From the 21st to 24th May and 8th of June 2018, a team of the Forestry Independent Observatory made an assignment in the Region of Niari. The team covered the Development Forestry Units (UFE) of Massanga and Nyanga, assigned respectively to ACI and CIBN.
The mission assessed the enforcement of forestry laws by the Public Authorities and the visited companies. The period considered run from January 2017 to May 2018. The assignment went in addition to the collection of the documentation related to forestry management from DDEF- N and the companies, through the observance of exploitation rules in the working sites of the said companies.
The mission was supported by the CV4C project.
Executive summary
As far as the enforcement of the laws by DDEF-N is concerned the assignment noticed what follows:
- Granting in 2018 of a felling licence in UFP1 to CIBN without any yearly development management schemes validated;
- Granting of felling licenses to Taman industries (UFE Kola) and SICOFOR (UFE Lébama) during the setting-up stage;
- Extension in 2017 of timber hauling licenses granted to BNC (UFE Kimongo Louila) and TBN (UFE Mila Mila);
- Lack of working site inspection and control assignments;
- Low rates of tax and fine collection;
- Lack of the 3% quarterly additional charge for the failure to pay the area tax at the agreed maturity;
- Non-enforcement of the second offence against TIL and ACI ;
- Insufficient production of yearly activity reports since 2017.
As regards of the observance of forestry laws by the companies visited the assignment noticed the following mission facts:
- Low keeping of the working site documents (ACI);
- Failure to submit within the allotted deadlines the information related to the company(ACI and CIBN);
- False production declarations of the AAC 2017 (CIBN);
- Failure to comply with conventional commitments (CIBN);
- Lack of the yearly exploitation scheme for the AAC 2018 (CIBN).
The Independent Observatory recommends that:
– The Ministry of the Forestry Economy to provide with financial resources DDEF-N so that it performs its regulatory duties;
– DGEF to submit to DDEF-N the copies of the approvals issued to the Region’s forestrycompanies;
– DDEF-N:
- Complies punctiliously with the proceedings of felling licensing procedures provided by the forestry regulations and the instructions of development schemes;
- Draws up the minutes of the breaches of law reports according to the facts noticed on sites;
- Doubles the penalties for the second offending companies in order to dissuade them;
- Enforces of the 3% quarterly additional charge for the failure to pay the area tax at the agreed maturity;
- Produces and submits the missing documents.
