EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Much of Equatorial Guineas lowland forest was lost between the 17th and 19th centuries as land was cleared for cocoa plantations. Commercial logging began in the 1920s, but has become more intense in recent years, with forest production doubling since the mid-1990s. All productive forests on the mainland are commercially exploited; 60% of the countrys total forest area of 1.5 million ha is under concession to logging companies.

All forest resources are owned by the government. Concession holders are required to implement a management plan, which is meant to be monitored periodically by the forestry administration, although there is no overall plan for concessions. Approximately 21% of the forest area is operating under restrictions for sustainable timber production and management plans for protected areas are being developed.

The 1997 forest law stipulates that reforestation of production forest units must ensure that annual volumes felled are replaced. State inspectors work in the field, verifying the volumes harvested. However, concession management plans have not been effectively enforced. A lack of trained staff and other material resources has meant that there are frequent incursions into protected areas, felling rates frequently exceeds forest potential, and permits are allocated without consideration of the resource potential. There are also recurring conflicts between the forest administration and local communities over land and resource rights, and a lack of willingness on the part of the administration to embrace participatory management.

Equatorial Guinea will be one of six central African countries to benefit from a £1 million satellite, funded by the UK, which will track illegal logging and enable governments, NGOs and local communities to prevent the further loss of forests.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
01/02/2008	Forest Products Trade between China and Africa: An Analysis of Imports and Exports Recent media coverage of China's efforts to secure access to natural resources in Africa suggests ...	Forest Trends (Kerstin Canby, James Hewitt, Luke Bailey, Eugenia Katsigris, Sun Xiufang)
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
17/06/2008	Spy satellite will monitor illegal logging across six African countries A spy satellite is to be trained on the vast rainforests of central Africa as part of a British project ...	Independent (UK)
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08/06/2007	Loggers threaten a third of rainforests in Congo Basin The rainforests of central Africa are being systematically plundered for their hardwood timber trees, ...	The Independent (UK)
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22/01/2006	Goodbye to West Africa's rainforests West Africa's once verdant and extensive rainforests are now a historical footnote. Gone to build ...	Mongabay.com
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PRESENTATIONS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
18/06/2008	US efforts in Congo Basin Forest Partnership	U.S. Embassy Beijing (C Sherry Hong)
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01/11/2007	China-Africa Forest Product Trade: An overview	Forest Trends (Sun Xiufang)
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09/07/2007	SM Certification in the Congo Basin region	Interafrican Forest Industries Association (Herv Bourguignon)
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EVENTS

DATE	TITLE
Monday 6th December 2004	Commission For Africa ' Forest Programme Brainstorm A brainstorming session on illegal logging held in part to feed into the Commission for Africa Report, ...
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