Greenpeace--Brazilian Timber Trade Unregulated
11/2/94
OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Following is a Greenpeace press release, from their gp.press
conference in econet, which details their protest activities
against widespread illegal and unregulated logging in Brazil.
Remember, "Mahogany is Murder!"
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/* Written 3:34 AM Nov 2, 1994 by web:greenbas in igc:gp.press
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/* ---------- "11/01 Unregulated Amazon Timber Tr" ---------- */
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GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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>> GREENPEACE EXPOSES UNREGULATED TIMBER TRADE
IN MAJOR AMAZON PORT
AMAZON, November 1, 1994 (GP) Piles of mahogany and other timber
species destined for export from the Amazon port of Belem were
targeted by Greenpeace activists today in protest at the
widespread illegal and unregulated logging industry in Brazil.
Protesters sprayed sawnwood and truckloads of timber with
stencils of "Forest destruction for export" in permanent dye.
Wood being sprayed was destined for Ellesmere port in the UK,
Nantes in France, Flushing in The Netherlands, as well as some
destined for the US, and South Africa.
A 40 foot banner reading "Mahogany for Export: Forest Destruction
for Brazil" was hung between cranes waiting to load wood. The
chief officer of the ship, "Canopus Valletta" alongside the dock,
told an international team of Greenpeace protesters that the
Brazilian environmental agency, responsible for controlling the
trade, did not come on board to inspect the wood.
Almost none of the wood exported from Belem, the biggest mahogany
trading port in the world, is regulated by the Brazilian
authorities. The logging industry in Brazil extracts all its wood
from primary rainforest, opening up new areas to farmers and
cattle ranchers leading to massive deforestation and
environmental damage.
"The logging industry in Brazil is totally out of control. Most
of the mahogany for export to Britain and the US is stolen
illegally from Indian lands and protected areas without any
government control," said Greenpeace Latin American Coordinator,
Jose Augusto Padua.
The protest in Brazil comes a week before a meeting of the
Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
[1] in Florida where a controversial proposal to regulate the
international mahogany trade will be considered.
The Netherlands has proposed that American mahogany is listed on
Appendix II of the convention, which would require trade to be
regulated under a permit system. Appendix II does not include an
international ban on trade.
"If mahogany were listed on CITES, the Brazilian government would
be under an international obligation to enforce regulations which
could save this species from possible extinction as a result of
trade," said Padua.
Greenpeace is making a month-long tour of the Amazon
region, with the "MV Greenpeace" highlighting environmental
problems and economic alternatives which do not threaten the
future of the forest.
For further information contact Catherine Barr or Jose Augusto
Padua on board the MV Greenpeace Tel +874 130 0310 Fax +874 130
0311. Or for copies of the full report, contact Cindy Baxter at
Greenpeace Communications in London +44 71 833 0600 Fax +44 71
837 6606.
For photographs contact Greenpeace Communications in London.
For footage contact TV Bandeirantes, Sao Paulo, Brazil Tel +11
8477547.
Editor's notes
[1] CITES is an international treaty which aims to monitor and
control trade in plants and animals species threatened, or
potentially threatened by international trade. 124 countries are
Parties to the Convention. Under CITES, international trade in
wildlife species and their products is regulated through a permit
system. Species are listed on one of three Appendices; each one
specifying a different level of protection or control. The next
meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) is 7-18 November
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.