Liberia resumes logging

Two years after the un Security Council lifted sanctions on timber exports from Liberia, the government has resumed logging saying that it has fulfilled all measures asked by the un.

The council banned exports of Liberian timber in 2003 after determining that proceeds from the industry were being used to purchase weapons and fuel civil wars in Liberia as well as in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Although it lifted the sanctions in 2006, it asked the Liberian government to introduce 10 measures to track logs and to avoid corruption and loss of revenue.

"Payments from logging companies to the government will now be monitored," says Peter Lowe of the World Bank's Liberia office. Liberia's forestry sector will contribute 14-15 per cent of the gdp, says Lowe. The government hopes to earn us $26 million from the industry by 2010.