WildLeaks release two (sanitized) leaks on illegal logging to celebrate International Forest Day:
Malawi and Siberia.
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Malawi: illegal timber cutting of Mulanje Cedar (Widdringtonia whytei) – original message
Mulanje Cedar (Widdringtonia whytei) is an endemic species and has been illegally harvested for years. It is also one of the few existing African conifers and has been recognized by the IUCN as critically endangered. I have seen this species being illegally harvested on top of the mountain and have also seen it being transported down the mountain through the village that I live in. Corruption is rampant in Malawi and I am positive that all of the “forest guards” who are supposed to be protecting the Cedar are taking bribes to allow the illegal trade to keep flowing.
(omitted) people are scared to talk about it because it can almost be equated to illegal drug trafficking. People know that its going on all of the time but don’t want to get involved in fear of retaliation.
(omitted) The main issue is trying to find out who exactly is running the illegal trade and where the majority of the timber is being sold.
Russia: destruction of ecosystems in the Trans-Baikal region (translated from Russian) – original message
Transbaikalia territory, Mogocha district.
Amazar river is the first major tributary of the Amur River after the formation of the merger Shilka and Argun, it plays an important role in the Amur ecosystem.
This place is the maximum concentration of fish in the Transbaikal Salmoniformes primarily Siberian taimen – a species introduced in the International Red Book and the IUCN Red Data Book of the Trans-Baikal region.
The river and the forest, on which depends the entire region, have been attracting the attention of businessmen from China for over 10 years.
Back in 2002, the Chita Region and Heilongjiang Province signed a contract for a pulp mill project with a different technology.
In 2009 there was a new investment by (“omitted”) of 2 billion Yuan from China Development Bank.
In 2012 the pulp mill received the status of “priority investment projects in the forestry sector ” of Industry and Trade, which will give the CPC LLC “omitted” access to vast areas of forest lease without auction.
The company publicly promised to produce 1,150 million cubic meters of wood per year, needed to produce 240,000 tons of pulp. However, the documentation of the CPC (“omitted”) project from 2010 indicated significantly greater volumes – bringing the power plant up to 400,000 tons of pulp per year and export the new transition Pokrovka Loguhe 590,000 tons of wood (more than 1 million cubic meters of timber).
According to experts, the raw material for the production complex should be sufficient for harvesting more than 2 million cubic meters of wood per year. But even according to official figures, the forest resources needed to produce the planned volumes of softwood surroundings Amazarskogo CDC simply does not exist.
