Awareness campaign for artisanal loggers in Province Orientale, DR Congo

Awareness campaign for artisanal loggers in Province Orientale, DR Congo

DR Congo - 21 October, 2015

Artisanal loggers from the Province Orientale in DR Congo were sensitized on the regulation of artisanal logging sector, legal taxes and legal associations of artisanal loggers as part of an awareness campaign organized from September 24 to October 8, 2015 by Tropenbos International DR Congo.

The awareness campaign took place in Kisangani and 6 territories of Province Orientale (Aru, Mahagi, Mambasa, Bafwasende, Ubundu and Isangi) and used as support material three illustrated booklets on regulation of artisanal logging, taxes for artisanal logging and legal associations.

campaign3.JPGThe booklet on regulation of artisanal logging, focused on the legal status of an artisanal logger, access to timber resources, the requirements to practice artisanal logging, the documents required and sanctions for violations of the laws. The negotiation process of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT-VPA) is also explained, specifically the principles of legality according to FLEGT-VPA and the steps towards this agreement. During the workshops related to this booklet, discussions on the issue of regulation allowed artisanal loggers and other stakeholders to identify the causes of the non-compliance of laws by artisanal loggers. Among the causes are the incoherence of some legal texts, the administrative burden, the multiplicity of taxes including those which are illegal.

campaign2.JPGThe booklet on taxes and fees on artisanal logging, presents the main charges collected from artisanal loggers. From the 27 taxes identified, 21 are legal, while 6 are illegal. Among the illegal fees, are: the intelligence tax, migration tax, road tax, security tax, mission costs and the circulation permit of wood. Although some artisanal loggers recognize the illegality of some of these fees they don’t have any other option than pay these charges to dishonest agents. Hence there is a need for them to get organized in legal associations to stop these illegal practices. The public servants that participated during the campaign were indignant about the behavior of some dishonest agents that receive illegal fees without a legal basis and promised to take drastic measures to end these practices.

The booklet on legal associations for artisanal loggers, presents the challenges and benefits of creating legal associations that may constitute a force to fight against the difficulties that artisanal loggers encounter in their activities.

This activity is part of the project: “VPA-FLEGT: Associations of artisanal loggers at the service of legality and economic efficiency for all”.

 

PublicationsShow all

Publication

ABC of associations

Considering the harassment that artisanal loggers are victims of in DR Congo and the imperative need to profit from their business, it seems necessary that artisanal loggers come together in associations in order to constitute a force to fight against the difficulties that they meet in their activities. Therefore this brochure has been prepared to sensitize artisanal loggers organize themselves in legal associations. It is a technical tool illustrating the issues, challenges and benefits of being an association and a guide on the legal procedures to create an association. It was produced as part of the project: “VPA-FLEGT: Associations of artisanal loggers at the service of legality and economic efficiency for all”.

 

Publication

Forest regulation in brief

This booklet summarizes the regulation of artisanal logging in DR Congo. It lists and explains the main laws regulating the sector, particularly regarding the status of artisanal logging, the requirements to access resources (wood), the rules towards sustainable forest management, the various documents required to practice artisanal logging, and the sanctions for violations of legal provisions. The benefits of compliance and the disadvantages of working illegally are also presented through a small comic. It includes a chapter about the process of negotiating FLEGT-VPA between the European Union and the DRC. The motivations, the principles and the negotiating phases of a FLEGT-VPA are explained to facilitate the understanding of this process and enhance its appropriation by different stakeholders. The booklet was produced as part of the project: “VPA-FLEGT: Associations of artisanal loggers at the service of legality and economic efficiency for all”.

Publication

Inventory of taxes and charges for the artisanal logging sector

In DR Congo, artisanal loggers complain of the multiple charges and taxes they pay. It seems that the origin and nature of certain taxes and fees are not clear, therefore artisanal loggers are not willing to pay for these fees. According to the national legislation, all state taxes should be established by a legal instrument issued by a competent authority.

TBI DR Congo conducted a study to list the fees collected from the artisanal loggers. It has been found that a total of 27 fees are collected from which 21 are legal and 6 are illegal. Among the legal fees are taxes and other administrative costs related to the artisanal logging. Whereas illegal fees are those charged by some state officials without a legal basis and should not be paid. The list of fees has been compiled in a document to be used by the different actors involved in artisanal logging. The document was validated by different stakeholders and have agreed on the necessity of paying legal fees and not paying illegal ones.

The study and document was produced with the aim to raise awareness of artisanal loggers to respect the legality in the context of the project "FLEGT-VPA: associations of artisanal loggers in the service of legality and economic efficiency for all," that TBI DR Congo realizes with the support of FAO and the European Union.