Cablegate: Ecuador Does Not Support Addin Cedrela to Cites

VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #1236 1501358
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301358Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7103
INFO RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 2373

UNCLAS QUITO 001236

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR OES/ETC - DANIEL BALZER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ETRD KSCA EUN ECON PREL EC
SUBJECT: ECUADOR DOES NOT SUPPORT ADDIN CEDRELA TO CITES
APPENDIX II

REF: STATE 51890

1. Post delivered reftel points to Frida Pin Hoppe in the
Ministry of Environment on April 24; post later received the
following written responses from the appropriate scientific
authorities via her office. They are reproduced verbatim due
to their technical nature.

2. What is the conservation status of Cedrela and Dalbergia
species (if applicable) in the country?: In order to
determine the status of the species Swietenia macrophylla and
Cedrela odorata, the Ministry of Environment established a
prohibition on the harvest of these two species by means of
Ministerial Accord No. 167 of January 11, 2007, published in
Official Registry No. 18 of February 8, 2007. The Ministry
has plans for an inventory project that would include
international cooperation in order to raise funds.

3. What are the impacts of harvest and international trade
on its wild populations?: Ecuador is focusing on sustainable
logging, with a forestry standard based on the Basic
Principles of Sustainable Forest Management, that includes:
sustainability of production; maintenance of tree canopy;
biodiversity conservation; management co-responsibility;
reduction of negative environmental and social impacts.

4. What are the volumes exported from Ecuador and what parts
and/or products of the species are exported?: This
information does not exist since national totals are not
disaggregated by species.

5. Does Ecuador support or oppose the proposals to list the
species in Appendix II, and does Ecuador prefer to annotate
the proposals to limit the listing?: The inclusion of a
species in Appendix II assumes a series of commitments on the
part of countries in the species' distribution area; these
commitments require the allocation of funds; funds that
countries like Ecuador, which prioritizes investment in
social causes, do not have. It would have been important for
Germany to include some of the distribution area countries in
the drafting of its Proposal No. 33; information in the
document should be more extensive. Ecuador does not support
including the Cedrela genus in Appendix II, however we will
evaluate its inclusion in Appendix III. In the case of the
Dalbergia genus (which does not exist in Ecuador), we support
the position of countries within its area of distribution.
JEWELL

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