Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

44SOLD DOWN THE RIVERproducts. 49 In spite of the regulations aimed at ensuring that wood is processed, logs represent80% of total wood exports. 50Table 5: Companiesoperating in the EquatorialGuinea forestry sector in1997International financial assistanceEU development assistance to Equatorial Guinea is currently suspended; its resumption is tiedto improvements in human rights. 51 ECOFAC, however, funds a project in the national park ofMonte Alen, in the mountains of Niefang, which covers an area of 140,000 hectares. 52 The EUhas also provided funds to the Equatorial Guinea forestry sector to assist with thedevelopment of the 1997 forestry code.Historically, the main countries providing funds to Equatorial Guinea have been Franceand Spain. During the dictatorship of Macias, France provided export credits for theconstruction of prestige buildings by what is now called the Société Française de Dragages etTravaux Publiques. In return for this aid, French interests were allegedly given concessions inRio Muni. 53 One of the French-connected companies obtaining concessions in the region wasthe Sociedad Forestal del Rio Muni – it was owned by a Frenchman who had no experience inforestry but connections in French financial circles. The company was granted a concession of150,000 hectares for 10 years and permission to produce a total of 1.5 million tonnes oftimber. 54 Between 1995 and 1997, the French Development Agency (Agence Française duDévéloppement, AFD) provided US$ 3.3 million in aid, 55 but nothing at all in 1997. In themid-1990s, Spain provided financial assistance to Equatorial Guinea’s military to reorganiseitself into an army, navy and air force. 56Company Source of capital Volume produced in 1997(where known)cubic metresShimmer Malaysia 321,237Sofoge Lebanon 83,744ABM S.A. Spain 24,328Anisok Mongola Spain 50,826Exfosa Spain 24,450Ecuaforsa 25,319Bu Forestal 16,214Eguimasa 22,113Chilbo Korea 14,135Somavi 10,849SAFI Spain 15,365EFG France 19,428Madenco 564Tromad 9,039Mafesa 1,109Sinosa China 11,214Coguimadera 21,474Joncomba 3,995Agroforestal 2,251Ekolsas 0Matroguisa 25,889Sofona 4,308Alosa (Guiesma) 0Guiesma 15,004Foguisa 0Coteco 0Isoroy Spain/France 0CPF 2,865Pilma 127Sijifo China 31,274757,173Environmental impactsThe current law does not allow commercial loggingon Bioko Island. Logging began there in the late1980s, but donors and the international communityexerted pressure for it to stop because of itsdestructive results. Most damage occurred along theroads. The forests of the coastal areas of Rio Muniare now undergoing their second or third cut and aredegrading. 57 The same will occur in the interior partsof the country, where logging is favoured by lowertaxes.Social impactsThe law states that forestry companies should buildfacilities for local people. Field work has not beenundertaken, however, to ascertain the positive ornegative impacts of forestry companies’ operationson rural populations. National NGO capacity isweak and democratic space within the generalpolitical situation is non-existent.Companies logging the forests ofEquatorial GuineaUntil the mid-1990s, most companies were ownedby mainly Spanish capital. Since then, however,Asian companies have become dominant, andShimmer, a subsidiary of the Malaysianheadquarteredcompany Rimbunan Hijau, nowcarries out most of the logging in the country. 58Shimmer and the Minister for Forestry, the son ofthe country’s dictator, have a close workingrelationship. There have been unconfirmed reportsthat Shimmer is encroaching in Monte Alen, whereECOFAC has a sustainable development project.Table 5 presents concession data for 1997. Thosecompanies showing zero production had been activepreviously. For example, Isoroy produced 26,168cubic metres of timber in 1995 (see Sonae companyprofile, page 62). 59Source: UICN 1998 “La Conservación de los Ecosistemas Forestales de Guinea Ecuatorial enlos albores del año 2000” Oficina Regional de la UICN para Africa Central;unpublishedsources