The documents obtained include a memo written by one of the
executive directors of The Danzer Group who states that "If there
is any threat of a fine, so called conditioned cases, he is,
however prepared to take care of this by giving a gift" (1). The
Danzer Group also has a financial partnership with the Cameroonian
company Mba Mba Georges (MMG), which has been logging illegally in
an area of forest that was proposed as a community forest.
Moreover, Danzer indicates in internal documents that MMG is now
logging illegally inside its own concession.
"This is further evidence that the global logging industry is
out of control and destroying the world's ancient forests," said
Gavin Edwards of Greenpeace International. "Illegal logging is not
only destroying Africa's rainforest and wiping out precious
wildlife habitat, but companies involved in this activity also
appear to be defrauding developing nations and local communities
out of millions of dollars through the systematic bribery of public
officials."
The Danzer group sells African rainforest timber throughout
Europe, with some suspected illegal wood being found in bridge
construction projects by local governments across Europe, including
France and the Netherlands (2).
Customs officers are unable to act to stop the import of illegal
forest products into Europe, because there is no EU legislation in
place to stop this illicit trade. Yet the European Commission is
currently limiting its plans to develop a legislative framework for
voluntary measures, instead of a law that would prohibit all
illegal wood imports. The issue was put on the agenda of the
Environment Council yesterday in Luxembourg, where EU Environment
Ministers emphasised the need for urgent action to eliminate
imports of illegal timber. They requested that the Commission act
"without delay", and present its proposals including options for
legislation (3).
"The precious rainforests of Africa's Congo basin are being
logged at an alarming rate, due to an army of unscrupulous
multinational loggers and timber traders who have little regard for
the environment or the law." said Sebastien Risso, Greenpeace EU
Unit. "This problem needs more than discussion and study, it needs
swift action. This means stronger monitoring and law enforcement in
African countries, EU legislation to prevent illegal wood imports,
and the prosecution of these crooks under existing bribery
laws."
Eighty percent of the world's ancient forests have already been
degraded or destroyed, and only 20% remain intact. The rainforests
of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Central
African Republic, Cameroon and Gabon are quickly being logged and
turned into forest products for the European market. Governments
worldwide are failing to protect ancient forests from illegal and
destructive logging.
VVPR info: A copy of the Greenpeace Briefing 'Danzer Group Involved in Bribery & Illegal Logging' can be downloaded from www.greenpeace.org/illegal-logging
Notes: 1. Both Switzerland and Germany are signatories of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. The Convention makes it an offence "to offer, promise or give a bribe to a foreign public official in order to obtain or retain international business deals". The report will be circulated to a number of key customers of The Danzer Group and it's subsidiaries, and a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organisation: These include OECD Working Group on Bribery, The World Bank, the UN Security Council Expert Panel on Liberia, the anti-bribery commissions and the Ministries of Justice of the affected countries (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo), Transparency International, Global Witness and WWF. 2. Timber species include Ekki (Azobé), and importing countries include Italy, Belgium, Germany, France, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands and Switzerland. The Danzer Group has a financial partnership with Cameroonian logger MMG and distributes their wood throughout Europe. Customers who buy MMG wood include Netherlands bridge fabricator and timber trader Groot Lemmer, whose bridges have recently been purchased by local governments in Netherlands and France.3. For more information on the outcome of the EU Environment Council meeting in Luxembourg, see Greenpeace Press Briefing and Press Release at : http://eu.greenpeace.org/issues/forests.html