Peru Sacks Top Anti-Logging Official After Pressure from Timber Trade

Peru has reportedly fired its top anti-logging official. This move has sparked speculation that he was sacked after pressure from the timber trade, while being criticized by a leading US congressman and environmentalists.

According to The Guardian, it was a presidential decision to dismiss Rolando Navarro. The former head of OSINFOR's dismissal was announced on El Peruano. The state-owned newspaper states no reason as to why Navarro was dismissed.

Earl Blumenauer, the US Congressman for Oregon who champions anti-logging, told the publication that the dismissal of Navarro was "appalling," and was proof that illegal logging is still very much alive in Peru.

Blumenauer said that Navarro's dismissal from his post was alarming. The former head of OSINFOR was sacked following a series of protests from various timber industry groups. During his term in office, Navarro was reported to ensure that illegal timber was seized and turned over to the proper authorities.

The Congressman believes that Navarro's untimely dismissal from his post sends the wrong message to the country. Blumenauer is saddened by the situation, and hopes that Peru can do what it can to put a stop to the illegal logging trade, which has become a lucrative form of livelihood over the past few decades. The Congressman adds that the US government might take matters into its own hands should Peru not fulfill its end of the deal with the US to stop illegal logging. 

Just last year, Navarro felt the wrath of groups from the timber industry after he seized what was to be Peru's largest seizure of illegal timber. Navarro became the subject of mass protests from various groups in the timber industry. At one point, Navarro's name was even etched on a coffin in an effort to send out a message. 

Julia Urrunaga, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) director for Peru, also decried President Ollanta Humala's unfair dismissal of Navarro, saying that he seems to be sending a message to all officials to not interfere with the "illegal logging mafia."

She added that those who remain in office and fight for what is right should not be underestimated. She emphasized that while there be many social injustices abound, the ongoing efforts for reform cannot be silenced.

Peru has had a long and violent history involving the clashes between anti-logging activists and the illegal timber industry. In 2014, BBC reported that four Peruvian tribal leaders were murdered on their way to a meeting to discuss ways to stop illegal logging.

The report said that the men who were killed received several death threats from illegal loggers, who were the main suspects behind the killings. One of the those who was killed in the attack included the outspoken anti-logging activist Edwin Chota.