Precious trees pay off - but who pays? An update.

• Marojejy National Park was heavily impacted by the illegal logging as early as January 2009. This also applies to Masoala National Park and Makira Natural Park (Figures 1, 2).• Thousands of poorly paid workers have been involved in the logging within these parks and reserves (Debois 2009), but only a few dozen persons are responsible for exporting the logs to China (Table 1).• At least 598 containers of rosewood were exported from Vohemar to China in late April 2009 and a minimum of 314 containers have been shipped from Toamasina since March (Table 1, Schuurman and Lowry 2009).• Another 55 containers have been exported in October (Table 1) and 170 containers on 04 December. • The government seized 91 containers of rosewood in October 2009 but no information has since been released concerning the confiscated timber.• The minimum number of rosewood trees cut in the north-eastern protected areas is estimated at between 22,875 and 45,750 for Marojejy National Park and the northern sector of Masoala National Park, and an estimated minimum of 7,750 and 15,500 from Makira Natural Park and the southern sector of MasoalaNational Park (Table 2).• The rosewood logs, or ‘bola-bola’, are painstakingly carried by astonishingly poorly paid workers to the nearest river, where they are bound together with lighter logs and floated downstream. To float one rosewood log downstream, four or five lighter trees must therefore be cut down within a park or reserve.• With an optimal density of 5 exploitable rosewood trees per hectare in northern Madagascar, the total area impacted in Marojejy and northern Masoala is estimated at between 4,575 and 15,250 hectares, while illegal logging has affected between 1,550 and 5,200 hectares in Makira Natural Park and southern Masoala National Park (Table 2).• With satellite images obtained on 02 December 2009, we were able to locate several depots ofrosewood (Figure 3), even though export of rosewood after 30 November 2009 is forbidden.• The decree issued on 21 September 2009 permitting the exporting of 25 containers by each of the 13 established timber traders, encouraged more people to join the trade of precious timber, particularly from Antananarivo (Table 3).