ACTION ALERT
Action Needed to Protect Nicaragua's Imperiled Forests
9/12/99
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE
Between 1950 and 1990 Nicaragua's "forest cover was reduced by half,
and today deforestation is spiraling out of control." Despite this,
the largest intact rainforests in Central America still have a chance
if the bloody world gets its priorities together, and provides the
means to conserve them for local, regional and global benefits.
Respond to this action alert and it may make a difference. The piece
also provides a good backgrounder and update on the forest
conservation situation in Nicaragua.
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Action Needed to Help Protect Nicaragua's Imperiled Forests
Source: Nicaragua Network
For more information, contact at nicanet@igc.org
or (202) 544-5355
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to source
Date: September 10, 1999
A Special Alert from the Environmental Task Force of the Nicaragua
Network
President Arnoldo Aleman's recent decision to cancel the moratorium
on the cutting and exporting of mahogany and other threatened
tropical hardwood species has been cause for great alarm among
Nicaraguan environmentalists. Your letters are urgently needed to
encourage the protection of Nicaragua's threatened forests.
Background
The fate of Nicaragua's people and its forests are inextricably
intertwined. Although deforestation is not often prioritized as an
urgent social issue, its results include climatic changes, droughts,
drinking water shortages, crop losses and malnutrition, soil erosion,
flooding, sedimentation that destroys marine resources, fuelwood
shortages, and ultimately, increased poverty and potential for
military conflicts. These connections were made painfully clear
during Hurricane Mitch, when landslides on the deforested slopes of
Nicaragua and Honduras led to great losses of crops, fertile soils,
and human life.
Despite rampant deforestation in recent decades, Nicaragua still
retains the largest extent of rainforest in any of the Central
American nations. This rainforest supports an incredible amount of
biological diversity, and includes some of Central America's best
remaining habitat for tapir, jaguar and four other cat species, three
types of monkeys, peccaries, agoutis, pacas, anteaters, sloths, and a
great variety of birds. Nicaragua's rainforest also contains the most
coveted of Central America's endangered precious hardwoods, including
mahogany and royal cedar.
Yet Nicaragua's forest cover is being diminished at an alarming rate.
Between 1950 and 1990 the nation's forest cover was reduced by half,
and today deforestation is spiraling out of control. Even Nicaragua's
largest natural areas, the BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve and the Indio-
Maiz Biological Reserve, are threatened by illegal logging. The claim
is frequently cited that if current rates of deforestation are
allowed to continue, Nicaragua's remaining broadleaf forests will be
all but gone within ten to twenty years. Ten to twenty years.
Responding to Nicaragua's rapid deforestation, in 1997 President
Aleman instituted a ban on the export of the nation's most lucrative
timber species, the precious hardwoods mahogany, royal cedar, and
pochote. In 1998 this ban was extended to include not just the
export, but also the overall cutting of the precious hardwoods for a
period of at least five years. At the time, critics questioned the
logic of the ban, considering that it was being initiated at the same
time that cuts in government spending on environmental enforcement
would render the ban difficult to enforce.
As predicted, the logging moratorium has been poorly enforced and
highly ineffective. In fact, illegal logging has only become more
widespread since the ban was instituted. This August, in response to
widespread criticism for the government's inability to control
deforestation, President Aleman unilaterally cancelled the ban on
cutting and exporting the endangered tree species, and is instead
attempting to impose a 7.5% tax on the trade in precious woods. Many
observers claim that the problem was not with the ban itself, but
with its lack of enforcement, and that the ban's cancellation will
only accelerate the destruction of Nicaragua's remaining forests.
Rather than curtailing deforestation, the new tax is likely to be
passed along to landowners by timber exporters, or to result in
expanded logging operations in order to make up for profits lost to
the tax. In addition, the new tax on precious woods is being
challenged as unconstitutional, on the basis that the President
failed to obtain approval from the National Assembly.
The Prize: Mahogany
Mahogany is one of the tallest trees in the Nicaraguan rainforest,
its umbrella-shaped crown reaching to over 200 feet high and emerging
above the surrounding canopy. Use of mahogany dates back to pre-
Columbian times, when indigenous peoples of the Americas used the
durable and beautiful wood for dugout canoes. European ship builders
and cabinet makers quickly discovered the virtues of trees in the
mahogany family, and up to the present day the most important of
Nicaragua's timber exports are mahogany (caoba) and royal cedar
(cedro royal). Throughout its natural range, from Mexico to Brazil
and Bolivia, mahogany has been highly exploited, and today the
species is threatened not only by outright elimination, but also by
genetic degradation, after centuries of having the largest most
robust individuals harvested. In addition, as with many tropical
trees, mahogany occurs at a very low density in the rainforest, with
mature trees rarely averaging more than one per hectare (one hectare
is 100 meters by 100 meters, or about 2.5 acres). Mahogany also has a
low rate of natural regeneration, requiring from 60-100 years to
reach commercial maturity, and has been highly susceptible to pests
when cultivated in plantations.
