CITES Refuses to Protect Mahogany (Again)

Supporters of tropical forest conservation were optimistic at the recent biennial meeting of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) but were disappointed as delegates failed to restrict mahogany trade for the third consecutive meeting. The 10th meeting of the 134 signatory nations to CITES was recently held in Harare, Zimbabwe to decide the fate of at-risk species such as whales, elephants, and big-leaf mahogany. CITES is the only global treaty whose focus is the protection of plant and animal species from unregulated international trade. Currently, there are 21 tree species listed under the trade-controlling Appendices of CITES, including three lesser species of mahogany.

The United States and Bolivia co-proposed listing of big-leaf mahogany, Swietenia macrophylla, for Appendix II listing as a way to control international trade, to magnify legal exports, and to avoid illegal and unsustainable use of mahogany. The listings would increase consumer trust by assuring that mahogany in trade is coming from legal and sustainable harvests. Listing in Appendix II regulates trade in a species that is not threatened with extinction but may become threatened if trade goes unregulated. It would require governments to monitor trade and population levels and allow them to grant export permits only after establishing that trade in the species would not be detrimental to the survival of wild populations. Permits, documentation of traded volumes, and paperwork confirming the species conservation status are required.