Following Brazil's decree that it would extend a moratorium on new mahogany management plans by six months, Greenpeace sent a letter today to the Brazilian Ministry of Environment today welcoming the extension (1), but also called for the government to adopt concrete measures to stop the criminal exploitation of the species in the Brazilian Amazon.
The decree, signed by the President of Brazil, suspends the authorisation on new mahogany management plans in the Amazon region. The exploitation, transport and commercialisation of mahogany have been prohibited since October 2001 through the Brazilian Environmental Agency, Ibama. This extension means that the mahogany market is completely blocked.
"The extension of the mahogany moratorium gives the Brazilian Government more time to do their homework and to adopt a new forest legislation for the sustainable exploitation of the species", said Paulo Adário, Greenpeace Amazon Campaign Co-ordinator.
According to an August 8 news release anticipating the moratorium extension, "the exploitation, transport and commercialisation of mahogany are prohibited until the second week of February, 2003. By extending the mahogany moratorium for six months, the Minister of Environment, José Carlos Carvalho, said that the exploitation of the species will only return to normal after the results of a commission, that will be created by the Brazilian Government to recommend the best criteria to recover the sustainable exploitation of mahogany, which is threatened by extinction (2). However the official decree signed by the President makes no mention of this working group, which Greenpeace says is crucial to creating specific new measures to protect mahogany from further criminal exploitation.
"The role of this technical group is crucial for the creation of environmentally-friendly and socially responsible conditions for the reopening of any mahogany trade in the Brazilian Amazon", Adário explained. "We highlight the fear that the moratorium extension period would be short for such a huge task- the creation of new conditions that allows the sustainable exploitation of the species. But we also recognise that political will can make the difference and, in the meantime, concrete steps can be done".
The extension of the mahogany moratorium gives the Brazilian Government time to adopt specific measures for the protection of the species, "as the strength of technical, monitoring and auditing system of Ibama; the inventory of the remaining mahogany stocks in Amazon; the attraction of new businesses focused on social and environmentally-friendly management; the listing of mahogany in the Annex II of CITES (3) and the adoption of independent certification system such as the Forest Stewardship Council™ (4)", said the letter sent by Greenpeace.
The listing of mahogany on Annex II of CITES does not prevent the commercialisation, but it obliges all countries that produce or consume mahogany and similar timbers to "testify" the legal origin and ensure that the exploitation does not threaten the survival of the species. This additional guarantee should be given by scientific authorities, recognised by CITES and by the Brazilian Government. This proposal was presented by Nicaragua and will be voted on during the next meeting of CITES, in November, in Santiago, Chile.
All of the recommendations presented by Greenpeace are part of the "Declaration of Belém, Amazon", released in June (5). The document is a result of the working group on mahogany, attended by researchers, environmental authorities, non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives. Greenpeace recommends that the Brazilian Government should invite the mahogany experts who signed the "Declaration of Belém, Amazon" to be part of the technical group.
Notes: (1) The Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso signed the Decree 4.335 on August 14, 2002. Since October 2001, the exploitation, transport and commercialisation of mahogany has been prohibited through Instrução Normativa 17 (IN 17) by the Brazilian Environmental Agency, Ibama. (2) See Portuguese version of news release: \{hyper link"http://www.ibama.gov.br/noticias/materia.htm?id=286"\}(3) Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. See www.cities.org(4) The FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council™) is currently the only independent system ensuring credible certification of good forest management. It was designed and established jointly by social interests groups, environmental organisations and forest industries. The FSC® principles and criteria and procedures are currently seen as the minimum requirements for any forest certification initiative worldwide. It also includes a number of socially responsible practices, improving working and safety conditions throughout the entire production process.(5) See the "Declaration of Belém, Amazon" in Greenpeace web site: \{ hyperlink"http://www.greenpeace.org" \}