The Forestry Commission taskforce constituted to check illegal harvesting and export of Rosewoods has impounded several truckloads of Rosewoods and other wood products.
The taskforce intercepted the truckloads of Rosewoods and other wood products during the Christmas holidays.
The government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, placed an indefinite ban on harvesting, transportation and export of Rosewoods in 2018, and has since not lifted the ban.
A statement signed and issued by Professor Patrick Agbesinyale, the Chief Director of the Ministry, said the seized Rosewoods and other wood products had been parked at the Achimota Depot of the Forestry Commission, awaiting punitive action against the perpetrators.
The statement commended the leadership of the Forestry Commission for instituting effective measures to clamp down on the illegal activities of the unpatriotic persons during the Yuletide.
It also lauded chiefs and opinion leaders for collaborating with the Ministry and the Commission’s taskforce to intercept the banned timber species.
The Ministry urged the media to continue educating and sensitising the public on the threat posed by deforestation and unsustainable exploitation of the forest and wildlife resources.
“We have a collective responsibility as a people to ensure that we leave future generations and their communities with richer, better and more valuable forest and wildlife endowments than we inherited,” it said.
The Ministry reminded the public that the ban on the harvesting, transporting and export of Rosewood remained in full force and anyone or group of persons caught flouting the directive would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
It said the Forestry Commission has intensified its monitoring and patrol activities in hotspot areas and they will impound any truck(s) conveying Rosewood and other wood products harvested illegally.
The Ministry indicated that it would not grant permission to individuals and various groups demanding that the ban on timber export business be lifted to enable them to evacuate supposedly abandoned Rosewood logs.
The Ministry “wishes to inform these petitioners that their request cannot be granted. Lifting of the ban is not envisaged anytime soon in view of the uncontrolled destruction of the fragile ecosystem from where Rosewood is largely sourced,” it stated.
GNA