Forest Department sells confiscated logs

We reported on Thursday about a number of logs that were seized by the Orange Walk Forest office on Liberty Avenue from two trucks after they were felled from a protected area near the Honey Camp Lagoon known as the Fresh Water Creek Forest Reserve. Acting Chief Forest Officer, Marcelo Windsor, explained today that while logging is allowed in a protected area, extracting the logs without marking them is an offence, which is what the two loggers, who are reportedly connected to a high-ranking government Minister, did not bother to do. Windsor said the loggers were caught with the unmarked logs while coming out of the protected area and their logs will be put up for sale to interested individuals.

Marcelo Windsor, Acting Chief Forest Officer
“What happened with those logs is that every single shipment of logs or trucks traveling with forest produce must be accompanied by a waybill. In this case, none of the licensees had any waybills and another thing that is very important is that those logs needed to actually have what we call a property mark on those, meaning the licensee should have actually marked their logs and that would indicate from what area its actually coming from. Those are the terms and conditions under any forest license throughout the entire country and those apply also for that area. For that reason then we escorted those trucks and we caused them to unload their products at the Forestry Office in Orange Walk.”

Marion Ali
“No consideration is being given to the cancellation of those licenses?”

Marcelo Windsor
“No, because there has not been, from my own viewpoint and considering that I carried out inspections of the area, any contravention of the conditions of those licenses other than the licensees not having the proper waybills in place.”

News Five understands that the entire fifty-five thousand acres of the Fresh Water Creek Forest Reserve has been leased out for logging to four individuals.

http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=23732

(jane hears sound of the golden goose choking...)

I bet that the leases to these four individuals was given with no regard to the laws of Belize imagine all that to make 4 people wealthy when 33% of the country lives on or near the poverty line, well in Belize we get what we vote for.