1. Uplisting of Malagasy precious woods critical for their survival
- Author
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Charles V. Barber, Porter P. Lowry, Lucienne Wilmé, Patrick O. Waeber, Marion Langrand, Derek Schuurman, John L. Innes, Bruno Ramamonjisoa, Forest Management and Development Group [ETH Zürich] (FORDEV), Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems [ETH Zürich] (ITES), Department of Environmental Systems Science [ETH Zürich] (D-USYS), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)-Department of Environmental Systems Science [ETH Zürich] (D-USYS), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), ESSA-Forêt, Université d'Antananarivo, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Resources Institute, University of British Columbia (UBC), Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ), Université des Antilles (UA)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU), Antananarivo, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems (ITES), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Rosewood stocks ,China ,Corruption ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Population ,Endangered species ,Distribution (economics) ,[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Forest regulations ,Global issue ,Timber trade ,Forest governance ,Precious timber ,education ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,Nature and Landscape Conservation ,media_common ,education.field_of_study ,Trafficking ,CITES ,Agroforestry ,business.industry ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,15. Life on land ,Rosewood ,[SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society ,Africa ,Sustainability ,Business ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology - Abstract
Illegal timber trade is a global issue; highly prized rosewoods are mainly sourced from Africa and Madagascar. In Madagascar, where corruption and political instability are rampant, forest regulations have been issued during the last 15 years to facilitate illegal rosewood exploitation. The current situation precludes non-detriment findings (under which the exporting State ensures that a proposed action will not be detrimental to the survival of a species) intended to enable sustainable use of standing populations, but the Malagasy government, backed by the World Bank, is promoting the sale of massive stocks of confiscated precious wood. We argue that allowing the sale of these stocks would encourage further illegal harvest. No suitable tools are available to identify, control or monitor standing trees or cut timber, and there are substantial knowledge gaps regarding species limits, population sizes, distribution and abundance. When combined with taxonomic confusion and weak governance, these factors necessitate uplifting all of Madagascar's precious woods to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). ISSN:0006-3207 ISSN:1873-2917
- Published
- 2019
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