Bottemless? Or Topless?

illegal logging and trade Mahogany wood and have not stopped ..

Wikileaks confirms the institutional crisis forest today suffers from the Peru

By Sandro Chávez

S ccording Wikileaks forest that accounts for U.S. diplomatic cables sent in 2006 , appeared last week, the Peruvian Government was aware that between 70 and 90% of timber exports came from illegal logging but took no action to try to end this situation.

is noted that during the verification process showed that 60 percent of concessions had serious violations that included the falsification of documents, logging outside concession boundaries and links to bribery. Indicate that none of the concessions checked showed a high level of management.

also says: "The meeting of the CITES, the Republican Party cited as the embodiment the computer system to track the harvest of mahogany, a system developed with funding from USAID. Reliable information indicates that the data have always been poorly made or modified later in field locations, which allows dealers to cut more wood than is legally allowed. Post has been suspected of corruption for many months and he has informed the INRENA of these concerns. A few weeks ago, when the story appeared in the media, said INRENA would address this situation. Nothing has changed to date. "

certainly has not changed much

Those who work in forestry know that these reports are true, indeed, in 2007 there was an attempt in the Quartermaster Forest led by Mr. Edgardo Lopez to make tough to corruption and hence logging and illegal timber trade, especially that which came from watersheds as the Purus Yavari and they were in closure to extract mahogany, but the pressure of gangs and bad authorities were able to switch to these forest authorities and reverting to the situation of chaos in which he walks the forest sector.

Such is the problem identified in the Wikileaks, which has probably been one of the arguments for the U.S. to consider the need for an addendum Forest in the Free Trade Treaty signed with our country, precisely what has now blatantly violated because he had a compliance deadline that expired in August 2010 and so far no concrete because of the irresponsibility of the government and its specialized authorities.

The government of course denies any
Brack
Minister (04/03/2011 Republic) has said "almost 100% of mahogany logging is under control, but said that if there are illegal logging of mahogany, it would in small percentages, as different entities ensure their proper operation. " This means that the problem would be solved, even if it were so, would have to ask what happened to what came before "been an inquiry?, Is there any official sanction on them?, Is fulfilled the closure of mahogany and cedar 100% in the Amazon basin determined according to the Law 27308, Law of Forestry and Wildlife?

For his part, Agriculture Minister Rafael Quevedo said (04.03.2011 Republic) portfolio for tests to the claim of Wikileaks, since taken by surprise, is considering "where illegal logging is in the process of mahogany. " Bone MINAG and you just assume the Directorate General of Forestry and Wildlife will find out where it came from illegal logging of mahogany, which indeed describes clearly the low prioritization of forestry in the Ministry.

For his part, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros (04/03/2011 Republic), dismissed as "gossip" what expressed in the Wikileaks cable, saying that despite the existence of illegal logging in the country is "very difficult that may be exported to the United States." Perhaps the Minister would need more information to know that there are still serious problems in controlling illegal logging and hence in the traceability of wood to be exported and that the gossip as well call the official information from the American Embassy, \u200b\u200bhas real handles today that Peru is not able to disprove, but to show us that everything said is Wikileaks is false.

not forget the confession of Mr. José Luis Camino in 2008 (former head of INRENA) who said that the problem of illegal logging was worse than the "Petroaudios" (Article published in the trade), and corruption in the INRENA reached almost 70% to its interior, despite being one of the officials who sought to repeal the rules end mainly to illegal logging of mahogany and cedar.

Comptroller of the Republic must act immediately

The facts appeared so far in this information and the various claims held by the Comptroller of the Republic, forcing it to act immediately, because this information being verified as it seems that it is, it would be setting up various crimes against the state's heritage and is be a defining responsibilities.

Moreover, there is a suspicious silence in the Comptroller of the Republic who should make public the results of research on the inapplicability of the Veda Mahogany dictated in 2002 by the Law of Forestry and Wildlife No. 27308 in its seventh Layout complementary, as they have spent over 10 years where it has nearly mahogany commercially extinct.

Crisis institutions increasingly acute Forest

As mentioned in previous articles, so far not been able to have a National Forest Policy adopted in a participatory and consensus there is no Anti-Corruption Plan Forestry and National Forest Information System is a means and a huge delay.

