Illegal Shipment Of Amazonian Timber Seized In Brazil
18/04/2008 15:24:39Illegal Shipment Of Amazonian Timber Seized In Brazil
April 2008. A shipment of Amazonian timber bound for Europe has been seized by the Brazilian Environmental Authority (IBAMA). The confiscation comes just weeks after Greenpeace exposed the trade in illegal timber between Brazil and Europe.
False Documents
Officials have detained the vessel, the BSLE Express, at the Brazilian Port of Santarem in the heart of the Amazon since 27th March. So far they have confiscated 732 cubic meters of sawn timber. The documentation for the shipment contained false information about the species of timber onboard.
False Documents
Officials have detained the vessel, the BSLE Express, at the Brazilian Port of Santarem in the heart of the Amazon since 27th March. So far they have confiscated 732 cubic meters of sawn timber. The documentation for the shipment contained false information about the species of timber onboard.
Companies Fined
- IBAMA imposed fines of US$175,000 on companies RainbowTrading Importacao e Exportacao Ltda, Sabugy Madeiras Ltda, Madeireira Lider Ltda, U.T.C Madeiras Ltda, Batista e Farias Transf. de Madeiras Ltda. and Eco-Log Exportadora de Madeira Ltda. These companies had exported timber onboard the Galina III, offloading in the ports of Flushing (Netherlands), Leixoes (Portugal), Caen (France), Villa Garcia and Ferrol (Spain).
- The buyers identified in the documents of the confiscated timber were United Timber Company LLC, Rodenhuis Holding BV (Netherlands), Etablissements Peltier (France) and Fernando Martins Coelho (Portugal).
Greenpeace Amazon campaigner, Marcelo Marquesini said: ‘The illegal timber trade is rife and so it is great news that, for the first time in two years, the Brazilian authorities are checking timber exports at Santarém Port. Dodgy paperwork that disguises the origin and species of timber is just one of the ways companies try to ‘legalise’ timber that has come from illegal operations.
‘The Brazilian authorities need to go even further. They must track how this timber was logged, transported and processed before it reached the port to establish whether other illegal activities are connected to this particular cargo.’
EU Must Act
Judy Rodrigues, Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace International said: ‘Because IBAMA lacks the resources to carry out regular inspections, it’s down to the EU to make sure that illegally sourced timber doesn’t slip through the net. The EU needs to use its economic clout and introduce tough new laws to ensure that all timber products placed on its market are from legal sources and well managed forests.’
Greenpeace is also calling on the Brazilian government to tackle illegal logging and improve forest governance and law enforcement in the Amazon Basin.
Tropical Deforestation
Tropical deforestation is responsible for about one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the emissions of the world’s entire transport sector. Last month, the Brazilian government admitted that the rate of deforestation is speeding up rather than slowing down. Deforestation is the main source of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it the most important contributing factor to the country’s position as the world’s fourth-largest climate polluter.
