Local processing of tropical timber logs by countries of the six-member Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC), could create over 60,000 jobs, raise fiscal revenues by over 25%, and attract about FCFA 1,967,871,000,000 (€3 billion) in investments, an expert has said.
Grégory Lionel Beyina, Director of Industrial Development, Mines, and Tourism at the CEMAC Commission made the disclosure while updating stakeholders on level of implementation of the ban on export of tropical timber logs from the Congo Basin.
Beyina was during a webinar on September 24, hosted by Pan African Network for the Conservation of Natural Resources (PANCANR).
Adopted by the CEMAC Council of Ministers in Feb 2024, member states: Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and the Central African Republic have been progressively implementing the ban on export of unprocessed tropical timber logs, with absolute ban expected from January 1, 2028.
Explaining why implementation of the ban is progressive, Beyina said it is to avoid a sharp drop in tax revenues, citing the case of Gabon that lost 80% of fiscal revenue – FCFA 75 billion in 2010 when it banned log exports abruptly.
The gradual implementation, he said will also give time for industries to restructure, train workers, and build transformation plants.
The CEMAC Commission official noted however that log trade between CEMAC countries and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still allowed “to stimulate regional industrial chains”. With the exception of Chad, other CEMAC member countries together with DRC form the Congo Basin.
The Congo Basin is the second largest forest in the world after the Amazon, covering 30% of Africa’s forest area. It accounts for 20% of global tropical log exports but only a small fraction of processed wood products.
Beyina said the CEMAC Commission has put in place a strategy for sustainable industrialization of the wood sector. Approved in 2018 with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the strategy dubbed Vision 2030, seeks to add more value locally by processing wood within the region instead of exporting raw logs.
Besides job creation and revenue generation, the strategy Beyina said, also seeks to increase forest concessions to 75 million hectares, double harvesting to 15 million m³/year and ensure 100% primary transformation (sawmilling) and 50% secondary/tertiary processing.
The webinar was part of a series by PANCANR in its drive to promote the sustainable utilization of Africa’s natural resources for enhanced economic and social development.
“Trade in timber is very crucial for the economies of the CEMAC region and banning the exportation of unprocessed logs is a bold step,” said Dampha Almami PANCANR’s Executive Secretary. He said the ban will ensure citizens of concerned countries benefit more from their natural resources.
In April 2024, Cameroon banned the export of raw logs from 76 specific timber species and in June of same year, parliament approved a new forest and wildlife law that aims to achieve the sustainable use and management of the country’s forest resources.
