MAKING THE MAHOGANY TRADE WORK MAKING THE MAHOGANY TRADE WORK Report of the workshop on capacity-building for the implementation of the CITES Appendix-II listing of mahogany OCTOBER 2004 ITTO TECHNICAL SERIES 22 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION International Organizations Center, 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama, 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012, Japan Tel 81-45-223-1110 Fax 81-45-223-1111 Email [email protected] Web www.itto.or.jp © ITTO 2004 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION ITTO Making the mahogany trade work Report of the workshop on capacity-building for the implementation of the CITES Appendix-II listing of mahogany An ITTO-sponsored workshop hosted by the Peruvian National Institute for Natural Resources (INRENA), with the assistance of FONDEBOSQUE, held in Pucallpa, Peru, 17–21 May 2004 ITTO Technical Series No 22 International Tropical Timber Organization 2004 ITTO Making the mahogany trade work Report of the workshop on capacity-building for at more than US$250 million. The major donors the implementation of the CITES Appendix-II are the governments of Japan, Switzerland and the listing of mahogany USA. ITTO contact details can be found on the back cover. ITTO Technical Series No 22 This report is made available by ITTO as part of its An ITTO-sponsored workshop hosted by the policy of contributing in a timely manner to public Peruvian National Institute for Natural Resources debate on issues related to the conservation and (INRENA), with the assistance of FONDEBOSQUE, sustainable management, use and trade of tropical held in Pucallpa, Peru, 17–21 May 2004 forest resources. To obtain this report in Spanish or for the unedited report in English and Spanish (which The International Tropical Timber Organization includes all the papers presented at the workshop), (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization see the ITTO website (www.itto.or.jp) or contact promoting the conservation and sustainable the ITTO office. management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its 59 members represent more than 75% Cover photos of the world’s tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade. ITTO develops internationally Left: W. Wust agreed policy documents to promote sustainable forest Top right, bottom right and back cover: STCP management and forest conservation and assists tropical member countries to adapt such policies to © International Tropical Timber Organization 2004 local circumstances and to implement them in the This work is copyright. Except for the ITTO logo, field through projects. In addition, ITTO collects, graphical and textual information in this publication analyses and disseminates data on the production may be reproduced in whole or in part provided and trade of tropical timber and funds a range that it is not sold or put to commercial use and of projects and other action aimed at developing its source is acknowledged. Although this report industries at both community and industrial scales. was commissioned by ITTO, ITTO does not All projects are funded by voluntary contributions, necessarily endorse or support the findings mostly from consuming member countries. Since it or recommendations presented herein. became operational in 1987, ITTO has funded more than 700 projects, pre-projects and activities valued ISBN 4 902045 14 1 ITTO Foreword Mahogany is one of the best-known and most in sustainable forest management through a wide valuable tropical timbers on the international market. range of project and policy initiatives. ITTO’s Swietenia mahogani, native to Central America and policy initiatives include facilitating debate and the the Caribbean, has been traded around the world exchange of practical knowledge and experiences since the 16th century, while S. humilis from Central between member countries. One such initiative has America has been extensively used locally. Heavy been to bring together countries involved in the trade demand for both these species has resulted in declines in mahogany to discuss CITES implementation in their populations to the point where they are no in relation to the sustainable management of longer commercially available. S. macrophylla, also mahogany stocks. known as caoba or big-leaf mahogany, is now the This report presents the results of a workshop main true mahogany in commerce. The species has organized by ITTO and held in Peru, currently the recently become a cause célèbre in discussions on main country of export for mahogany, in May 2004. international timber utilisation and forest The purpose of the workshop was to encourage and conservation policy. inform practical action for the formulation of CITES After ten years of debate among parties to the non-detriment findings for mahogany exports. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Discussions at the workshop were based on the Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), many of understanding that the determination of non- whom are also members of ITTO, and a considerable detriment findings is an individual country’s role degree of controversy, the decision was taken at the and that the criteria for that determination will 12th Conference of the Parties to CITES in 2002 be set by each country in line with the broader to include S. macrophylla in Appendix II of the implementation of national forest policy. Focusing Convention. All species in the genus Swietenia on the key mahogany-producing countries (Bolivia, are therefore now included in CITES Appendix II, Brazil and Peru), the workshop provided a forum S. humilis having been added in 1975 and for sharing initial experiences in implementing the S.mahogani in 1992. Appendix-II listing of mahogany and allowed a The inclusion of S. macrophylla in Appendix II of review of capacity in key range states to effectively CITES imposes exporting, importing and monitoring implement CITES obligations with respect to this requirements on the species, which should be linked species. The workshop drew on the cooperative to its sustainable management in natural forest efforts of exporters, importers, governments and habitats. A key requirement is the formulation of the non-governmental community. the so-called non-detriment finding prior to export. When the proposal to include S. macrophylla in The CITES listing of this valuable and somewhat CITES Appendix II was approved in November symbolic species has been operational since November 2002, CITES parties stressed that this should be 2003. ITTO is committed to helping ensure that a measure to promote the sustainable trade of the the listing is effective, in line with Objective (d) species and should not be interpreted as a trade of the ITTA, which is: restriction. The challenge is now to ensure that To enhance the capacity of members to implement a the sustainability of the species is in fact enhanced. strategy for achieving exports of tropical timber and Recommendations in this report set out the key steps timber products from sustainably managed sources necessary to reach the goal of a sustainable mahogany by the year 2000. trade. ITTO urges all members of the international community to work together towards the achievement National policies for sustainable forest management of this crucial objective. are well advanced in the main producer countries for big-leaf mahogany, but aspects of practical Manoel Sobral Filho implementation remain challenging. ITTO and Executive Director other international agencies are supporting progress International Tropical Timber Organization 3 ITTO Acronyms ADEX Exporters Association (Peru) ITTO International Tropical AFOP Annual Forest Operational Timber Organization Plan (Bolivia) IUCN World Conservation Union AFOPAR AFOP Annual Report (Bolivia) IWPA International Wood Products AIMEX Para State Export Industry Association (USA) Association (Brazil) MCD Minimum cutting diameter AOP Annual Operational Plan MMA Ministry for the APHIS Animal and Plant Health Environment (Brazil) Inspection Service (USA) NDF Non-detriment finding ASL Local Social Groups (Bolivia) NGO Non-governmental ATFF Technical Forest organization Administration Unit (Peru) OEMA State Environmental CBD Convention on Biological Organizations (Brazil) Diversity OSINFOR Timber Forest Resource CFO Forest Certificate of Origin Supervisory Agency (Peru) (Bolivia) PAPMP Raw Material Supply and CITES Convention on International Processing Program (Bolivia) Trade in Endangered Species PPF Permanent production forest of Wild Fauna and Flora SENASAG National Agricultural Health COP Conference of the Parties Service (Bolivia) DBH Diameter at breast height SIF Forest Superintendence DEFRA Department of Environment, (Bolivia) Food and Rural Affairs (UK) SIF Forest Information System DHS Department of Homeland (Peru) Security (USA) SIVEX Single Export Office System EC European Commission (Bolivia) EU European Union SPDA Peruvian Environmental Law Society FSC Forest Stewardship Council TTF Timber Trade Federation (UK) FUNDEMPRESA Foundation for Enterprise Development (Bolivia) UNALM-FCF National Agrarian University of La Molina – Faculty of FWS Fish and Wildlife Service Forestry Science (Peru) (USA) UNEP-WCMC United Nations Environment GFMP General Forest Management Programme-World Plan (Bolivia, Peru) Conservation Monitoring HPVA Hardwood Plywood and Centre Veneer Association (USA) USAID United States Agency for HS Harmonized System International Development IBAMA Institute for Environment and USDA United States Department Natural Resources (Brazil) of Agriculture INRENA National Institute for