BRAZIL PLAYS GAMES WHILE THE FORESTS BURN

BRAZIL PLAYS GAMES WHILE THE FORESTS BURN
HARARE - 18 June, 1997
Brazil played dirty politics on the floor of the CITES meeting here today by ensuring that a vote to list Bigleaf mahogany on the Convention failed, Greenpeace said.
After strongly opposing the proposal to list mahogany on Appendix II in a speech to delegates, the Brazilian delegation waited until the vote had been cast in a secret ballot before announcing its decision to abstain.
The proposal fell just seven votes short of the required two thirds majority in committee. 'If the full conference confirms this vote, this will be the third time CITES has failed to take any measures to bring the destructive and mostly illegal trade in mahogany under control,' said Greenpeace's Isabel McCrea. 'This is a tragedy for the rainforests of the Amazon and Central America. 'How can Brazil and the other countries in the region who opposed the proposal expect to have any credibility in forest conservation and management when they are prepared to resort to smutty politicking and backroom deal-making?'
As the largest range state of mahogany, the Brazilian delegation's view of the proposal was rightly influential for delegations who had not finalised their positions.
In leading the conference to assume they opposed the proposal - put up jointly by Bolivia and the United States - Brazil may have influenced a significant number of parties in their voting decisions. 'Announcing their abstention after the vote was cast was an attempt to look good in the eyes of the world ahead of next week's Rio plus Five conference,' Ms McCrea said. 'It was also a feeble effort to ensure that potential conservation funding from the US and other donors was not put at risk.'
Other range states who spoke against the Appendix II listing included Peru and Belize. Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico and Bolivia spoke in favour of Appendix II listing which would have helped to regulate the illegal trade in mahogany and strengthen its sustainable management in producer countries.
Greenpeace intends to continue its campaign for ecologically responsible forestry in the Amazon, Central America and elsewhere.

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