Rampant rates of illegal lumbering in forest reserves in South Sudan’s Yei River State are on the rise, a government official said.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, the state director general for forestry, Julius Monyiga Lodiong said the practice continues, despite orders issued by the state governor and county commissioners.

“Illegal lumbering still continuous in the area without any person being arrested and prosecuted in a court of law,” said Monyiga.

Some of the illegal loggers, he said, are now cutting mango trees.

“Our concern in the forestry [department] is that forests are deteriorating. Forestry guards have detected that some people have embarked on mango tree cutting for timber and charcoal production. Mango trees are not for timbers or charcoal”, he added.

Monyiga, however, said plans are already underway to enforce quality tree management to preserve the environment from waste, soil erosion and prevent global interference with the eco-system.

“We will still implement our plans of preventing people from rampant tree logging and lumbering. We also need to see that our forest are secured from wild fires and we also need the implementation of orders issued by the commissioners and the governor so that we have clean air and live in a better environment”, he stressed.

Situated in the green belt region, with thick natural forest extension from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the state boasts of Kagelu forest reserve, Kajiko South and Kajiko north forest plantations.

South Sudan currently has no forestry policy and its authorities are worried they could lose the country's tropical forests, unless stringent measures are put in place to curb the rampant rate of illegal logging.