U.S. & Bolivia Move to Protect Mahogany

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

1/14/97

OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE

As on of the most significant rainforest conservation developments in some

time, I am forwarding further coverage of proposed plans to protect the

bigleaf mahogany of Brazil through Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) mechanisms. The proposed Appendix II listing

would not prohibit trade in mahogany products, but rather would ensure

mahogany was harvested in a sustainable and legal fashion. Given that both

mahogany consuming and producing nations are sponsoring the moves, there is

a good chance of success at the coming CITES meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in

June. A two-third vote is necessary for approval, so forest campaigners

worldwide must lobby to get their government on side. This item comes from

the Envirolink News Service.

g.b.

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U.S. & Bolivia Move to Protect Mahogany

Posted to the web: Tue Jan 14 16:01:53 EST 1997

http://www.envirolink.org/environews/enews.html

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 14'97 (ENS) - Environmental conservation groups are

applauding the announcement Friday by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director John

Rogers proposing that bigleaf mahogany be listed for protection under the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) at its

biennial meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in June. With 134 member countries,

CITES is the world's most widely accepted conservation agreement. A

two-thirds vote of approval is needed for a listing proposal to be adopted.

Bigleaf mahogany is one of the most important and valuable tropical timbers

on the world market, and the United States imports more than five times the

amount of any other country. Bigleaf mahogany grows in Mexican, Central

American, and South American rainforests. Current logging practices, both

legal and illegal, have put this premier hardwood at risk in the wild.

"As the world's largest consumer of bigleaf mahogany, the United States has

a responsibility to encourage sustainable management of the species,"

Rogers said. "It is important to note that the proposal to list mahogany in

Appendix II will not prohibit trade in mahogany products. It will help

ensure that mahogany entering the United States was harvested in a

sustainable way and comes from legal sources. Trade in furniture and other

finished products will not be subject to any new regulation or restrictions

as a result of this proposal."

Nearly two-thirds of the mahogany exported from Latin America ends up in

the U.S. where it is made into such luxury goods as furniture, picture

frames, caskets, and toilet seats.

The Republic of Bolivia, the second largest exporter of bigleaf mahogany,

will co-sponsor the United States' effort to ensure the sustainable

management and protection of wild populations. "We are extremely pleased

Bolivia is joining us in proposing mahogany for CITES protection," said

Rogers. "The Bolivians have been working hard to protect wild stands of

mahogany that are so important to their country's economy. They are

actively demonstrating that we can find ways to protect, manage, and still

use a valuable resource."

Alexandra Sanchez de Lozada, Bolivia's Director of the National Authority

for the Conservation of Biological Diversity, said, "Our interest is

founded on the actual conditions that the populations of this species

present, as well as knowing the high levels of extraction and

commercialization and the impact of these processes on the sustainability

of mahogany. From our studies in Bolivia, we can affirm that the

populations are declining, and that this is producing genetic erosion."

In San Francisco, Rainforest Action Network executive director Randall

Hayes applauded the move. "The administration's bold proposal for limiting

trade in Amazon mahogany and protecting its rainforest environment displays

the kind of international leadership we should expect from the United

States. This could be the single most important measure to protect the

world's rainforests of the decade."

Because the United States' role as a most voracious consumer of mahogany,

137 leading U.S. environmental groups sent a letter to Vice President Al

Gore and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, asking the U.S.

government to take an active role in seeking CITES protection for the

threatened tree species. Signers included: Audobon Society, Defenders of

Wildlife, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Investigation Agency,

Friends of the Earth USA, Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council,

Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Relief, Sierra Club Legal Defense

Fund, and Western Ancient Forests Campaign.

According to scientists quoted by the environmental groups, mahogany

logging is a leading force behind the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

The species is at such a risk that the president of Brazil placed a ban on

new mahogany logging concessions for the next two years.

In the United Kingdom, the the world's second largest importer of bigleaf

mahogany, Friends of the Earth (FOE) greeted the joint U.S.-Bolivia

proposal to protect mahogany with satisfaction. Sarah Tyack of FOE said,

"We are pleased that two countries at the heart of this brutal trade

realize that it must become legal and sustainable. The trade is currently

out of control and so far voluntary measures to curb illegal activities

such as the invasion of indigenous reserves and excess logging have failed.

As the UK is the world's second largest importer of mahogany, the UK

Government must support this listing at the CITES conference in June."

Under the name "Mahogany is Murder," FOE UK has campaigned since 1992 for

an end to the existing trade, "which not only devastates the rainforest but

has led to the deaths of indigenous people." Since 1992, mahogany imports

into the UK have dropped by 68 percent. As the mahogany concessions become

depleted, loggers, driven by international demand for this wood, invade

indigenous areas. This had led to clashes between loggers and Indians

trying to protect their land, some of which have ended in fatalities.

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