Greenpeace Mahogany Work in Brazil: A Timeline

Greenpeace staff investigate the illegal mahogany trade, the chain of custody of illegal trees, potential violations of Brazilian and international law.

A unique partnership is formed between Greenpeace and IBAMA, the Brazilian Government Institute for Environment and Natural Resources. Greenpeace is able to provide IBAMA with information about many illegal and questionable activities taking place in the Amazon and IBAMA provides legal authority to act on many of Greenpeace’s findings and accusations.

The U.S. market is revealed to be the most lucrative market for illegally logged mahogany.

October 22, 2001: The Brazilian government launches "Operation Mahogany," a multi-faceted project in which all mahogany operations and the transport of mahogany are frozen, and a dramatic series of raids occurrs. In the first 11 days of Operation Mahogany, $7 million of illegally cut mahogany is seized.

April 9, 2002: Despite Operation Mahogany, illegal logging continues, and Brazilian president Cardoso gives a national radio address to reaffirm his pledge to the prohibition of the illegal mahogany trade.

IBAMA notifies the US government that mahogany is illegally being sent to the U.S.

At the request of the Brazilian government, U.S. officials begin seizing mahogany shipments arriving in U.S. ports. Several European governments follow suit. Lawsuits are filed in London, Washington, and Brazil. In a meeting in Geneva, the CITES secretariat rules that if Brazil cannot verify the legality of wood being exported, then export permits should never be issued.

Brazilian President Cardoso and British President Blair both deliver speeches condemning illegal logging, and both publicly recognize Greenpeace’s unique and important role in the fight over Amazonian mahogany, and thank Greenpeace for its work.

February 2002: IBAMA leader Hamilton Casara visits the U.S. and receives assurances from Assistant U.S. Secretary of State John Turner that the U.S. will cooperate fully with Brazil during this mahogany crisis. In a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Casara thanks the U.S. Government for its support and also recognizes Greenpeace for its role in exposing the grave situation in Brazil.

U.S. importers begin to realize that they may not be able to accept mahogany shipments, and since they typically put 50 percent of the payment up front to the exporters, they begin to worry about their shipments of mahogany that are currently being seized.

The story breaks in the U.S. Several newspapers, magazines and CNN all publish stories on the dramatic events in Brazil surrounding the mahogany trade, and all mention the work of Greenpeace as an essential element.

April 12, 2002: Greenpeace activists board a ship carrying illegal mahogany to the United States. Activists are arrested by the Coast Guard and spend the weekend in jail. Six are charged, accept a plea agreement and are sentenced to time served.

President Bush gets involved, claiming that he is against foreign illegal logging but that the U.S. government still refuses to investigate the origin of wood arriving at U.S. ports. $60 million of mahogany remains in the custody of U.S. Customs, which the Brazilian government decides to sell, with profits going to Brazilian social and environmental groups.

Late 2002: during a Conference of Parties meeting of CITES in Santiago, Chile, mahogany is re-classified under Appendix II, which stipulates that in order for mahogany to be imported, it must be demonstrated that its harvest was not detrimental to the species.

July 2003: The U.S. Justice Department files a criminal indictment against Greenpeace Inc., U.S. affiliate of the global Greenpeace movement, for the April 2002 ship boarding off the coast of Miami.

As of October 2003: The Brazilian mahogany moratorium remains in place and the Brazilian government has approximately $60 million dollars worth of illegally-seized mahogany in its possession. The U.S. has returned two shipments back to Brazil, and more are pending. Greenpeace awaits trial now set for December for the federal indictment.