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Liberia sees green in reform of 'blood timber'
Reports of such small-scale illegal logging have been downplayed by UNMIL, which insists that none of the timber is being exported. "Pit sawing is widespread. You can't stop it. UNMIL doesn't have the personnel." And, he adds, timber from pit sawing "is the only resource for reconstruction."
The Sustainable Development Initiatives group says it has recent evidence, however,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], of at least one larger-scale illegal logging company moving heavy machinery across Liberia's eastern border from neighboring Ivory Coast,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and operating within Liberia.
During an ad hoc monitoring mission headed by the government and UNMIL in an area of concern - which journalists and civil-society advocates joined - they found no evidence of large-scale illegal logging by timber companies. Mr. Siakor's group, however, says these monitoring trips happen too infrequently to adequately address the situation.
The "government hasn't fully come to terms with the fact that they have serious responsibilities," Siakor says.
Beyond the potential for profits, timber reform is expected to set a standard for how the nation can avoid further conflict and lift itself out of dire poverty.
"Timber will serve as a model for extractive industry reform," including the nation's diamond, rubber, and iron ore mining industries, says Sesay. Liberia is still under UN sanctions on its diamond trade. But on timber, he says,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], "indications so far are positive."
One Liberian who found he could make a difference
Small in stature, soft-spoken, a guy who wears jeans and sneakers to the office - Silas Siakor seems an unlikely hero for his war-torn country.
He'd never use that word to describe himself. But the modest thirtysomething will concede that his efforts to document the plunder of Liberia's vast tropical forests have played an important role not only in helping to end 14 years of war, but also in rebuilding the devastated West African nation in ways that may ensure that the fragile peace will not slip.
Evidence of former leader Charles Taylor's abuse of so-called "blood timber" - collected at great personal risk by a small team headed by Mr. Siakor - was key in prompting UN sanctions on Liberian timber exports in 2003. Those sanctions,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], in turn,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], helped end the war. Since then,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Siakor has continued to monitor the industry and press for its reform.
Siakor began documenting abuses of Liberia's timber in the late 1990s by using monitors around the country and informers working for corrupt timber companies. "What drives us," he says, "is trying to secure better use of Liberia's natural resources for local people. It's not about the greenery - it's about making people's lives better."
But, he adds,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], "you can't separate the two."
Collecting the data was risky business, Siakor explains calmly, as he tells of vigorous debates within his small group about whether to go public with the information, for fear of their lives.
Soon after they published a damaging report in 2002, he immediately faced pressure and threats from Mr. Taylor's government. In 2003, Siakor decided to leave his family in Liberia while laying low in neighboring countries until 2004.
Today,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Siakor says, his efforts were worth the risk. "If we hadn't acted, no other group would have," he argues. "Up to now, people have been scared."
Last spring, Siakor won one of six prestigious Goldman Environmental Prizes - the world's largest award honoring grassroots environmental activists - for his efforts, and he says it's only now that he has gained international credibility and recognition that he realizes just how hard it is to make lasting changes to government policy from the outside.
"Sometimes I think: 'Is this really worth it?' " he muses. "But then I think of what it would be like if groups like us weren't around, and it motivates me."
Siakor says that he tries to keep colleagues inspired by telling them to take stock of the "little things," the small gains they have made and are making day by day.
"Change will only continue if ordinary people remain actively engaged,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," he says. "Without that, it will be business as usual."
One of eight children,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Siakor says that his father, a hospital worker and strict Baptist preacher,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], used to tell him to "leave the people thing alone," meaning "don't get involved in the government's business."
But,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], now,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], he says,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], "the paradigm is changing,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," and people are more willing to play an active role in how they are ruled. "War made people realize that bad governance affects us all."
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