Bridging the Gap: linking timber trade with infrastructural ...

Two species, Swartzia madagascarensis and Afrormosia angolensis, were only transported as large logs,
whilst at least four other species were only transported as planks. Other species show different ratios that
provide useful baseline information for future monitoring.
Table 19
Species composition (m 3 ) of wood products recorded at Kibiti checkpoint, Oct 2001 to Jan 2002
Scientific name Firewood Logs Logs, large Logs, small Planks Totals
Hymenaea verrucosa 5.0 41.8 826.9 668.3 1 542.0
Pterocarpus angolensis 21.9 415.5 437.4
Trichilia emetica 2.0 2.0 73.0 285.2 362.2
Afzelia quanzensis 10.0 10.0 25.1 100.6 145.7
Swartzia madagascarensis 132.5 132.5
Albizia versicolor 8.0 47.0 20.6 75.6
Millettia stuhlmannii 20.2 23.0 43.2
Afrormosia angolensis 27.0 27.0
Maeopsis eminii 26.0 26.0
Julbernardia globiflora 5.0 15.7 20.7
Albizia gummifera 4.0 10.8 14.8
Dalbergia melanoxylon 14.6 14.6
Brachystegia spp. 12.0 12.0
Erythrophleum africanum 7.1 7.1
Newtonia spp. 5.0 5.0
Source: Kibiti checkpoint records, 2001-2002.
It should be noted that the classification ‘firewood’ for Dalbergia melanoxylon actually refers to off-cuts,
and may not be an adequate description since these off-cuts are rarely burnt, but instead are used in Dar es
Salaam for furniture, parquet flooring and other decorative purposes. Further, investigations during this
study revealed that transporters commonly conceal large consignments of export-quality billets of D.
melanoxylon beneath off-cuts classified as ‘firewood’.
Changes in species composition
Available data supports anecdotal reports that depletion of the more valuable hardwoods has changed
species preference towards a higher proportion of the cheaper and lower value species (Class IV and V).
Analysis of historical licence data for Rufiji District (which accounts for the majority of harvest licences
issued in the study area by volume) dating back to 1992 reveals that Class V species were issued licences
from 1995 although they only started to constitute over 50% all licences by volume from 1998 onwards
(Table 20; Figure 14).
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