Not only in containers… Chinese vessel exporting logs in bulk

August 8, 2014 | By  Posts by KNews

Company moves like thieves in the night- Residents
The largest logging company in Guyana, Bai Shan Lin, is doing way more than the public knows and is doing so without the permission of relevant authorities.

This newspaper paid a visit to Kwakwani, Region Ten, and found that—in the words of a Kwakwani resident—Bai Shan Lin is “taking all it can get and using every way dem can think of to carry lumber out of this country.”

On the journey to Kwakwani, Kaieteur News noticed a number of loaded trucks, carrying Bai Shan Lin’s logo, making their way to Georgetown. Then there were 24 containers of logs that were shown on the front page of this newspaper Thursday August 7 edition as they waited to be exported.

But when Kaieteur News finally arrived at Kwakwani Waterfront, something else was discovered.

A short distance from Edward’s Crossing, was a freighter already loaded with logs ready to be shipped. On land, just beside where the vessel was anchored, lay hundreds of logs that were already marked and ready to be shipped.

Information received is that Bai Shan Lin, in addition to the numerous containers of logs it sends out every day, uses that vessel to export the merchandise.

Caption for video above: A  Chinese freighter already loaded with logs in the Berbice River at Kwakwani. On land, just beside where the vessel was anchored, lay hundreds of logs that were already marked and ready to be shipped

The vessel is named Yuan Heng Freighter. Kaieteur News was told that when one boat goes another comes, and so it rotates.

Residents of Kwakwani estimated that no less than 30 container trucks pass through the streets of their community daily. But a worker at the toll booth of Edward’s Crossing told this newspaper different. One person said that 12 trucks pass daily while another said it was about 15.
Kaieteur News has been told that each truck has a toll cost of $50,000.
Residents said that about 10 to 15 trucks pass out through the day, but explained that the greater amount, as many as twice that amount, would leave in the night.

“They move like real thieves in the night. Every religious night when you sleeping you does hear dem passing through, one after de other. But de sound don’t affect we that much no more, we get accustom to it,” said one resident.

Another resident said, “One thing you can’t stop dem Chinese with; dem does wuk hard. Is nah easy fuh prepare all them logs fuh shipment. You got to cut it, mark it and all duh. Me husband use to wuk with dem. Don’t think is no li’l operation. Dem does cut down everything dem lay eye pon.”

In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation.

Caption for video above: A Bai Shan Lin container truck laden with logs at Kwakwani

According to the public notice, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River, and Right Bank Powis River, Regions Nine and Six.

One official from the Guyana Forestry Commission explained that Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development does not have an actual licence for the exportation of logs. What the company has is a Spate Forest Exploration Permit.

Bai Shan Lin was asked before to comply with statutory rules of the relevant agencies. Earlier this year it was found that Bai Shan Lin, even though it is such a major company, did not have the statutory regulatory blessings of Lands and Surveys, Geology and Mines or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Yesterday Kaieteur News confirmed that the EPA has not given Bai Shan Lin permission to operate in the Berbice River. This is the same river that runs through Kwakwani.

Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.

We get less than the worth of one panda the chinese rent to a us zoo for a year of our forest giants being shipped to China...that is over 4000 containers by some estimate...but we do not know. The crooks in the PPP do not count...except for the kickback they get.

No patriotic Guyanese can allow this rape to happen before their eyes. We are not getting any money!!!!!!

How can the PPP be so crooked and unpatriotic? These people are raising our country to the ground. If the Guyanese people continue to keep the PPP in power, the Chinese will hoard away even our grasshoppers and cockroaches. We need to stop these Chinese at all cost before it is too late.

Guyana does not have truck drivers, they have to now import truck drivers.

That is what these PPP *******s want us to accept.

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Bai Shan Lin exploiting Region 10

…unable to say how much land under its control – Solomon

Investments in Region Ten must be mutually beneficial, but this is not the case with Bai Shan Lin. Instead, the Chinese company is raping the region of its resources through massive exploitation, says Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, who in an interview with this publication at his office in Linden on Wednesday, bemoaned what has been transpiring in the region in recent years, as it relates to the logging company.

Solomon told this publication that over 60 per cent of logging done in Guyana comes through or is from Region Ten.

