Priceless leadwood goes for a song

MORE than 100 tonnes of illegally harvested African leadwood tree logs – some believed to be older than 1 000 years – were bought for N$30 575 by several bidders at a State auction at Omaruru on Friday.

The logs, which were destined for export, were confiscated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry’s Directorate of Forestry in August.At the auction, 148 logs were sold to seven bidders, mostly builders, carpenters and lodge owners from all over Namibia.The remaining 30 stumps still have to be transported to Omaruru where, according to Joseph Hailwa, Director of Forestry at Omaruru, they will be auctioned in February. The 178 stumps combined are estimated to weigh early 200 tonnes.Hailwa purchased five logs at the auction for N$700.The 148 logs were bundled into 35 lots, which sold at an average price of N$873 per lot, or N$206 per log.’This was definitely a bargain. We were looking at an average of N$2 000 per lot,’ one buyer told The Namibian.Hailwa told The Namibian that the directorate was hoping for a minimum price of N$200 per log. ‘We are very happy with the auction. We had a good turnout of buyers, and there was also a good selection of bidders; not just one or two that bought the whole lot,’ Hailwa said.The African leadwood (Combretum) is a protected species in Namibia in terms of the Forestry Ordinance of 1952 and the Forestry Act of 1968. The leadwood, known in Herero as ‘omborombongo’ is considered a holy tree in the Herero culture.’These are ancestral trees, and that’s why they are so sacred. If they are cut down like this, the spirits of the ancestors have to leave, and their rest is disturbed,’ a source acquainted with the tradition told The Namibian.Hailwa agreed that the trees are ‘priceless’.’We will not be able to replace these trees in our lifetime. They are gone. They are ancient trees, and are important for our culture,’ he said. The auctioned wood was illegally harvested about five months ago in the Okambahe area.The illegal activity came to light when two men applied for a permit from the Walvis Bay Forestry Office to export hundreds of tonnes of ‘firewood’. Officials became suspicious, and after an investigation, found that the ‘firewood’ was in fact leadwood logs.The wood was confiscated and declared forfeited to the State.No one has been arrested in connection with the case because of a lack of evidence.Hailwa said his department would be more vigilant in preventing a repeat of this crime.