Mahogany extraction may get worse due to new governmental
rules in Brazil
Copyright 2001 WWF International
December 19, 2001
Brasília, Brazil - WWF-Brazil urges Ibama (the Brazilian government's environmental agency)to revise its new rules - resolutions IN 15 and IN 22 - which establish forest certification as a pre-condition to legalize mahogany extraction.
WWF warns that both operational problems and degradation will occur if these rules are confirmed.
WWF adds that it is correct to cancel illegal or irregular forest operations, and supports effective governmental action to stop the predatory extraction not only of mahogany but also of other native species.
Since the compliance with all the applying laws is a pre-requisite in any serious certification system - such as the Forest Stewardship Council - the conservation organization believes that certification should not be imposed as a pre-condition for the legalization of mahogany extraction.
"This would reduce certification to licensing, under another name, with the risk that the whole concept falls in disrepute," warns Dr. Garo Batmanian, WWF-Brazil's CEO.
WWF-Brazil recommends that Ibama raise its criteria for licenses, and thoroughly monitor the extraction of mahogany and other native timber species. These forest management criteria should be similar to those required by the FSC, the only environmentally sound certification scheme used in Brazil today.
For WWF, certification must continue to be voluntary and independent.
The IN22 resolution says that the management plans were cancelled because exploitation of mahogany and other timber species was carried out either in an irregular or in an illegal manner.
It also establishes a pre-certification status as a condition to restart operations.
WWF underlines that this makes it possible to endowe bad projects which normally would never be certified under a serious scheme, a particularly unfair move for all forest owners who have worked hard to obtain certification.
Furthermore, the text of IN22 does not specify which certification it refers to, nor the basic parameters for certification, nor does it mention that forest management plans must comply with the current legislation.
"Certification is meant to acknowledge an additional quality of a product or a process," adds Dr. Garo Batmanian. "A license to extract mahogany must be required in any case, while certification must the distinction which credits only those who seek excellence."
WWF-Brazil coordinated the process to establish the FSC in Brazil and is represented in the Environmental Chamber of FSC-Brazil's Board of Directors.
For further information:
Regina Vasquez, Communications Officer, WWF-Brazil, tel.: +55-61-364-7483, e-mail: regina@wwf.org.br