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18 Nov 1994
Friends of the Earth today applauded Environment Minister John Gummer's decision to support calls for international controls on the trade in Brazilian mahogany, but warned that the failure yesterday of the official conference on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to adopt measures to protect mahogany would increase pressure for a consumer boycott of the timber [1].
In a letter to the Minister, Friends of the Earth have today called for urgent measures to ban the importation into the UK of illegally sourced Brazilian mahogany.
Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth Campaigner, said from the conference:
The timber industry seems set to exploit Brazilian mahogany to extinction. Now that the British Government has accepted the need for controls, we urge Ministers to work with us to stamp out the illegal trade in this endangered species. The only alternative way to protect this tree and its rainforest habitat now seems to be an international boycott". [2]
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] A proposal by the Government of the Netherlands to list mahogany (botanical name Swietenia macrophylla) under Appendix II of the Convention, was narrowly rejected. The proposal needed 56 votes to be carried, but only received 50. 33 nations, including Brazil, Bolivia and Peru voted against the proposal, and there were 40 abstentions.
[2] Friends of the Earth this week published new evidence, including copies of official Brazilian government documents, showing that a number of Brazilian logging companies were
(H) (071) 354 1014
PAGE 2 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH defying an industry agreement not to trade in mahogany from illegal sources.
(H) (071) 354 1014
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