commit the major buyers of timber (both state and private) to procure timber only from ‘non-controversial’3 sources, and in turn oblige their suppliers to demonstrate that such standards have been met.

Improving application and respect for existing legal and procedural mechanisms by:
Increasing the role of MONUC in maintaining border security;
Implementing external monitoring and support programmes for major border crossings within a security envelope where necessary.

It is unquestionable that the State machinery needs to be improved and that taxes and other fees have to be collected more systematically, but there is also a need to ‘regularise’ the situation of the millions of people currently living in the areas of timber production, especially in the case of forests. Without secure tenure over forest resources, and in absence of the right incentives, local people are not going to invest in sustainable forest management. Without a functioning State apparatus to develop and enforce the currently weak forest legislation, local people are not going to be motivated to defend these resources for long term development. This situation results in the trade being supplied with timber from unsustainably managed sources and delivers poor returns to both the State and local people.

Click HERE to download a pdf of the full report.

Visit the links below for background information to the main report:

Description of the Timber Sector in the DRC

Impacts of Charcoal and Fuel Wood Use in the Goma Region

Overview of Sub-regional Conflicts, Upper Great Lakes Region

Value Chain for DRC Mahogany sold in Kampala and in Nairobi

Notes on Sources and Method of Collection of Figures Presented in the Report

This project was made possible through the support of the UK Department For International Development