But this goes beyond mahogany.
Since mahogany and related precious woods are the main impetus behind
most tropical logging operations, the controversy about the
moratorium and its cancellation extends in significance far beyond
the potential extinction of a few more tropical rainforest species.
Nearly all mahogany is harvested from intact old-growth forests, and
even though logging companies espouse the rhetoric that their logging
is highly selective and leaves the rest of the forest unharmed, this
is not the case. Not only does the removal of a forest's mature
mahogany trees eliminate the seed sources necessary for the species'
regeneration, but logging operations leave behind the seed of
destruction for the remaining forest - roads. Much of the
colonization of rainforest by agriculturalists and ranchers is
facilitated by the transportation arteries carved out by mechanized
logging operations. Thus the exploitation of one species can lead to
the extinction of untold numbers of other species. Logging companies
also often build sawmills that encourage cutting of other species
after the precious woods are gone, and initiate an unsustainable
cycle of short-term economic orientation that ultimately leaves a
region impoverished. Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast has a long history of
this type of boom-and-bust economic activity. The bulk of the Coast's
rich resources have been exported, with little lasting benefit to the
region's communities.
Since most of Nicaragua's remaining natural forest lies within
indigenous territories of the Miskito, Mayangna, and Rama, the
mahogany ban is also an indigenous rights issue. Although the
region's indigenous communities have historically practiced communal
rather than private land ownership, most communities have never been
granted official titles to their lands. In the absence of these
titles, the central government has often treated the communal lands
as "national land" and granted resource extraction concessions to
foreign companies. (An example of this was the huge logging
concession granted to the Korean company SOLCARSA that was opposed by
the Nicaragua Network's Environmental Task Force and other
organizations and eventually terminated in 1998.) In the wake of the
controversy surrounding the SOLCARSA concession and others, the
government has been reluctant to grant concessions, and logging has
been proceeding along other lines. Yet the lack of land demarcation
and titling remains the issue of foremost concern for Nicaragua's
indigenous communities and until resolved will be potentially
explosive.
The ban in practice: A "lumber Mafia"
As was predicted, the logging moratorium was hampered by a lack of
enforcement and served only to increase large-scale corruption and
the development of a "lumber Mafia" that is currently operating
within Nicaragua.
In addition to the shortage of MARENA (Nicaragua's environmental
ministry) officials available to enforce the logging moratorium, the
fine established for extraction of the precious hardwoods was so low
that illegal logging remained quite lucrative. While the fine for
cutting the hardwoods was set at $40 per cubic meter of wood, the
woods can sell for more than $400 per cubic meter on the
international market. As a result, the absurd situation was created
in which not only did the illegal trade remain profitable, but some
loggers even paid the $40 per cubic meter fines to MARENA officials
up-front, before the cutting commenced. As the salaries of MARENA
staff are so low, these quasi-legal activities provided them with a
clear financial incentive.
In light of the allegation that during the ban's short life
government officials actually gave permission to several companies to
export the precious woods, the moratorium's failure was especially
predictable. According to the Nicaraguan NGO Centro Humboldt, 96
businesses have been "legally" exploiting the precious woods,
including 35 companies involved in exports. The largest of these
companies is said to be the Dominican company, MADENSA, which has
reportedly been "logging indiscriminately" on indigenous lands along
the Rio Prinzapolka and elsewhere, and exporting millions of dollars
of mahogany annually.
Another mode under which the lumber Mafia is reported to operate is
by simple intimidation and theft of lumber, especially from the
communal lands of indigenous people. As described in a 1999 newspaper
account, loggers will often trespass on the lands of others with "a
chainsaw in one hand and an AK-47 rifle in the other". The widespread
poverty and lack of enforcement has created an atmosphere of
lawlessness, in which those with the most guns prevail.
Unfortunately, illegal logging is becoming more prevalent on
Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast. Given the complications that have made it
more difficult for logging companies to receive legal forestry
concessions, such as unresolved indigenous land claims and opposition
by environmental organizations, many logging operations are simply
evading the law. The result of these trends is that logging activity
in the Atlantic Coast region is widespread, largely unrecorded, and
simply out of control. The situation in Nicaragua's forests could
easily escalate to the level of Brazil's forests, where members of
several indigenous groups such as the Ticuna Indians have been killed
for confronting lumber pirates.
What can be done?
The threats to Nicaragua's forests are complex, abundant, and as
previously described, urgent. To truly address these problems will
require concerted effort on a variety of levels, including promotion
of economic alternatives to deforestation (both in Nicaragua and in
the U.S.), reform of the global economic order (combating initiatives
such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and the WTO's
proposed "global free logging agreement"), and extensive
reforestation. In the immediate sense, letters are needed in response
to the current crises facing Nicaragua's forests and the cancellation
of the ban on logging mahogany and other precious woods.
