Timber traffic: The Missirah forest in controlled cutting
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Loading... - Ohon Muthini
- 27 Apr 2022
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In Missirah, the forest is disappearing. In this part of the Tambacounda region, it no longer offers the lush landscape that made it so charming. Assaulted by timber traffickers, consumed by bush fires, it lost several hundred feet of trees. Being part of the last forest massifs of the country, the Missirah forest risks disappearing soon if strong measures are not taken to safeguard it, alerted the populations, who decided to wear their uniforms of Water and Forest agents.
Lately, their forest has become the target of traffickers who seem to change looting areas. “Instead of the South, the East is now targeted. No later than this Friday, people saw an all-out attack from space. Several dozen trees have been counted freshly felled in the forest”, choked Koliké Tandian of the Bassobé niohon déma association. Worse still, a truck heavily loaded with logs was apprehended by the population at the entrance to the city on Wednesday. “Hundreds of trunks made up its cargo. The truck got bogged down in water from a burst faucet pipe. Otherwise, we wouldn't have seen it. We are flabbergasted and very worried about the future of the forest,” fumed the president of the association.
Today, the villagers suspect a scheme in high places. And they decided to take matters into their own hands to preserve their environment. “There would be complicity in high places, otherwise such looting of the forest cannot be justified. Offenders seem to be protected. On the scene of the looting, we found a whole arsenal left by the delinquents. Which shows that they had elected their headquarters there”, accuse the defenders of the environment in Missirah. “From now on, we are the ones who watch over the exploitation of forest resources. If the looting continues, there will be no more forest in Missirah. Our two associations, Bénafa and Bassobé niohon déma, have pooled their efforts to protect the forest”, notes Mr. Tandian. What are you doing ? “We conduct regular patrols there and constantly ensure its protection. This made it possible to apprehend this truck heavily loaded with tree trunks. Three sites have been identified, completely looted by forest offenders. Several dozen species of trees have been cut there. With sometimes certain trees whose trunk diameter exceeds 90 cm or even 1 m. What has hurt people is that many of the trees that have been counted and felled are protected species,” continues Mr. Tandian, somewhat annoyed by this situation. “It is unacceptable, thunders the sexagenarian. I am a former emigrant from France. I have been retired for a long time. Only, I cannot continue to see the forest being attacked. Together, the villagers want to block the road to traffickers. “They want to set their sights on our forest. But, they will find us on their way. Hunted from all sides in the southern zone, it is the east of the country that they now want to plunder. And if the State is not careful, soon there will be no more forest in this eastern part. Imagine that dozens of trunks are regularly cut in the forest. In the long run, what will remain of the site”, they wonder. Read More…
