International protection for Siam rosewood begins
Governments urged to deliver on their key obligations
LONDON: As international UN trade restrictions on endangered Siam rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) come into effect from tomorrow (June 12, 2013), the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) warns the future of the species relies entirely on range states and key user countries credibly delivering on their protection obligations.
EIA played a key role in supporting the Thai and Vietnamese governments efforts to secure Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) protection for Siam rosewood at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP16) in Bangkok in March, where it was listed on Appendix II.
But EIA Forests Campaign head Faith Doherty today warned: “It was a major step forward to secure the Appendix II listing, which comes into effect tomorrow, but on its own that’s not going to be enough to save this species.
“Rigorous compliance with the listing is what is required, and EIA will be looking at the key players in this trade to ensure it that is happening.”
Under CITES Appendix II, species cannot be exported from range state producer countries without CITES export permits issued by relevant management authorities, with those in turn being issued on the basis of scientific authority confirmation that such trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species. Range states are also obliged to pre-notify the CITES Secretariat regarding quotas for harvest and trade before any CITES export permits can be issued.
For Siam rosewood, these export obligations apply to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam – all of which have experienced rampant illegal exports in recent years. In Thailand, National Parks rangers have been actively suppressing illegal rosewood logging and trade since the CITES listing was agreed.
Importing countries also have clear obligations to ensure imports of Siamese rosewood are not accepted unless accompanied by valid CITES export permits. This obligation is particularly important in China, the biggest end-user of Siam rosewood.
Escalating demand for rosewood has resulted in an illegal international trade dubbed ‘the rosewood wars’ which is characterised by corruption, high financial stakes, violence and killings. A brief online trade survey by EIA in March 2013 found that traders throughout the Mekong region were offering 20,000 cubic meters more Siam rosewood for sale than Thailand has estimated remain in natural forest stocks – dramatically illustrating the extreme threat ongoing trade presents to the species.
The major driver of rosewood theft is China’s multi-million dollar market in luxury ‘Hongmu’ antique-style furniture. Surging demand and the increasing scarcity of Siam rosewood have seen prices hit as much as US$50,000 per cubic meter.
The Hongmu market is overseen by a so-called Redwood Committee housed within China’s Timber & Wood Products Distribution Association (CTWPDA) – the largest timber trade federation in China. The Redwood Committee has more than 100 member companies involved in trade and manufacturing. Despite no legal sources existing, Siam rosewood is one of 33 species of precious and mostly endangered timber itemised by the Redwood Committee in a list of “legitimate” Hongmu materials.
Only last month, EIA called on the Redwood Committee and its parent federation to ensure their policies and members are not underwriting the destruction of a World Heritage Site in Thailand after the Thai Government claimed huge demand had left it unable to stop numerous armed illegal logging gangs from stealing the precious timber from the Khao Yai-Dong Phayayen Forest Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
EIA is also urging range states not to allow loopholes in the Siam rosewood listing to be abused by traders or corrupt officials, based on credible concerns that semi-processed components will be exempted from the purview of the CITES listing in a way that negates the conservation opportunity for the species.
Interviews are available on request: please contact Jago Wadley via jagowadley@eia-international.org or telephone 020 7354 7960.
EDITORS’ NOTES
1. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) investigates and campaigns against environmental crime and abuses.
2. Siam rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) was listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP16) in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2013.
3. CITES Appendix II lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction at present but which may become so unless trade is closely controlled. International trade in specimens of species listed in Appendix II may be authorised by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate. No import permit is necessary under CITES. Permits or certificates should only be granted if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.
4. The term ‘rosewood’ refers to a wide variety of richly hued, extremely durable and increasingly rare timbers harvested from an array of tree species worldwide, largely from the Dalbergia genus. Displaying a range of brown to reddish-black colourings, rosewood timber is highly prized for decorative purposes and commonly used in luxury wood products such as furniture, musical instruments, ornaments and veneer. In Thailand and the Mekong region, important rosewood-producing tree species include Siam rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre) and Burmese rosewood (Dalbergia bariensis Pierre). Classified as ‘endangered’ and ‘vulnerable’ to extinction, these rosewood species are the most valuable wood in regional trade and the major target of illegal loggers.
5. Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex comprises Khao Yai, Thap Lan, Pang Sida and Ta Phraya national parks, and the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Environmental Investigation Agency
62-63 Upper Street
London N1 0NY
UK
www.eia-international.org
Tel: +44 207 354 7960
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针对大红酸枝的国际保护明日起生效
有关国家政府被要求履行其关键义务
伦敦：在针对大红酸枝（Siam rosewood，中文学名：交趾黄檀，拉丁学名: Dalbergia cochinchinensis）的联合国贸易禁令明日（2013年6月11日）起生效之际，总部位于伦敦的环境调查署(EIA)警告称，这一物种的未来，完全依赖于出产国家和关键使用国家可信地履行其保护义务。
EIA曾在3月份在曼谷举行的《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》第十六届缔约国大会(CoP16)上发挥关键作用，支持泰国和越南政府争取将大红酸枝纳入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)保护范围的努力，使大红酸枝被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》附录II(CITES Appendix II)。
但是，EIA 森林项目负责人Faith Doherty警告称：“明日起生效的附录II保护是向前迈出的一大步，但这本身不足以拯救这一物种。
“严格遵守附录II的有关规定是现在要做到的事，EIA将密切关注参与这项贸易的各方，以确保这是实际发生的情况。”
根据《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》附录II的规定，除非得到主管机构颁发的CITES出口许可，否则不得从出产国家出口相关物种，而颁发此类出口许可的依据是，权威科学机构证实相关贸易不会危及所涉物种的生存。在颁发CITES出口许可之前，出产国家还有义务将采集和贸易配额预先知会CITES秘书处。
就大红酸枝而言，这些出口义务适用于泰国、老挝、柬埔寨和越南，这些国家近年都经历了猖獗的非法出口。在泰国，自各国同意将大红酸枝列入CITES附录II以来，国家公园管理员一直在积极打击非法砍伐和买卖红木的行为。
进口国家也具有明确义务，以确保大红酸枝的进口不被接受——除非相关货物附有有效的CITES出口许可。这项义务在中国尤其重要；中国是全球最大的大红酸枝最终消费国。
对红木的需求扶摇直上，已引发一波有“红木战争”之称的非法国际贸易，其特征是腐败、涉案金额巨大、暴力甚至杀戮。EIA在2013年3月进行的一项简短的网上贸易调查发现，湄公河流域各地贸易商提供出售的大红酸枝数量，比泰国估算的天然森林中尚存的存量还要高出2万立方米，这戏剧性地展示了仍在持续的贸易对这一物种构成的极其严重的威胁。
红木偷窃活动的主要驱动力来自中国金额巨大的仿古红木家具市场。大红酸枝的需求飙升而供应越来越少，已推高其价格至每立方米5万美元。
红木市场由中国最大的木材行业协会——中国木材与木制品流通协会(CTWPDA)下属的红木流通专业委员会（简称“中国红木委”）负责监管。中国红木委有100多家会员企业从事木材和木制品的交易和制造。尽管已经不存在合法来源，但大红酸枝仍是中国红木委列入“合法”红木清单的33种珍稀且大多数濒危的木材之一。
就在上个月，EIA呼吁中国红木委及其上级协会确保其政策和会员企业不支持对泰国一个世界遗产保护地的破坏行为，此前泰国政府称，巨大需求使其无力阻止无数有武装的非法砍伐团伙在联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)世界遗产地点——东巴耶延山-考爱山森林保护区(Khao Yai-Dong Phayayen Forest Complex)窃取珍贵木材。
EIA还呼吁出产国家不让贸易商或腐败官员滥用大红酸枝保护规定中的漏洞，依据是一些可信的担忧，即经过半加工的组件将不在CITES保护范围以内，这可能削弱保护这一物种的机遇。
安排采访请联系Jago Wadley，电子邮箱：jagowadley@eia-international.org 电话：+44 (0)20 7354 7977。
补充资料：
1. 环境调查署(EIA)是一家位于英国的非政府组织和慈善信托机构（ 慈善机构注册号 1145359），致力于调查和反对各种环境犯罪，包括非法野生动物交易、非法砍伐、危险废弃物以及改变气候和臭氧层的化学品的交易。
2. 大红酸枝（Siam rosewood，中文学名：交趾黄檀，拉丁学名: Dalbergia cochinchinensis）在2013年3月在泰国曼谷举行的《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》第十六届缔约国大会(CoP16)上被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》附录II(CITES Appendix II)。
3. 《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》附录II(CITES Appendix II)上的物种目前未必面临灭绝威胁，但除非对这些物种的贸易进行严格管制，它们就可能面临灭绝威胁。附录II所列物种标本的国际贸易，可能以授予出口许可或再出口证明的方式得到授权。根据CITES的有关规定，进口许可是不必要的。有关当局只有在确定某些条件已得到满足的情况下，才应授予许可或证书，其中最重要的条件是相关贸易不会危害该物种在野生环境中的生存。
4. 红木(rosewood)一词泛指来自全球各地某些树种（主要是黄檀属）的一些颜色较深、极其耐用，但也日益稀少的木材。呈棕色或红黑色的红木，是一种极受珍视的装饰用材，常用于高档木制品，如家具、乐器、装饰品及饰面板。在泰国和湄公河流域，主要的红木树种包括大红酸枝(Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre)和印度紫檀(Dalbergia bariensis Pierre)。被列为“濒危”和“面临灭绝危险”的这些红木树种，在区域贸易中是最有价值的木材，也是非法伐木者的主要目标。
5. 东巴耶延山-考爱山森林保护区(Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex)包括Khao Yai、Thap Lan、 Pang Sida 和Ta Phraya 国家公园，以及Dong Yai野生动物保护区。
Environmental Investigation Agency
62-63 Upper Street
London N1 0NY
UK
www.eia-international.org
电话: +44 207 354 7960
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