Forestry officials crack down on tree thieves

RUNDU – Forestry officials in the Kavango Region were hard at work with a law-enforcement campaign over the Easter long weekend in an attempt to curb illegal harvesting of trees.

Rundu District Forestry Officer Mwiikingi Jonas told Nampa yesterday that since the start of the long weekend, four major incidents of illegal tree harvesting had been reported. “We’ve confiscated 10 tonnes of firewood, two tonnes of poles and a lot of timber since the start of the holidays on Friday, and all those arrested were without valid permits,” the forestry officer noted.Jonas said the confiscation was mostly done during the night and in the early morning hours.In one of the latest incidents, at around midnight on Friday a pick-up truck transporting timber valued at N$15 000 was caught red-handed by forestry officials.The timber was confiscated.The Forestry Officer furthermore warned that their campaign would not end after this long weekend, but would remain an ongoing activity.”We want to record zero confiscations and arrests on our campaign, because that will be an indication that people are following and adhering to the law,” he said.Meanwhile, during the early morning hours of yesterday, two couples in the region sped into the bushes in a vehicle fully loaded with firewood to try and avoid being questioned by Forestry officials.According to the officials, the culprits were transporting firewood presumably without a valid harvesting permit.Their luck deserted them, though, as their vehicle got stuck near a tree in the thick bushes whereafter they got out and fled.The incident has been reported to the Namibian Police.Nampa”We’ve confiscated 10 tonnes of firewood, two tonnes of poles and a lot of timber since the start of the holidays on Friday, and all those arrested were without valid permits,” the forestry officer noted.Jonas said the confiscation was mostly done during the night and in the early morning hours.In one of the latest incidents, at around midnight on Friday a pick-up truck transporting timber valued at N$15 000 was caught red-handed by forestry officials.The timber was confiscated.The Forestry Officer furthermore warned that their campaign would not end after this long weekend, but would remain an ongoing activity.”We want to record zero confiscations and arrests on our campaign, because that will be an indication that people are following and adhering to the law,” he said.Meanwhile, during the early morning hours of yesterday, two couples in the region sped into the bushes in a vehicle fully loaded with firewood to try and avoid being questioned by Forestry officials.According to the officials, the culprits were transporting firewood presumably without a valid harvesting permit.Their luck deserted them, though, as their vehicle got stuck near a tree in the thick bushes whereafter they got out and fled.The incident has been reported to the Namibian Police.Nampa