Illegal loggers in the forests of Ndoumbie, Ndongo, Ndemba and Guekong in the Lom et Djerem Division of the East Province have reportedly fled as government forces stormed the region to track them down and confiscate the logged wood.

A combined crack force of 30 soldiers, 30 gendarmerie officers and 50 forest guards stormed the protected forest zone recently in an operation dubbed " opération coup de poing ", organised by the East Provincial Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife, Bruno Mfou'ou Mfou'ou.

The operation, according to the Delegate, came in the wake of repeated reports from the population to the effect that illegal loggers were causing tremendous damage to the forests.

"Our first option was to dispatch a small team of forest guards to assess the situation on the ground.

But when this team went down to the zone in question, the loggers decided to put up an enormous amount of resistance and that is when we sought the support of the other forces," the Delegate said.He disclosed that when the combined forces went to the field, the loggers sensing danger, all fled.

The forces, nevertheless, succeeded in confiscating nine sawing mills left behind by the fleeing loggers, and have so far confiscated 300 meter cubes of wood."We still have an enormous amount of logged timber in the forest," he said.

"When all the wood is removed, the quantities could be frightening," the Delegate revealed, but insisted that his delegation will spare no effort in weeding out all loggers from the forests, which are actually being protected as one of the pre-conditions for the construction of the Lom-Panger Dam.

In effect, over 650 meter cubes of wood were confiscated from illegal loggers last December in a similar swoop in the Deng-Deng Forest Reserve, and was sold for about FCFA 22 million. Cameroon's forestry laws require that confiscated, illegally logged wood be sold and the proceeds deposited at the public treasury. Those who carry out the operation have a right to 13% of such proceeds.

Illegal logging has become an issue of rising concern in the East Province. A 2006 study carried out by the Netherlands Development Corporation, SNV, revealed that the Lom et Djerem Division alone losses about FCFA 2 billion yearly to illegal logging, while the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reported during an environmental summit that took place in Brazzaville, Congo, in 2005, that "if the current rate of logging is not stopped, then the Congo Basin Forest will disappear by 50% in the next 50 years.

A large portion of the Congo Basin Forest is found in the Boumba et Ngoko Division in South East Cameroon.The Cameroon Forestry and Wildlife Ministry has, of recent, adopted a pro-active approach in dealing with the rising forest loss in the country.

An enormous reforestation programme was launched recently with the intention of planting millions of trees across the country in the next couple of years. The East Province alone will benefit from well over 70.000 trees that will be planted in the Lom et Djerem and Boumba et Ngoko Divisions by the end of 2008.

Government says it is the most effective way of fighting against desertification, ensuring the sustainable use of forest resources and fighting the phenomenon of climate change.