Greenpeace strikes in Miami against mahogany trade
Date: 15-Apr-02
Country: USA
Author: Jim Loney
The FBI arrested 14 protesters and a freelance photographer, Greenpeace said on the weekend.
"President Bush, Stop Illegal Logging," read a sign displayed in Miami's main shipping channel by activists from the environmental group.
Greenpeace said U.S. consumers are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of Brazil's Amazon jungle by buying products made from illegally logged mahogany trees.
The arrested Greenpeace activists, including two who boarded the 1,000-foot (305-metre) container ship APL Jade, and the photographer are being held at a federal detention center in Miami and likely will face trespassing and other charges, the U.S. Coast Guard said. They will be arraigned today.
Two inflatable boats operated by activists were launched from a marina in Miami Beach and met the cargo ship in Miami's main ship channel, where at least two protesters boarded the vessel, Greenpeace spokeswoman Carol Gregory said.
The activists were stopped by the ship's crew before they could unfurl a banner over the side of the freighter.
"The Brazilian government has deemed this wood illegal and yet the U.S. continues to allow it in," Greenpeace activist Scott Paul told Reuters by telephone as he was detained by a U.S. Coast Guard crew. "As a result, U.S. consumers are unknowingly fueling the destruction of the Amazon."
LUCRATIVE TRADE
In an extensive report on the global trade in mahogany, a hardwood used in fine furniture, musical instruments and coffins, Greenpeace said prospectors often bulldoze illegal roads into untouched Amazon forest in order to cut down a single mahogany tree.
Frequently those roads into Indian land are then used by farmers and ranchers to help clear vast tracts of Amazon forest, the organization added.
A single mahogany tree, for which local Indians might be paid $30, can be turned into products with a retail value of up to $128,000, Greenpeace said.
Brazil outlawed the trade and transport of mahogany in October after finding that 70 percent of the timber was being logged illegally. Brazil in December extended the ban to logging, and in February launched "Operation Rescue," a plan to hunt down illegal loggers and recover the wood.
In March, the European Commission instructed EU states not to allow shipments of Amazon mahogany into Europe without ensuring the timber was felled legally.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Luis Diaz said the activists would be turned over to the FBI and likely face charges of trespassing, impeding law enforcement officers and illegally boarding a vessel.
"The vessel was coming into port. It was very dangerous to try to stop a ship like this," Diaz said.