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Executive Summary

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THIS REPORT EXAMINES the role of the European Union in the management of forest resources in six countries in Central Africa: Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo (Brazzaville); Democratic Republic of Congo; Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The reasons for this focus are three-fold. Firstly, the EU and its member states continue to play an important role politically and economically in Central Africa, not least as multilateral and bilateral creditors, directly and indirectly shaping forest development and conservation policies. Secondly, EU-based logging companies continue to be significant players in the forestry sector of the region, controlling most of the logging concessions and processing plants and playing an active role in international fora dealing with forest management in the region. Thirdly, the EU continues to be a primary destination for exports of timber products from the region.

As a result of the industrial exploitation of timber, often promoted under structural adjustment and liberalisation policies imposed by multilateral and bilateral creditors, local people in these countries who depend on forests see their rights eroded and needs ignored at local, national and international levels. Legal local tenure rights to forests are usually non-existent, a lack which is exacerbated by the allocation of large areas of forest as timber concessions. The right of local people to be involved in decision-making on the type of development opportunities most suitable to them is not recognised. As a result, alternative development paths that could generate more benefits locally are not explored and, as forests become degraded by logging, such opportunities may disappear altogether. Access to food, potable water and non-timber forest products are often made more difficult by logging operations, leading to food insecurity, a loss of locally-generated incomes, an increase in workloads for women and health problems. Industrial timber production often exacerbates or creates tensions locally, both within and between different groups, and can facilitate local level corruption. The marginalization of women and Pygmies, the over-dependence on a cash economy and, in the case of Pygmy peoples, the loss of cultural identity are effects which last long after the loggers have moved on.

All six countries featured in the report are deeply indebted to bilateral and multilateral creditors. Many pay more in debt repayments each year than they do on basic services such as health and education. Structural adjustment and liberalisation policies imposed by creditors encourage the industrial exploitation of timber as a means of increasing government revenue, but often such revenue - if it is captured by the government at all - is used to service debt. Other issues compound the problems: corruption is often endemic; a small elite benefits from development policies whilst the majority of the population remain in poverty; the state's capacity to monitor and enforce legislation is minimal, and exacerbated by structural adjustment policies which limit the number of civil servants and their pay.

Even if forests are viewed simply as a source of timber, forestry operations are still associated with a number of serious problems. Illegal logging and the smuggling of timber are rampant in Central Africa. As much as half the timber felled in Cameroon, for example, is believed to be illegal. Forestry companies have generally operated without forest management plans and timber extraction is unsustainable. Most operations have mined the forest for valuable species before moving on to new forest areas, rather than managing the forest so as to obtain subsequent harvests.

In terms of what logging companies provide for local people, workers and their families in isolated forest areas, a complex picture emerges from the ground. European companies often claim that they provide social and economic benefits in the localities where they operate. Companies often represent the outside world to many local people, operating as a surrogate state in many instances. The reliance by local people, however, on the relative benevolence of a small number of transnational corporations for basic services such as health and education does not foster sustainable development that is equitable and lasting.

Some local people and communities do obtain employment and various social goods from forestry companies, such as schools, clinics, roads and chapels. Such infrastructure, however, is usually geared towards providing a base for workers rather than long-term sustainable development with equitable access for all. In many cases, promised infrastructure either does not materialise or is of such poor quality that it fails to provide even basic services, for example, clinics may have no adequately trained staff or medicines. Companies' provision of infrastructure is of variable standards, even when the same company is operating in different locations.

In this context, the purported long-term net benefits of the international timber trade, which are supposed to accrue to the exporting country and trickle down to local communities, need to be reassessed. The real net contribution, if any, of industrial forest exploitation has yet to be determined or demonstrated to be positive. Buyers of timber produced under these circumstances may actually be generating poverty by removing the resources upon which people depend for their livelihoods.