Illegal loggers ravage West Nile, South Sudan forests

Illegal logging and charcoal burning is rife in Uganda’s West Nile sub-region and areas bordering it in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

East Madi Wildlife Reserve and Zoka Central Forest in West Nile sub-region have been severely ravaged by these criminal activities. In the DRC and South Sudan, illegal logging and charcoal burning goes on virtually unabated in the forested regions that border Uganda’s West Nile sub-region.

The Team Leader at Friends of Zoka Forest in Adjumani District, Mr William Amanzuru, says: “The lumbering and charcoal business is highly militarised. It is swallowing the Great Lakes region because of lack of a will to have proper governance of the natural resources we have. For instance, we have a lot of timber and charcoal that comes from South Sudan and DR Congo. There is no proper control over them.”

The Arua City Environment Officer, Ms Mary Dawaru, says: “The starting point for charcoal burning starts from the local communities who see this as a source of income. They cut the indigenous tree species and the charcoal ends up in the urban centres.”

Due to the increased charcoal burning, timber lumbering and use of wood fuel, the West Nile lost about 23 percent of its forest cover, according to a survey the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted between 2000 and 2017. Last year, the sub-region lost 28 percent of the forest cover.

The National Forestry and Tree Planting Act 2003, states that: “No person shall, in a forest reserve , cut, disturb, damage, burn or destroy any forest produce or remove or receive any forest product except in accordance with regulatory or guidelines made for the proper management of the forest reserve.”

Efforts

During a joint operations by UPDF, police, National Forestry Authority (NFA), and Itirikwa Sub-county leader’s in East Madi Wildlife Reserve and Zoka Central Forest last year, 27 illegal loggers including 22 Ugandans, three Rwandans and two Congolese were arrested.

In November 2022, locals recovered 1,128 pieces of timber from an illegal logging camp inside Zoka Central Forest Reserve. One of the major routes used to smuggle illicit charcoal from South Sudan into Uganda is a makeshift bridge over River Kaya.

The illicit merchandise is transported from South Sudan into Kuluba Sub-county in Koboko District, Uganda using motorcycles, bicycles and women who carry it on their heads. The charcoal is then loaded onto trucks that transport them to other parts of the country.

A resident of Koboko Municipality, Ms Sauda Alege, says: “The charcoal from South Sudan is strong. If you are cooking beans, you just use it once. I think they get it from the strong trees. They are on high demand here.” She adds that there is laxity in controlling the inflow of timber and charcoal from South Sudan.

“We get some of the timber from there. They are sold cheaply. However, I think there is lack of laws in South Sudan,” Ms Alege says. At the Arua City-DR Congo border, Onduparaka and Odramacaku towns have become centres of illegal timber trade.

The timber is loaded onto trucks, motorcycles and bicycles and transported from Ariwara Town in DR Congo to Uganda.

One of the dealers from Ariwara Town, Mr Jeane Fred Franco, says: “The timbers we get here come from Okapi Wildlife Reserve forest and come through Haut Uele to Isiro in Ituri Province to Ariwara Town. We mainly get hardwood timbers that are well-mature and marketable in Uganda. It has been a source of my livelihood for a long time in Ariwara.”

He says they do not obtain permits or licences from Congolese government officials to conduct the business. “We normally use the panya (trails) routes to cross into Uganda because we fear being taxed by the Revenue Authority. Once you pass, you know you will now get your money because connections will have already been made by buyers,” Mr Franco says.