Peter "Just Loves Flying"

Africa losing $17bn to logging annually – News – www.theeastafrican.co.ke.

Africa is losing billions of dollars through illegal fishing and logging, a report released by the Africa Progress Panel chaired by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said last week.

The report estimates that Africa loses $17 billion every year to loggers and at least $1.3 billion through illegal and unreported fishing in West Africa alone, suggesting that the figures on the eastern and southern coasts of the continent may be higher.

Africa has some of the most prized marine resources in the world, especially on its western and eastern seaboards, making it a magnet for foreign fishing vessels.

The report blames the threat to marine resources on the growing demand for fish in emerging markets and conservation policies in the US and Europe.

Rich nations in the EU, East Asia and Russia allegedly finance the plunder of Africa’s oceans by giving their fishing industries $27 billion in subsidies.

“Part of these subsidies goes to fleets that are implicated in illegal fishing activities in Africa,” the report said.

Many of the illegal logging activities are being played out in the forests of the Congo Basin and beyond…