The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) denounces the termination of Rolando Navarro as President of OSINFOR (Organismo de Supervisión de los Recursos Forestales y de Fauna Silvestre) because the Peruvian government wants to hide the illegal timber mafias in the country. The agency has an independent mandate to monitor the legal compliance of timber concessions in Peru
OSINFOR has recently suffered physical attacks on its offices and death threats to its employees.
Peruvian President Humala dismissed Rolando Navarro for having his name involved in a crackdown on illegal timber leaving Peru from Iquitos at the headwaters of the Amazon.
The timber sector in Peru is at least 80% illegal, a thing which affects the Peruvian commitments in international trade agreements.
Julia Urrunaga, EIA’s Peru Program Director said that “by sacking this highly valuable public officer, President Humala seems to be trying to send a message to all the other public servants to not attempt to stop the illegal logging mafia.”
The resolution firing Mr. Navarro occurs following a string of recent actions by OSINFOR, the Peruvian Revenue and Customs Agency (SUNAT), and environmental prosecutors to clamp down on illegal logging, including the seizure of large volumes of timber in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, January 12.
A massive shipment of Peruvian timber to the United States in currently being held in the U.S. port of Houston. AIMAL (Asociación de Industriales Maderables y Afines de Loreto) and in the Peruvian Exporters Association, (ADEX) are linked to this illegal transport.
OSINFOR also has documents that another shipment to the US contains nearly 71% illegal timber, stolen from the Amazon.
Peru and the United States are bound by a bilateral free trade pact, and expected to sign the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, which includes Pacific Rim nations, next month.
OSINFOR has fought illegal logging and worked with Peruvian agencies such as SUNAT, the environmental prosecutors (FEMA), the High Commissioner and international groups like Interpol.
The former Peruvian Prime Minister and Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Juan Jimenez, recently made a statement in Washington to the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security, praising the efforts of OSINFOR and urging other countries across the Americas to aid in the fight against the illegal timber trade.
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