Consideration of Risks and Impacts associated with Prematurely Lifting the Trade Ban for SC77
October 2023
Research from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) indicates that the CITES trade suspension of Pterocarpus erinaceus – an endangered species of rosewood found in the dry savannahs of western and central Africa – implemented since March 2022 has been effective in limiting international trafficking while improving the conservation of a threatened species.
EIA and CIEL’s findings clearly demonstrate that current efforts by certain countries to reopen international trade are premature. The analysis of recent trade data shows that the trade suspension of P. erinaceus has slowed, but not stopped, the export of the species from its range in West Africa. Evidence from the ground also shows that illegal logging and international trafficking of the species are still taking place across the region.
In this context, the request from Sierra Leone to lift the zero export quota through a “special authorization” to export stocks of 160,000 cubic meters of P. erinaceus in the absence of a Legal Acquisition Finding or sustainable harvest quotas raises serious concerns and would, if approved, set a dangerous precedent for the region. These concerns are even more urgent when considering the approval of the Non-Detriment Finding (NDF) provided by Mali to the Plants Committee, which in EIA and CIEL’s analysis fails to meet the required standard to establish and control sustainable levels of harvest and trade.
Granting “special authorizations” for export and accepting sub-par NDFs from some countries sets a dangerous precedent and will most likely result in other countries in the region repeating the practice. Any move to relax the current suspension for one or more countries within the species’ range would not only lead to an increase in the potentially illegal and unsustainable trade in the respective countries, but effectively undermine efforts to protect the species and risk re- opening the deadly boom and bust cycle of illegal logging and trade that has been well documented in the past. Once opened, the rosewood Pandora’s box will not easily be closed.