Project/activity information

Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) is the most important commercial forest species in Peru and is subject to intense harvesting due to the high prices in international markets. In addition, high prices have encouraged illegal logging to the detriment of the environment and the Peruvian forest sector. The approval of the listing of mahogany in Appendix II of CITES in November 2002 set an important precedent to establish an in-country monitoring and control system for this species. However, the CITES national scientific authority is concerned that reliable information is currently not available and therefore considers it essential to conduct an assessment of stocks in all mahogany-producing forests of the country, particularly production forests.

The main objective of this project is to provide integrated, comprehensive, updated and highly reliable information on mahogany stocks from Amazon forests in Peru, in order to establish the annual allowable cut at the national, regional and local levels so as to identify harvesting quotas, develop a national strategy and ensure its implementation in management plans with a view to biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest resource utilisation.

Specific objectives are as follows: a) a detailed map of the natural distribution of Swietenia macrophylla; b) a forest inventory based on field sampling and comprehensive review of previous forest assessments; and c) a proposal for a national conservation strategy based on sustainable forest management and low impact logging of Swietenia macrophylla to facilitate decision-making regarding the effective implementation of the CITES Appendix II listing of this species.

The main expected outputs are:

- A compendium of information on mahogany derived from forest inventories and field verification;
- A map on mahogany distribution, concentration, impact levels and areas;
- A GIS database describing the mahogany producing areas and their current status;
- A study on the ecological characterization of mahogany populations; and
- A wide-based proposal for an action plan and strategy for the conservation and management of mahogany populations.