Logs are being illegally cut in Thailand and floated down tributaries
of
the Salween River to Burma, where they are stamped
as Burmese timber before being floated back into Thai territory as
''legally" imported logs, explained Boonyian Yaibuathes,
chief of an investigative team from the Anti-Deforestation Command
(ADC).
Whenever illegal timber is seized, all the companies deny that it
belongs to them, according to a local official source. Over
10,000 logs have been removed from the Salween conservation area over
the past month even though it is the rainy
season, he said.
The huge timber traffic has made the logs pier in the Mae Sam Lap
increasingly muddy and the traffic had to be halted
several weeks ago until a new pier is in place.
The new concessions will certainly make the situation worse because
it
is very difficult in practice for inspectors to
distinguish legal logs cut down in Burma from illegal timber
cut
down in Thailand, a local official said.
''The ADC has only been able to seize a few [of the illegal logs],"
the
source said.
Last week, the ADC confiscated 300 teak logs found floating down the
Salween River. Boonyian revealed that five teams,
comprised of officials from various agencies aided by the ADC, were
sent
into the area for the third time to block illegal
logging routes and halt the illegal activities.
''During the first two operations, from March through May, over 4,500
illegal logs [mostly teak] were seized. This time
around, the three-month operation will end in October," Boonyian said.
The Burmese Embassy's First Secretary Ngo Kho Pau told The Nation that
four companies have received concessions from
the Burmese government for logging in the area across from Mae Hong
Son:
Thai Sawat Import-Export Co Ltd, Thailand
Korean Veteran Welfare Co Ltd, Polpana Co Ltd and B&F Goodrich
Co Ltd.
However, a source from the logging companies confirmed that another
firm
Skabi Co Ltd has also received a concession.
None of the sources which included officials from the Burmese
Embassy,
the Ministry of Interior and the National Security
Council (NSC) would reveal the sizes of the concessions.
B&F Goodrich also refused to specify the exact amount of logs allowed
to
be cut under its concession, but said it is about
20,000 tonnes. It would not be worth investing in a smaller concession,
the company source said.
Aphichit Ingkhasirisap, managing director of Skabi, which is now
awaiting a licence to complete work on a previous
concession, insisted that all the timber which has come through Mae
Sam
Lap over the past month was illegally felled as his
company was the only one to have a licence during the period and it
did
not remove any logs during the rainy season.
Asked directly whether it is possible that some of the logs being
imported legally by concession holders were actually cut
down in Thailand's Salween conservation area, Burmese Embassy official
Ngo Kho Pau said he had no comment. But
businessmen are very tricky, he added.
A senior source at B&F Goodrich, meanwhile, said all the cutting
activities in Burma are done by Burmese officials. She said
the company was involved mainly with the transportation and customs
procedures.
''We do business with the timber that is sent to us so long as it is
the
correct amount and type of log. Deciding whether it was
cut legally or illegally is the duty of the government officials, not
us," she said.
Another logging company source said trees in Thailand tend to be larger
than those cut on Burmese soil because they come
from conservation areas while the forests have been subject to
concessions for many decades.
Following the seizure of 300 logs, the ADC's joint task force was sent
to inspect other logs floating in the Salween River.
The team clashed with 14 heavily armed men patrolling the river, said
Pol Gen Sidhiphorn Srichan who joined the team.
''The log seizure caused a loss of benefits to many groups involved
in
the illegal logging trade. The Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army has lost protection money, and some local authorities
like
kamnan and village headman are also involved and
blocked the investigation."