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Unlikely hero released from jail
 Joseph
Melloh used to be a professional poacher. But several years ago
he not only turned his back on poaching, Joseph became an ardent
campaigner against the bushmeat trade. He has become a leader in
uncovering the illegal bushmeat trade in Central Africa guiding
journalists from around the world to the story of the ongoing slaughter
of wildlife.
Three months ago Joseph set out from his home in
Cameroon for the rainforests in Congo and the forestry concession
of a Swiss-German logging company Congolaise Industrielle du Bois
(CIB). His investigation of the CIB concessions were aimed at forest
law enforcement in the Congo, but it was the law that turned on
him.
Joseph has been in a Congolese prison since May
for an unfounded charge of ‘jeopardising the external security
of Congo’. Joseph was picked up by the police for conducting
interviews with residents of Pokola and for filming the CIB forestry
operations.
Joseph was released today after a judge in Brazzaville
reduced the charge and sentenced Joseph to 45 days in jail, which
he has already served.
Joseph’s release is a victory for conservationists
working in Africa to protect the last areas of rainforest and animals
that live in the forest, but his case clearly highlights the current
problems that exist globally around monitoring the activities of
logging companies in the field.
Corporate forest crime costs forest nations several
million US dollars each year, yet most of these nations have no
formal framework or the institutional capacity for independent monitoring
of the companies operating in their forests.
In just two weeks governments from around the world
will meet in Africa for the Earth Summit on sustainable development.
Yet the growth of the logging sector in Central Africa is a model
of unsustainability. Africa has lost two thirds of its ancient forests
in the last thirty years. It is a primarily foreign owned industrial
timber industry that is responsible for destroying huge areas of
ancient forest. These foreign-owned companies are rarely held accountable
for their actions in Africa or at home where they import the illegal
timber.
Governments will have the opportunity to commit
to the development of a global framework on corporate responsibility,
which should include transparency, independent verification and
corporate liability at the Earth Summit.
Joseph was jailed for doing what all logging concessions
should be required to permit. As in neighbouring Cameroon, we are
now calling on the government of Congo to commit to formal independent
monitoring of logging company activities. Without this kind of commitment,
then current political processes to protect forests, like the World
Bank’s programme on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance,
will mean very little.
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