By Sarjo Brito
Rosewood is a family of tropical tree species widely used for antique-style furniture in Asia and in particular China. It is considered to also be the world’s most trafficked wildlife product. The rosewood and its illegal trade have become one of the world’s most lucrative businesses. A rare type of wood that not many countries are not blessed to have and for the ones that do, it is a million-dollar trade.
A BBC investigation revealed that China has imported more than 300,000 tonnes of West African Rosewood since President Barrow came to power in 2017. Despite declaring its own stocks close to extinction almost a decade ago, the BBC probe uncovered that the Gambia is ‘consistently among the five largest global exporters of rosewood.
In a workshop organized by Gambia Participates, relevant stakeholders were brought together to discuss and identify lapses propelling these illegal activities and more so, to follow the money from the rosewood business and how it trickles down to the ordinary Gambian. Dealers in rosewood are now turning to countries like the Gambia and the Cassamance region to fill their pockets and this is a cause for concern for Gambia Participates.
CEO of Gambia participates Marr Nyang, said the illicit rosewood trade has cost the Gambia government millions of dollars in revenue, especially after a significant discrepancy of $471million between Gambia’s reported timber exports and imports declared by trading partners, with many alleging massive underreporting.
Nyang said while they are concerned about the revenue aspect of this illicit trade, the security risks attached to it must not be overlooked as MFDC forces are alleged to be getting their funding from this trade, putting both the Gambia and Senegal in vulnerable positions. Today’s stakeholder meeting according to Nyang, will provide the opportunity to discuss key recommendations from the Environmental Investigation Agency’s investigative report titled ‘Cashing-in On Chaos’.
