Category: Forests, Trade, conservation | Date: Mar 12 2009 | By: baraza

After reading the article about sandalwood exploitation in the Karisia Hills by Helen Dufresne, we have been looking into this issue and it seems as if it’s a monster! Its not only north Kenya but the entire Nort Rift that is at risk of losing these beautiful and valuable trees. Here’s an article published in the Daily Nation this week.

In North Rift, money grows on endangered sandalwood

By CASPER WAITHAKAPosted Tuesday, March 10 2009 at 22:44

The protected sandalwood tree is turning traders into millionaires. The plant is being harvested illegally in Samburu, Pokot, Baringo and other parts of the North Rift.

The cartels involved, including prominent politicians, administration and security officials, have made it almost impossible to bring the illegal trade under control, making extinction of the endangered plant a near certainty.

Hardly a week passes without a truckload of the wood, whose scientific name is Osyris lanceolata, being seized is some part of the country.

There are many other cases that are not reported.  Perhaps with this in mind, Forestry minister Noah Wekesa a few weeks ago advertised a hotline for the public to inform the ministry of illegal exploitation of the tree that is exported for use in the pharmaceutical and perfume industries.

The toll free hotline number 08002212323 will also provide information on the exploitation of other forest products including bush meat, skins, ivory, and contraband trade in wildlife species.

Protected tree

It is a follow up of the ban on sandalwood harvesting imposed by President Kibaki in a gazette notice on April 4, 2007, under the protected tree species law.

Behind the scenes in the battle to save the sandalwood is the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, an organisation charged with law enforcement operations against illegal trade in both animals and plants.
The Task Force says over-exploitation of the sandalwood and other products in the region may lead to a dangerous imbalance in the ecosystem.

Sandalwood is harvested from trees over 30 years old and unfortunately the tree is valuable from the leaves to the roots hence its vulnerability. The crude methods of harvest destroy the plant completely.

In December, key Government departments in Kajiado district clashed over a lorry impounded at Namanga border on November 26 while transporting 40 tonnes of sandalwood worth Sh40 million to Tanzania.

Area Police, Kenya Wildlife Service and Forest service personnel failed to agree on where the trailer should be kept. It ended up at the KWS staff quarters following pressure from KWS and forest officials.

Sources said the KWS officials did not trust the police on grounds that they would be compromised.

The intriguing thing was that both containers had two padlocks one from the police and another from the KWS officials. This shows mistrust in each others capacity to keep the containers safe.

However Humphrey Wanzala, who was then area police boss at the time, had a different story saying that the lorry was at the KWS quarters because the officials were suspecting that there were other wildlife trophies besides sandalwood.

He denied that there was mistrust saying, “We are together in this as we work for the same Government. We shall pursue this matter to the very end.”

The KWS official, Mr Timothy Kitonyi, said the only issue was that the suspects claimed they harvested the sandalwood in Mbale, Uganda, yet they did not have any relevant documents. KWS suspected that they may have hidden other trophies in the containers.

KWS official were investigating the matter from the headquarters in Nairobi. They wanted to find out how the containers full of sandalwood had travelled that far without being detected.

Three people, Jane Nyambura, Frank Jeremiah Frank and Daniel Muya, were eventually charged with being in possession of East African sandalwood worth Sh40 million.

Tags: corruption, Great Rift Valley, Helen Dufresne, Milgis Trust, sandalwood, wildlifedirect

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