Posted on November, 13 2002

Santiago, Chile: WWF today hailed the historic victory of Nicaragua and Guatemala's proposal to list bigleaf mahogany in CITES Appendix II. This happened exactly 10 years after the first attempt to have such a listing accepted by CITES. Despite hard lobbying from countries such as Brazil and Bolivia, the listing of bigleaf mahogany in Appendix II was adopted by 68 votes for, 30 against, 14 abstentions. Until now, many populations of this tree species were in Appendix III. However, because of huge demand, the high value of its wood, and poor legislation, bigleaf mahogany has been subject to over-harvesting - much of it illicit - and illegal trade. Without better protection measures, the species could have become commercially extinct in as little as five years. "Today is a victory not only for bigleaf mahogany, but for tropical forests in general," said Dr Darron Collins, WWF Forestry Coordinator for Latin America. "The listing was also vital in order to support range states' efforts to implement effective and sustainable management of the species." WWF believes the listing of bigleaf mahogany in CITES Appendix II will both provide a regulatory mechanism capable of fighting illegal trade and smuggling, and help ensure legal and sustainable trade of mahogany. It would also offer better guarantees to importers and consumers that the mahogany timber they purchase is not from illegal sources. However, one of the biggest challenges ahead is to make sure the resources needed to enforce the benefits of today's decision are available. According to WWF, the commitment and involvment of both consumer and producer countries will be decisive to ensure that a decade of waiting has not been in vain. "WWF has been campaigning to list this species in CITES Appendix II for 10 years. This breakthrough in listing a commercially valuable tropical timber species in CITES Appendix II signals a turning point for this Convention," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Head of WWF's delegation at CoP12. For further information: Matthew Davis, WWF Species Programme, tel.: +56 960 56 571, e-mail: mdavis@wwf.org.uk Olivier van Bogaert, WWF International, tel.: +41 79 477 35 72 or +56 96056950, e-mail: ovanbogaert@wwfint.org