Copyright 2001 National Post
December 8, 2001
By Sarah Schmidt

The Brazilian government has shut down mahogany logging in the Amazon to try to end illegal trade amid revelations the Canadian government has been a major buyer of the rare wood.

In fact, the living quarters of some diplomats and Foreign Affairs staff stationed overseas are furnished with the prized wood from the Amazon rainforest, confirms Carl Schwenger, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman.

He said the government's decades-old relationship with Gibbard Furniture Shops Ltd., one of Canada's largest importers of Brazilian mahogany, yielded the Napanee, Ont., company $750,000 worth of business last year; the department purchased a mix of mahogany and red cherry furniture.

The Brazilian government this week cancelled all mahogany operations in the Amazon, effectively shutting down the illegal mahogany trade. It estimated that 80% of all Amazon timber originated from illegal sources.

Brazil took the step after Greenpeace published the findings of its own investigation.

It found no reliable legal chain of custody exists for mahogany in the Brazilian state of Pará. The October report states that illegal mahogany is laundered through the fraudulent use of official documents. By the time it is shipped from the Amazon, the mahogany appears legal and its illegal origins are untraceable, the report states.

Gibbard imported mahogany from the province of Pará through DLH Nordisk Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., some of which was then sold to the federal government.

Mr. Schwenger said the government "does not purchase furnishings made of mahogany where the wood is known to be illegally harvested." He said the department received assurances from the supplier that the mahogany was legally imported from the Brazilian rainforest, known as green gold. "It's something we weren't aware of."

However, the department has recently ceased buying mahogany from its long-time supplier of high-end furnishings, and is buying only red cherry. "It's probably prudent for us to say, 'Let's put a hold on buying mahogany until we can get a hold of what's going on,' " said Mr. Schwenger.

Gibbard has stopped importing Brazilian mahogany because of reported problems with illegal trade and now buys mahogany from Central American and African sources. "We ceased importing it a month ago when we became aware that at least one side was saying there's a problem.... We didn't want to get caught in the middle," said Jack McPherson, the plant manager for Gibbard.

Like the government, Gibbard said it received assurances from its supplier that the mahogany was legally harvested.

In a statement, DLH Nordisk said it was appalled by the news in the Greenpeace report and supports Brazil's steps to halt the illegal trade of mahogany in the Amazon.

Gavin Edwards, a forest campaigner for Greenpeace, spent the fall in Brazil as part of the investigative team tracking market links to logging operations. He says the Department of Foreign Affairs should have known better.

"The Canadian government has acknowledged in the past that a lot of logging in Brazil is illegal, but they've failed to put two and two together and they've actually encouraged the continued destruction of the Amazon by purchasing this furniture."

"However unwittingly, manufacturers and retailers are aiding and abetting high-level crime.... Whatever these companies may claim, there is no way of knowing whether the mahogany they sell is legal, and the odds are that it is not," the Greenpeace report states. Error: Unable to read footer file.