The green lung and last forest stronghold of Senegal, Casamance, located in the south of the country, is powerless against the progressive disappearance of its forests. Limited forest resources are regularly raided by well-organized criminal gangs.
Since 2010, more than one million trees have been lost as demand for timber for furniture has exploded in China and other countries around the world.
Faced with this crisis, the government of Senegal has fought against this phenomenon by revising the forest code to toughen penalties; strengthening forestry staff; employing the Senegalese army; developing a project on the Sustainable Management of Coastal and Estuarine Ecosystems; organizing press tours; and creating the Senegalese Reforestation Agency.
The results from one recent week of action: Seizure of 119 carts, 43 horses, 98 donkeys, 2 chainsaws, 2 two-man saws, 2 axes and 2 motorcycles in the Kolda region. These measures have seemed to bear fruit and smuggling of illegally logged wood has declined in the area.
