Bkk Post-Salween logs found near pa

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Subject: Bkk Post-Salween logs found near park office

Bangkok Post June 15, 1999.
Probe into illegal logging ordered
Salween logs found near park office

Cheewin Sattha

Governor Somroeng Punnayopakorn has ordered an inquiry into ongoing logging
in Salween national park. Mr Somroeng said 255 logs were recently discovered
near the park office. Many of the logs showed clear signs they had been
felled with chainsaws only four or five days prior to the discovery, he
said.

In addition, forestry teams had found more than 1,000 teak logs and another
10,000 golden teak tree stumps in Salween national park since March 9.

A forestry source said this meant as many as 30,000 teak logs had been
illegally hauled out of the forest. Some were believed to have been
transported by truck to sawmills operating in Tak province.

It was possible that more teak logs would be found in the adjoining Salween
wildlife sanctuary, which had yet to be thoroughly searched, according to
the source.

Panya Jeenakham, a Democrat MP for Mae Hong Son, called for a complete halt
to the movement of logs out of Salween forest.

As long as logs continued to be hauled out of the forest, more teak trees
would fall to the chainsaws of illegal loggers, he said.

The discovery of freshly-cut logs in Salween forest comes as four timber
companies are pressing the Forestry Department to reopen border passes to
allow them to bring in huge volumes of "leftover" teak logs from across the
border in Burma, via Mae Hong Son.

The move has sparked suspicions among local environmental groups that
reopening the border crossings would enable unscrupulous business operators
to smuggle illegally-felled teak logs out of Salween forest and falsely
document them as "leftover" Burmese logs.