Henri Djombo, president of the African Timber Organisation, has said European data on illegal harvesting in Africa is inaccurate and unreliable.
Mr Djombo, the forestry and fisheries minister of the Republic of Congo, was speaking in Paris at a conference organised by the Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux, to answer accusations by European environmental organisations and give an update on the continent’s efforts in sustainable timber management.
He expressed the need for a closer collaboration between private enterprises, groups and governments towards sustainable production, as well as the necessity to eradicate fraudulent timber cuts.
Mr Djombo said he regretted the excessive comparison between the ‘complex situation’ in Liberia, which has recently come under the spotlight for illegal logging, and African tropical timber in general.