We had hopes that with the safeguards put Forest Addendum FTA with the United States would achieve progress in the fight against corruption and illegal logging, but did not.

Peru has been in breach of this Addendum Forest gradually, to date there is no implementation plan with clear goals and actions that actors know the forest, far from controlling, has been promoted logging and illegal trade that is plundering the NPA and mainly indigenous communities, the bulk of attention is on the controversial process Discussion of the Forest Act, funded largely by the Forest Service itself based U.S.

Peru Recall that Bagua unfortunate events could be avoided if you had a Forest Act agreement, but it was not and Now we all remember with pain the outcome.

been more than 02 years of that time where the executive and now the Agricultural Commission of the Congress once again trying to develop a new Forestry Law that is still inheriting controversial issues, the draft Law No.4141 which is already ruled arbitrarily has been criticized by various civil society groups, particularly indigenous people, who feel violated by the improper application of the Convention ILO 169 º (See, prior and informed).

The Executive and the Agrarian Commission, still trying to convince everyone especially the United States government that everything will work out with the approval of the Forestry Law, which is not true, as noted earlier, many of the problems do not need law, only good governance and administrative decisions.

addition, the new law under discussion does not include clear measures to combat illegal logging and illegal trade, however:

• state was expected to be obliged to apply the traceability of wood as methods to verify the origin legal (From Market to forest), but this opinion is let loose and optional.
• not fixed and what documents are required to support the legal origin of the product, (certificate of origin), only speaks of guides to transport, without the certificate of origin is impossible to document and verify the accuracy of the information leaving a large window and door to illegality. Not require 100% verification of the information stated in the field (volume of standing trees), or the total demand implementation of Forest Management Plans, which will only make-up samples in practice.
• typifies not supervision after forest condition the approval of successive volumes, ie one can fail or forge information this year, but the other year there is a clean slate (no checks as undertaken)
• not require any wood is to be exported have to have certificates of origin and the major ports controlled by the forest authority. The forest authority will continue to ignore the fact that species, how much wood export with origin and destination which is sold without rigorous checks and institutional responsibility.
• not removed or tacitly suggests deleting "purchases of good faith ", a mechanism often used by traders to avoid irresponsible exporting timber procurement controversial source.
• not require that the Peruvian state in advance to allow timber harvesting, have studies of populations of species to ensure that it will not undermine their commercial existence, are given a blank check without accountability.
• performance studies for exports are voluntary, not mandatory or binding, that is exporting high volumes will continue to trade as one statement as if a tree would not diminish its use, is like saying a chicken benefited 90% are breasts, when this is unreal, this will include wood from areas not authorized under this scheme will find a way to legalize the illegal.
• continue to insist that the forestry institutions remain in the Ministry of Agriculture, when the sector responsible for all this genocide in the Amazon. Otherwise it will perpetuate the centralized bureaucracy.
  

To all this, it would be important to know that says watchdog OSINFOR What happened to the supervision that made so far? How many penalties have been so far?

also known that the authority has recently completed scientific studies of populations Cedar, through a project financed by ITTO, it would be important to know whether the errors have been amended Mahogany study in which they saw as the basic information POAs with false information, which altered the results of this study.

other hand, we wonder if this year to scientific authority (MINAM / UNALM) have already completed the study determines the export quota for mahogany, since it appears that the Directorate General of Forestry and Wildlife is authorizing mobilization of this wood for it.

02 years ago it was possible to modify in the Congress of the Penal Code for crimes Environment and Forest, we ask How many consultants and staff are ill prisoners? so we know not one.

Does the Government of Mr. Alan Garcia, can ensure that the 27 million hectares. Permanent Production Forest (public domain) that are under the regime of concessions most of coca crops there for drug trafficking?, it is certain that the production of illegal coca in the Amazon, especially in the Yungas area, has already come to invade protected areas (UNODC) and several territories of indigenous communities, which adds to the deforestation process in which our forest heritage is subject.

Nothing is gained by lying or giving back subjects as serious as those disclosed in the Wikileaks, it is in the way the right of all Peruvians to know what happened, who is responsible and what their punishment, otherwise it will give bad signals that Peru there is a clean slate and that would be fatal for a country that demands transparency in government actions and wants to build a development based on sustainability of natural resources.