The chief attorney of the western Mozambican province of Tete has spoken out about the intimidation the province’s prosecutors face in their fight against illegal logging.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the National Forest Forum (FNF), Arsenia Matusse said that some prosecutors have been transferred out of the province and others are at risk of their lives because of their efforts to protect the province’s forests.
She denounced the “political interference” that prosecutors face whenever they try to take action against illegal Chinese loggers in the province.
The number of cases brought against illegal loggers has declined – last year only five cases were brought and only two of those came to trial. Nobody was convicted.
One of the trees that cannot legally be logged is a hardwood with the scientific name pterocarpus tinctorius – known locally as “Nkula”.
Yet, the species is being logged and exported by Chinese individuals who enjoy the protection of the Provincial Directorate of Land, Environment and Rural Development, according to Ms Matusse. The directorate has issued authorisations which Ms. Matusse dismissed as “illegal”.
She questioned what the authorisations are based on and added that the Chinese operators are bribing local people to help them to fell trees by offering them food, fuel and even vehicles so that they can help cut down Nkula trees.
