The axe of the law has once more descended on illegal loggers and Wildlife poachers. A document published by the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife states inter alia that 158  extractors, the majority of them logging companies, have been trapped in the did.

 Even though the number of culprits has dropped significantly compared to the past years as a result of tightened node of the law epitomized by administrative repressive approach, there is every reason to continue to intensify the fight.

In effect, a few years ago, statistics on what is lost to illegal logging as far as forest is concerned was to say the least disturbing where 100,000 hectares of forest was said  to disappear every year with logging accused to be the major cause. The activity as of today is carried out by both local and foreign companies. Focus is on some specific and economically viable tree species such as Sapelli, Ayous, Iroko, Azobe, Tali, Moabi, Movingui and Ngollon. These species are exported overseas to Europe, Asia and even some countries in Africa.

Of the 100,000 hectares logged each year, at least 40 percent are illegally deforested. The proliferation of illegal logging and poaching was said to be accentuated by the absence of national control strategy for exploitation of forest and wildlife, approximate understanding of laws and regulations, inadequate organization, competence and lack of equipment; limited involvement of the civil society and business operators in the implementation of the forestry law and poor collaboration with partner administrations are some of the ills that have affected the sector. The question on every lip remains whether there is really an absence of national strategy to fight ills in the forestry and wildlife sector.

The absence is surely a monosyllabic no. In effect, in 2005, government barnstormed on a strategy to that effect. The positive results so far registered are largely attributed to the effective implementation of the said strategy. That said, it will be unjust to levy all accusations only on logging companies many of which have gone the extra mile to respect the regulations in place. Forest controllers and other actors in the administration are partly responsible as stated in the document published by the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife. Some of them are said to have failed to deposit the money paid in as penalty for non respect of the law.

From the look of things, the best way for government to completely or significantly put an end to the illegal practice is to fully democratise the fight and render it more regular. Recent figures indicate an annual recovery of at least FCFA one billion as penalty up from FCFA 150 million. More regular controls and tightening of the law could produce more money for the State. The forestry sector contributes at least 4.9 percent to the GDP as well as over 200,000 jobs.