EXTENSIVE campaigns and awareness sessions played a vital role in reducing illegal logging in the country.
Members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources heard this from senior officials in the Ministry of Forestry when they presented the ministry’s 2019 to 2022 annual reports in Suva yesterday.
The ministry’s senior economic planning officer, Ruairi O’Donoghue, said the “say no to illegal logging” was an initiative set up by the ministry to curb illegal logging in the Northern Division.
He said this was most prevalent in Vanua Levu and that curbing illegal logging was quite a challenging pursuit.
Mr O’Donoghue said the program was launched in February 2022 aimed at landowners, logging contractors, business houses and the public.
He said the pledge ended in 2023, and before this launch, there were at least 29 cases of illegal logging. However, after the pledge, this number dropped to three.
“A few cases are still under investigation with the police,” he said.
“All contractors found engaging in illegal logging can be fined up to $10,000 and if the company continues illegal logging, then the ministry can revoke their licence and stop them from logging entirely.”
Mr O’Donoghue said the ministry was reviewing its processes and procedures to manage illegal logging by introducing new technologies such as the use of drones and GIS and increasing manpower in hotspot areas.
