Brazil Plays Games While the Forest Burn
6/18/97
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Jun 20, 1997 by nobody@xs2.greenpeace.org in cdp:gp.press
From: "the greenbase"
Subject: CITES-Brazil Plays Games While the Forest Burns
BRAZIL PLAYS GAMES WHILE THE FORESTS BURN
HARARE -- 18 June, 1997 -- Brazil played dirty politics on the
floor of the CITES meeting here today by ensuring that a vote to
list Bigleaf mahogany on the Convention failed, Greenpeace said.
After strongly opposing the proposal to list mahogany on
Appendix II in a speech to delegates, the Brazilian delegation
waited until the vote had been cast in a secret ballot before
announcing its decision to abstain. The proposal fell just
seven votes short of the required two thirds majority in
committee.
"If the full conference confirms this vote, this will be
the third time CITES has failed to take any measures to bring
the destructive and mostly illegal trade in mahogany under
control," said Greenpeace's Isabel McCrea.
"This is a tragedy for the rainforests of the Amazon and
Central America.
"How can Brazil and the other countries in the region who
opposed the proposal expect to have any credibility in forest
conservation and management when they are prepared to resort to
smutty politicking and backroom deal-making""
As the largest range state of mahogany, the Brazilian
delegation's view of the proposal was rightly influential for
delegations who had not finalised their positions.
In leading the conference to assume they opposed the
proposal - put up jointly by Bolivia and the United States -
Brazil may have influenced a significant number of parties in
their voting decisions.
"Announcing their abstention after the vote was cast was an
attempt to look good in the eyes of the world ahead of next
week's Rio plus Five conference," Ms McCrea said.
"It was also a feeble effort to ensure that potential
conservation funding from the US and other donors was not put at
risk." Other range states who spoke against the Appendix II
listing included Peru and Belize. Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico
and Bolivia spoke in favour of Appendix II listing which would
have helped to regulate the illegal trade in mahogany and
strengthen its sustainable management in producer countries.
Greenpeace intends to continue its campaign for
ecologically responsible forestry in the Amazon, Central America
and elsewhere.
CONTACT: Greenpeace in Harare on cell phone: (263-4)
(1)11-601450.