March 10th, 2010 by Admin
French company prepares to ship illegally logged rainforest wood from Madagascar
wildmadagascar.org
Delmas, a French shipping company that has been under pressure for facilitating the destruction of Madagascar’s rainforest parks, has been cleared to begin picking up contraband rosewood as soon as Monday, report local sources in the Indian Ocean island nation. Leaders behind last year’s military coup — which displaced the autocratic, but democratically elected President Marc Ravalomanana — have signed off on the shipment.
Observers in Vohemar report a frenzy of activity in preparation for the shipment. Rosewood and ebony logs have sitting in the port city for nearly three months while Delmas has wavered on whether the shipment was worth the potential damage to its reputation. On several occasions Delmas has said it would no longer ship illegally logged rosewood from northern Madagascar, but the company has faced heavy pressure from the “transition authority”, which is seeking to use revenue from the rosewood trade to finance campaigns ahead of an election it hopes will legitimize its power grab in March 2009.
Madagascar’s most bioiverse rainforest parks have been ravaged by the logging. Tens of thousands of hectares of protected forests have invaded by loggers hired a smuggling syndicate linked with local vanilla barons. The trade has been associated with a rise in commercial bushmeat trafficking of lemurs and other endangered wildlife. Traders and loggers have threatened conservation workers, including breaking the feet of a park ranger in an August attack.
The melee has received little attention outside of Madagascar, but researchers in Europe and the United States have been monitoring the growing timber stockpiles using high resolution satellite images. Law enforcement in the United States and Europe have also stepped up vigilance against illegal timber imports. In November federal agents raided a factory run by Gibson Guitar for its alleged possession and use of Madagascar rosewood. Meanwhile a major tropical timber importer is Germany is reportedly under investigation for its use of ebony taken from within protected areas. But rosewood is mostly shipped to China, making law enforcement efforts in the U.S. and Europe largely futile.
The outlook for Madagascar’s forests thus remains bleak. Due to the military coup and subsequent crackdown on the press and opposition, donor nations have cut aid to Madagascar, grounding the agencies and organizations — including the local branches of international NGOs — that run social and environmental programs in the country. The increasingly desperate interim government is now looking to exploit whatever it can to maintain its tenuous grip on power: national parks are a prime target.
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March 10th, 2010 by Admin
http://bit.ly/bWXATd
Remarks With Gabonese President Ali Bongo After Their Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
March 8, 2010
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February 27th, 2010 by Admin
Madagascar’s rainforests have been pillaged for precious hardwoods, including rosewood and ebony.
http://bit.ly/cDw4Pp
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February 24th, 2010 by Admin
02/22/2010 – 10:31
At a recent meeting with Gabon’s Minister for Forests, executives of the country’s timber industries were advised of the official position concerning the ban on the export of logs that was introduced as from 1st January 2010. The meeting was told that the ban is irrevocable. During the discussions estimates were provided of current log stocks.
It has been reported that logs that are already at the port and in storage yards (rail storage and SEPBG storage yards) can be exported immediately by industry to fulfill existing contract commitments. Other log stocks can be exported, but only through the State agency SNBG and not directly by the industry. The existing log stocks can be exported only up until the 30th April 2010. After that date all log exports are banned. The meeting heard that government policy is now to be geared towards downstream processing, beyond sawn lumber and veneers into finished products. It is expected the industry will have to move into the production of mouldings, components and semi-finished products. It was reported that government is now considering ideas for preferential customs tariffs, import and exports tax incentives and other revenue incentives to attract inward investment into downstream processing facilities.
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February 13th, 2010 by Admin
http://nyti.ms/crCq6p
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February 8th, 2010 by Admin
Recently, Ngambe Inc has had many inquiries regarding driftwood from of Africa for various design projects. The end uses have varied from wall decorations to walls themselves and furniture such as tables and end-tables. Aslo, African driftwood are very appealing because of their physical properties which give end-users flexibility in design and craftsmanship. They lend themselves to use with other materials such as cedar, stainless steel, rods, milled metal fasteners and engineering processes.
Unlike other driftwood, African driftwood comes from the root systems of tropical hardwood trees, after being submersed over long periods of time and the process of wind, sunshine, tides and waves and constant exposure, only the hardest part of the trunk, limb or branch remains. No two pieces will be alike! For our clients, Ngambe Inc will ensure overall uniformity and color continuity in our selection and quality control process.
Here is an illustration of very elegant driftwood “branches” put together in a very artistic manner!
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January 14th, 2010 by Admin
Cutting down and stealing timber is growing in Central New York because the theft is so easy and so lucrative. In the small town of Parish New York, there have been several recent prosecutions of people who’ve cut down maple and cherry trees regardless of who they’ve belonged to. They are stealing significant numbers of trees and the perpetrators can rake in tens of thousands of dollars in a very short period of time. (Don’t worry, Ngambe isn’t joining in on the action, we’re sticking to African woods!).
Take a look at an article from Central New York’s newspaper, The Post-Standard about the growing problem:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/timber_theft_continues_in_cent.html
And here’s a public radio report on tree thieves in Alabama:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/12/30/pm-timber-theft/
It’s interesting to see that while such scrutiny is placed on policing international wood, pirated wood is grown, stolen and sold right here in the United States. All companies importing sustainable wood are asked to show that their trees were not gotten illegally and were harvested in a way that is sustainable. Ngambe takes the challenge very seriously, harvesting our woods from very sustainable and forest-conscious countries.
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January 1st, 2010 by Admin
http://bit.ly/84K2xa
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December 31st, 2009 by Admin
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