Contentious quest for a sacred tree
Kevazingo, which takes years to mature, is a rare tree much sought after in Gabon and Cameroon
“Nobody should sell this wood. It protects the forest. But those who sell it will be hunted by the spirits of the forest,” warns Daniel Messa-Abaga, a guardian of Gabon’s Kevazingo trees.
The elderly man, born around 1930, sits on his porch at Bendoussang in the north of the densely forested equatorial country, troubled when fellow villagers sell the hardwood — sometimes from trees five centuries old — to sawmills and collectors.
Better known in the West as Bubinga, Kevazingo is much sought after in Gabon and Cameroon, but unlike the equally prized and abundant Okoume, it is rare and trees take many years to mature. They can grow more than 40 metres (130 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter the size of a man.
Timber from Kevazingo trees is highly valued in Asia. The Japanese and Chinese use it to make chic tables and chairs, as well as wooden bells, panels and speciality guitars, which count among export products.
The wood is hard, heavy and dense. It ranges in colour from a pinkish red through ruddy brown with streaks of black or purple. One connoisseur told AFP that “Keva” is especially appreciated for the lovely designs in the grain.
Compared with other tropical hardwoods, Kevazingo comes at an astronomical price. Cut into a single piece with sufficient girth, a single cubic metre (35 cubic feet) can fetch between one and two million CFA francs (Dh6,255-Dh12,510) in the capital Libreville, a source close to the trade says. But on average, a cubic metre sells for 300 to 600 euros (Dh1,251-Dh2,502).
Chinese demand
“The leading buyers here in Bitam are Chinese. ‘Keva’ sells according to its diameter. The price can reach 200,000 CFA francs here if the diameter is large,” says Jimmy Amnvene Nkounou, owner of a company in the town named “Respect du bois” (Respect For Wood).
The business is above board, Nkounou adds. “I acquire Kevazingo with my permit and do so in legal fashion in areas I’m authorised to operate.”
Some trees are more than 500 years old, according to Nkounou. To chop down the biggest ones, the area around each tree must first be deforested, then a ramp is dug into the soil to hold the trunk when it falls. The extremely heavy wood can then be loaded on to a lorry.
High demand for Kevazingo wood has caused the rate of illegal logging to rocket upwards, according to the non-governmental organisation Conservation, Justice, Environment, which fears the consequences. “We have seen that there is substantial trafficking,” says the NGO’s legal adviser Wilde Rosny Ngalekassaga.
Gabon banned exports of untreated lumber in 2010. “Today, villagers canvas for the sawmills and the chain is quite organised. At the rate we’re going, there’s a major risk that Kevazingo will disappear in the next eight to 10 years,” Ngalekassaga says.