“Greenpeace is vindicated by the court ruling against Fibois BV by the Dutch Competent Authority. It shows that the court stood by our meticulous report,” said Eric Ini, Greenpeace Africa’s Forest Campaigner. “This ruling is a clear call to the Cameroonian Minister Ngwese to instil the rule of law in the Cameroon forestry sector and sanction the likes of CCT accordingly,” added Ini.
CCT has been supplying azombé timber from questionable sources in Cameroon to Fibois BV. Despite NVWA warning in March 2015 and conditional penalty in 2016 to Fibios BV, CCT and the Cameroonian Forestry and Wildlife Ministry remained indifferent to concerns from the international market. CCT is trading timber sourced from highly destructive logging operations, several of which were exposed to be involved in illegal logging according to a Greenpeace report published in 2015. Greenpeace traced the timber from CCT to many importers in Europe, including Fibois BV in Purmerend in the Netherlands.
“The Dutch court ruling against Fibios highlights lapses in credibility and control in supply chains that the Cameroonian government can no longer afford to ignore. We hope Forestry and Wildlife Ministry officials in Cameroon will implement laws to bring sanity around the forestry sector,” concluded Ini.
Media Contact:
[email protected], Greenpeace Africa Communications Officer, +237 677345612
[email protected], Greenpeace Africa Forest Campaigner, +237 655304948.