Bai Shan Lin is now the largest logging operator in the country and according to Solomon, most of its logging is conducted in Region Ten.
“They are contributing significantly toward the exploitation of resources in that area,” said Solomon.

According to Regional Chairman, the company has massively expanded its operations, and to date, an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has not been done, despite repeated requests by the Region.

Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon

 

They (Bai Shan Lin) are far advanced in their operations and they have still not done an ESIA to see what impact they have on the people in the region, he said.

Another source of lamentation over the company has been its compliance with set regulations.

“We have always expressed concerns about Bai Shan Lin’s ability to comply with standards and regulations; we have always complained about that.”
He used as example the processing plant that the company has established along the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway and without compliance from any statutory agency, the company removed over 47,000 tonnes of loam to build the base of the plant, “in the process destroying and disrupting the lives of the people of Moblissa.”

According to Solomon, in the process of building the plant, the company completely destroyed the farm to market road, and it was only when the people threatened to shut down the company that any action was taken.
He said, too, that action on the part of Bai Shan Lin to repair the road also included an intervention by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds.
Solomon said, too, that the Region is still extremely concerned that to date the statutory agencies that should be certifying the actions of Bai Shan Lin may not be doing so. He told this publication that efforts by the Region to secure the necessary documentation to see that this is being done have proven futile thus far.

The statutory bodies that Solomon is referring to, include the Guyana Forestry Commission, Lands and Surveys, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commissions among others.
“We have always said that we welcome investments; that we welcome the opportunity to develop the Region.”

According to Solomon, the investments must be based on mutual benefits.
He said that the companies can be allowed to benefit, “but the community must be able to benefit and the people must also be able to feel comfortable that these investments will not disrupt their lives.”

One of the many container trucks used by Bai Shan Lin to export its logs, on the Linden-Kwakwani Road

 

Solomon said that Bai Shan Lin and the other loggers using the road are destroying it, and when they are approached to assist in repairing it, the companies insist that they already pay royalties and taxes to Government.
“I believe that those companies must understand it is not doing well for social corporate responsibility and the government too must understand that after taking so much taxes and making so much off of these infrastructure, they must be prepared to put back into it.”
Meanwhile, as it relates to the amount of lands that Bai Shan Lin is currently logging from within the region, Solomon said that this is difficult to assess.

He explained that it is difficult to ascertain the concessions under which Bai Shan Lin is operating, given that outside of what is registered officially at the Guyana Forestry Commission for them, “there is a new arrangement that exists in the Region now where many associations and many loggers with concessions are in essence sub-leasing.”

According to Solomon, there is a lot of intertwining of the holders of concessions and those who are exploiting the concessions. He noted too that many of those who would have collaborated with companies such as Bai Shan Lin are not reaping the benefits they would have signed on to.

Why is the GFC not monitoring the export of high-value logs by Asian companies

Posted By Staff Writer On August 9, 2014 @ 5:09 am In Letters | ]

Article printed from Stabroek News: http://www.stabroeknews.com
URL to article: http://www.stabroeknews.com/20...ogs-asian-companies/

Having timber is like having US cash in hand.  Organized crime is now big into timber around the world. In places like Mexico the cartels are not only into drugs now but are also into timber.

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What types of log are considered high priced logs.

Any  speculations on what the Chinese are going to be doing with that many logs?

They build houses and furniture with the logs.

and export it as finish products 

Columbus you discovered America! What a surprise.

Many of our woods are unique, our hardwoods especially. One log can produce artifacts accruing to millions. Our other woods are used to produce high priced products as guitars, pianos, etc and fine furniture. These woods are used as ornamental most of the time not as building material for homes.Their after market value is in the billions.

you know you will run and hide 

They must be projecting for a future market. The present world economies are shrinking. Europe and North American middle classes are depressed. Solid wood furniture are very pricy as can be observed in North America. I wonder if IKEA is their target. Purpleheart and Jatoba are cultivated in Costa Rica on large scale farms-sustainable. Those woods have large grains and not good for high priced furnitures. I am still puzzled by the Chinese interests in acquiring all that lumber. 

Real wood products do not exist anymore except in upscale bouquet establishment where they have doormen screening clients.

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