The hidden cost of tropical wood

Rosewood is so valuable even small scale logging is profitable (credit: EIA)

February 17, 2012
By Kevin Heath
Wildlife News (UK)

Tropical hardwoods are highly sought after by furniture makers and Rosewoods are among those species most in demand. Behind the luxury furniture or ornaments made from the wood lies a world of international commodity traders, armed shoot-outs, corruption of officials and most worrying of all the real potential loss of some species in just a few years.

Rosewoods are hardwoods from a range of tropical trees that come predominately from the Delbergia genus. They have rich deep colours ranging from browns through to rich reds. The wood can produce high quality and detailed finishes which make it ideal for use in luxury furniture, musical instruments and veneers.

Most rosewoods are endangered or vulnerable.

The species of trees that produce the rosewoods are found around the world including in South East Asia – particularly in the countries found in the Mekong River catchment such as Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Most of the species that are targeted are classed as either endangered or vulnerable. Most countries have domestic regulations in place to prevent logging of the species but there is currently no regulation on the international trade.

There’s big money in the international trade of rosewoods with most demand coming from the growing wealthy classes in China. At current prices rosewoods are worth up to $6,000 a cubic metre. To put that into some sort of context a seizure by Thai officials in January of 193 logs was valued at over $630,000. The high value of the wood means even small amount of the wood is valuable but when professional gangs move in then things get serious.

Rosewood trading valued at $3 billion in 2010.

Trade in Rosewood is valued at over $3 billion a year. Once the timber has been transported to China the wood can be worth up to $50,000 a cubic metre. The value of furniture made from the wood can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars and demand is growing for these luxury items. Inflation in rosewood furniture can run at between 15% and 40% a year – a very acceptable rate of return on investment. Commodity trading and speculative investments in Rosewood by the new Chinese super-rich is increasing.

Rosewood trade is bloody and violent.

As well as a financial cost there is also a human cost to getting that rosewood to market. Last year 14 loggers from Cambodia were shot and killed during enforcement operations by Thai officials. Last years deaths brought the total since 2008 to nearly 30.

In December Thailand’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, stated “They [Cambodian loggers] have not only cut Khmer timber, [they] have also entered to cut Thai timber until [Thai soldiers] have shot and killed them. We must dare to admit that our Khmer entered to cut Thai timber.” He explained how the Cambodian loggers would use Red Cross, Army vehicles and empty petroleum tankers to transport the logs out of Thailand and back into Cambodia.

Rosewood trade fuels corruption and bribery.

With such big money at stake there is also the real risk of officials being bribed to allow the logging to continue or to aid the transport of the illegally felled logs. Last year 12 Thai police in one province were implicated in illegal logging activities.

Loggers from Cambodia work in the Thai forests sometimes with the support of Cambodian military officials. In December last year a group of 19 Cambodian villagers were escorted by Cambodian military officials into Thailand to undertake logging. while logging they came into conflict with a Thai military patrol and 6 were killed.

Hun Sen in a speech in December has offered safety and anonymity to Cambodian soldiers providing evidence and information on corrupt army officials who are supporting the illegal logging.

Calls for Thailand to go it alone to protect rosewoods.

Now an international environmental NGO, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), is calling on Thailand to start the process to protect it’s remaining rosewoods from international trade by listing it’s domestic rosewoods on CITES Appendix III.

Thailand has previously tried to end the trade in rosewoods by having it’s species listed on the CITES Convention in 2008 but Laos and Cambodia objected to the species being listed. Now the EIA is calling on Thailand to try a new approach to ending the trade.

They want Thailand to immediate list their rosewood species on Appendix III. By listing on Appendix III Thailand can set an export quota and require permits to be issued for any timber felled. Thailand can then request CITES member countries to ban rosewood from Thailand unless there is a valid export permit. To prevent any trade in Thailand origin rosewood would be as simple as setting a quote of zero. Designation on Appendix III is quick and relatively easy to do as no international agreement is needed.

5 years left for Asia’s rosewoods.

The EIA also want Thailand to progress and instigate international deals with other South East Asia countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to bring rosewoods under the Appendix II designation. This can then lead to stronger international trading regulations and make protection much easier.

The pressure is on to protect the rosewoods in the wild. As one Chinese rosewood trader told the EIA “the species is finished” and there was “only about five years left in the trade”. Other traders think 5 years is being optimistic about the length of time left for the Asian rosewoods.