Letters should address the following points:
1. The need to settle indigenous land demarcation and promote
sustainable resource management. Both the World Bank and Nicaragua's
central government need to be pressured by the international
solidarity and environmental movements into enacting a land
demarcation and titling process that reflects the interests of
Nicaragua's indigenous peoples and forests. Beyond land demarcation
and titling, Nicaragua's indigenous peoples will need long-term
technical and economic assistance in sustainable resource management.
Decades of imperialism, war, isolation, and natural disasters have
left indigenous communities among the poorest in all of Nicaragua.
Even if land titles are secured, unless indigenous communities are
provided with technical assistance, access to markets, and financial
incentives to protect forests, there is a great risk that the
familiar pattern of unsustainable plunder of natural resources for
short-term survival will prevail.
2. The need to reinstate the logging ban, but with effective
enforcement this time. The Nicaraguan government and lending and
development agencies need to financially support a commitment to
enforcing the logging ban. As long as "austerity measures" aimed at
shrinking the public sector result in weakened environmental
monitoring and enforcement, the destruction of Nicaragua's forests
will continue unchecked. The logging ban should stay in place until
indigenous land demarcation has been resolved, so that indigenous
communities can truly control the use of resources on their
traditional lands. Certain types of international aid should be
contingent on the Nicaraguan government's demonstrated commitment to
resolve land demarcation issues and enforce forestry regulations.
3. The need to create a workable forest policy, with input from
civil society. A sustainable forestry policy is needed that is based
on input from NGOs, community and indigenous organizations, and all
other parties that have a role in the forest industry. Any policy
that ignores these players is unlikely to succeed. The only
sustainable forest policy for Nicaragua will be one that prioritizes
local control over control by large corporations, especially those
that are foreign-owned.
Copy this letter or write a letter in your own words and send it to
President Aleman either by airmail or by fax. Put $1.00 postage on
your letter if it weighs one ounce.
President Arnoldo Aleman
Casa Presidencial
Avenida Bolivar
Managua, Nicaragua
Fax: 011 (505) 228-7911
Dear President Aleman,
I am deeply concerned about your recent decision to cancel the
moratorium on the logging and export of mahogany and other precious
woods. Although I know that the logging ban was ineffective, I fear
that the ban's cancellation at this point will only accelerate the
destruction of Nicaragua's forests. In the absence of any sustainable
forestry policy or effective enforcement of existing laws,
cancellation of the ban will likely have negative effects such as
depleting Nicaragua's rich biological diversity, violating indigenous
rights to control of natural resources, and exacerbating the existing
problems of land degradation and rural poverty.
Apparently the recent increase in Nicaragua's uncontrolled illegal
logging has been due not to the moratorium itself, but to blatant
corruption and the lack of effective enforcement. In light of the
recent reports in the Nicaraguan press that the central government
has been granting permission to several logging companies to cut and
export the very hardwoods that have been banned, it is no surprise
that the moratorium has not been working. The lack of resources
devoted to training and employing a sufficient number of forest
guards, and to earnestly enforcing a strict code of ethics amongst
these guards is also certainly a factor in the ban's failure up to
now.
As a concerned citizen of planet Earth, I encourage you to reinstate
the ban on the logging and export of mahogany and other precious
woods, but to truly enforce the law. The ban should be kept in place
and strictly enforced at least until the matters of indigenous land
demarcation are satisfactorily settled. The Autonomy Law and
Nicaraguan constitution recognize the rights of the nation's
indigenous communities to communal land ownership and natural
resource use. The central government's procrastination on the
issuance of communal land titles, while simultaneously permitting
illegal logging on traditional indigenous lands is a violation of
both the nation's environmental regulations and basic human rights.
I encourage you further to accept the offers of civil society to work
together with the Nicaraguan government to design and implement a
truly sustainable forest policy. Any sound long-term policy would be
oriented toward maximizing the value placed on living forests in
Nicaragua. This might include carbon-offset programs and programs
that provide incentives for small enterprises such as furniture
making that add value to forest products before they are shipped
abroad. These approaches stand in sharp contrast with the current
irrational policy that allows foreign owned companies such as MADENSA
to indiscriminately exploit and export the nation's biological
riches.
As a citizen of the United States, I am also imploring my own
government and international lending agencies to provide assistance
to Nicaragua that will allow for better enforcement of environmental
standards at all levels of government. Furthermore, I am requesting
that the lending institutions and development agencies limit funding
for Nicaragua until your central government demonstrates a sincere
commitment to protecting the nation's forests and indigenous rights.
It is my hope that the people of Nicaragua and other nations can work
together in order to both improve the living standards of the
Nicaraguan people and to protect the nation's remaining forests.
Sincerely,