95% of mahogany from Peru is illegally logged says scientist
mongabay.com
October 6, 2005
95% of the mahogany that leaves the rainforests of Peru is logged illegally according to a scientist at the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP).
Jose Alvarez, a scientist with IIAP, told Europa Press that illegal logging in the Peruvian Amazon is widespread and highly profitable for traffickers.
According to Alvarez, while a local cutter may receive $30-60 for felling a mahogany tree, the same tree may sell for $300,000 in the international market. The illegal harvesting is so lucrative that loggers are cutting trees inside national parks and reserves.
Further, Alvarez says that not a single commercial logger has been imprisoned in Peru for illegal logging. He fears that Peru could soon lose most of its mahogany trees if the practice is not curtailed.
Logging is also impacting local fauna, especially larger animals like monkeys, tapir, anteaters, and armadillo, which are hunted as food by loggers.
This brief used information from a Terra Actualidad – Europa Press article.