Archived press release

Boycott Mahogany!

13 February 1995

Friends of the Earth today reveals that UK companies are continuing to buy mahogany that has been illegally cut from the Amazon rainforests of Brazil.

Official Brazilian Government documents obtained by FOE show that Brazilian companies known to be supplying UK companies with mahogany wood were involved in dozens of instances of illegal rainforest logging during 1993 and 1994 [1].

Many of the illegal activities were undertaken by companies belonging to the timber industry body AIMEX [2]. In 1992, members of AIMEX signed an agreement to obtain mahogany only from legal sources. This agreement has also been signed by some of the UK's leading timber companies. However, information obtained by FOE shows how several AIMEX members have, since, the agreement was signed two years ago, illegally extracted millions of dollars worth of mahogany from indigenous and other protected areas.

The information shows how companies logging Brazil's rainforests have smuggled mahogany, logged in unauthorised areas, exceeded legal levels of felling, and falsified documents.

Representatives of the UK timber industry have refused to meet with FOE to discuss the findings. Copies of the documents have been given to Secretary of State for the Environment, Rt. Hon. John Gummer.

Simon Counsell, Forest Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said:

"This evidence demonstrates how the cutting of mahogany is out of control. The timber industry cannot be trusted to stamp out the illegal trade and the Brazilian authorities are clearly unable to effectively police the scattered clumps of mahogany that remain.

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This week, FOE's 'Mahogany Week' is highlighting how the trade in mahogany is responsible for massive environmental and social devastation, particularly in Brazil where the largest tracts of rainforest still remain [3]. FOE is calling for a consumer boycott of Brazilian mahogany until the trade is brought under control.

According to an opinion poll carried out for FOE, nearly three quarters of the public think that the UK Government should ban imports of rainforest timber [4]. The UK Government supported a move last November to control the international trade in Brazilian mahogany under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but the proposal was out-voted by mahogany exporting countries [5].

Simon Counsell continued:

"The UK Government should impose a moratorium on mahogany imports until the trade can be brought under control. Members of the public and all wood users can help by boycotting mahogany."

ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] According to documents in Friends of the Earth's possession, the following Brazilian companies have been involved in recent malpractices involving the trade in mahogany: Impar, Industrial e Commercial Minuano Ltd, Pau D'Arco Ltda., Bannach Ltda., Juary Ltda and Campos Altos Ltda.

UK agents known to have traded with the above companies in recent months include Tradelink Ltd of London and East Asiatic Ltd of Sevenoaks. These an other agents have also bought timber from Brazilian companies that have been injuncted in Brazilian Federal courts for illegally logging in protected Indian territories.

It is believed that UK timber merchants nationwide have, in turn, bought mahogany from these companies.

[2] Associacao das Industrias Exportadoras de Madeiras do Estado do Para (The Industry Association of the Timber Exporters of Para State - AIMEX signed a commitment in December 1992 "not to utilise or acquire illegal logs or timber, originated from Indian reserves". In July 1993, the

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National Hardwood Association , part of the UK Timber Trade Federation, agreed a "trading policy" under which UK Timber Traders resolved to buy mahogany only from signatories to the AIMEX agreement.

[3] Friends of the Earth's Mahogany Week will take the massage 'Mahogany is Murder' to wide audience through:

- a hard-hitting cinema commercial; - events and activities around the country organised by Friends of the Earth local groups; - a specially commissioned mahogany memorial.

[4] A survey of 1500 people conducted for Friends of the Earth by Survey Research Associates in December 1994 showed that 72 % of the public think that "the Government should ban the import of tropical timber which destroys rainforests and threatens the environment".

69% of the sample would be fairly willing or very willing to "avoid buying tropical timbers which have been produced in an environmentally and socially destructive way".

[5] A proposal by the Government of the Netherlands, and supported by the UK Government, to list mahogany (botanical name Swietenia macrophylla) under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was narrowly rejected at the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement in November 1994. 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.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust