The international ban on timber exports imposed on Liberia will cost the country about US$13m a year, according to a UN report.
The UN introduced the sanctions on July 7, saying that president Charles Taylor‘s government was using timber revenues to illegally buy arms.
The report says much of Liberia’s logging activity had already halted prior to the ban because of advances by rebel forces into the forest areas. The main timber ports of Buchanan, Greenville and Harper have been captured by the rebels during recent months.
About 5,000-8,000 jobs could be lost by the export ban, the UN estimates. Timber revenues account for up to 18% of the country’s total income.
