Barranco Villagers say NO to Rosewood Extraction

Wil Maheia

Another hot button issue in the south is over rosewood extraction. On Tuesday Cabinet finally took some measures in respect of the illegal harvesting of Rosewood for the export market. It has been reported that millions of dollars have been lost to the illegal extraction of rosewood taking place primarily within the Mayan communities in the Toledo District. But now, residents of Barranco say that, the trade has found its way to their village, where as many as a hundred and fifty blocks of lumber were recently discovered stacked on a pier.  Punta Gorda resident Wil Maheia, who has been a strong advocate against the pillaging of the rosewood, says he conducted a personal investigation and believes that hanky panky is involved in the mysterious disappearance of the precious wood from the Forestry Department in Toledo a few days later.

Via Phone: Wil Maheia, Resident, Punta Gorda Town

“Residents of Barranco called and said that there was some rosewood on the pier and they, the residents from Barranco, called the Forestry Department and reported on the case.  The Forestry Department said nobody supposed to be bringing in rosewood from that area so they said that they would come and confiscate the rosewood.  So a truck came in and the Forestry Officer then told the ladies, the community residents from Barranco that they would escort the rosewood through the Forestry Department.  A further check at the Forestry Department revealed that the rosewood never ended up at the Forestry Department.  So people in Barranco are wondering where is the rosewood ending up?  Where is it going because even the police had confirmed that the rosewood was illegally cut and was actually confiscated because some of the rosewood was actually at the police station.  So now where is the confiscated rosewood?  I think that it was established that the rosewood was harvested illegally and should have been confiscated by the Forestry Department.  The problem now is where that rosewood?”

Isani Cayetano

“Were you able to ascertain the quantity of rosewood that was in Barranco?”

Via Phone: Wil Maheia

“In my estimation it was approximately a hundred to a hundred and fifty pieces of six by six pieces of rosewood. We passed the Forestry Department in the morning and the rosewood was there and by the time we passed back again the rosewood was not there so I called the Forestry Officer to try and get a story as to where the rosewood went but the Forestry Officer refused to speak to me.”