Mozambique battles illegal logging to save tropical forests

Mazambique is leaving no stone unturned to protect its tropical forests. A squad of Mozambican forest rangers made their first arrest on being alerted about the illegal logging. Nicolau Moises, the forestry department chief in Cabo Delgado province, one of Mozambique's top timber-producing regions swung into action and quickly seized a truck piled high with freshly-cut bamboo stalks. As part of Mozambique's battle against deforestation, a 90 day ban on logging was imposed. Now, the ban has been extended for a further three months. The southern African country is blessed with tropical forests that cover more than half of landmass of the country. Sadly, it is gradually being destroyed to feed China's insatiable appetite for rare types of wood for its furniture industry. Some hardwood species are facing extinction. The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) estimated that at least 93 percent of logging in Mozambique was illegal -- and that most of the illicit timber ended up sold in China. The government believes it will be able to tackle illegal logging. It has launched a slew of measures that include a ban on the export of all unprocessed logs and a five-year moratorium on the exploitation of vulnerable species.