The Sierra Leone forestry guard has warned of impending environmental hazards following the indiscriminate deforestation practices in the country. This warning has forced the government to place a ban on all wood felling and export.
The Sierra Leone forestry guard has warned of impending environmental hazards following the indiscriminate deforestation practices in the country. This warning has forced the government to place a ban on all wood felling and export.
“Illegal logging is having adverse effect on the country’s environment and depleting the ozone layer and must be stopped with immediate effect. Any violations of the logging export ban could result in court fines and confiscation of property,” a statement from the presidency read.
According to reports, the ban has not only come as a result of environmental fears, but also as a need to check the largely unmonitored industry.
Trade and customs officials say logs of wood worth tens of millions of dollars were smuggled out of the country to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The ban according to some officials would have some effect on the economy, given the logging industry is a multimillion dollar industry.
Executive director of the Sierra Leone environmental group, Emmanuel Touray, said there are only 10 registered logging companies in the country, and the majority of the logging companies operate illegally. Nonetheless, previous actions taken against illegal loggers has, according to forestry officials, ended in meager fines, usually less than 500 dollars, after a protracted court case.
But the latest government initiative [the ban] is said to be the most effective punishment thus far. Conversely, most forest guard officials expect the government to draft new legislation to protect Sierra Leone’s forest and environment.
According to environmental studies, deforestation presents multiple societal and environmental problems. Some of these consequences include: loss of biodiversity; the destruction of forest-based-societies; and climatic disruption. Deforestation is causing a loss of biological diversity on an unprecedented scale.
Across Africa, environmental researchers have discovered that the removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. The practice has had adverse impacts on the capture and storage of the atmospheric carbon dioxide. According to the experts, deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland.
