IWPA Advocates for Trade in Wood Products at CITES CoP 19 Meeting in Panama City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 18, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: MIKE BURITA
mike@buritamedia.com or 202-420.9361
IWPA Advocates for Trade in Wood Products at CITES CoP 19 Meeting
in Panama City
IWPA Outlines Key Principles When Considering Proposals to Regulate Trade in Key Timber Species
Alexandria, Virginia – The International Wood Products Association (IWPA) advocated for legal and sustainable trade in several timber species at the 19th Meeting of the Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Panama City, Panama.
In comments submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in advance of the meeting, IWPA stated:
IWPA strongly supports the goals of CITES, namely to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. We also appreciate the work of the CITES Secretariat and the individual parties to ensure that the Convention does not place any unnecessary burden on the legal trade in CITES-listed species.
IWPA recently conducted a survey of members who are involved in procurement and sale of CITES regulated products and could be impacted if certain plant species proposals are adopted at CoP19. There are several key takeaways:
- More than two-thirds of stakeholder businesses have less than 100 employees, and 80% have less than 250 employees.
- 100% of survey respondents indicated that they would have to cut employees if the proposed timber listings were adopted due to revenue loss.
- 100% of respondents indicated that they maintain an in-house compliance program to vet the sustainability and legality of the wood products they source.
- 100% attested that “given the application and technical properties of the species in question, they will not be able to easily replace these wood products with a domestically harvested and manufactured wood product.
IWPA outlined multiple principles when considering proposals to amend the CITES appendices such as science-based decision making, consideration of the experiences and expertise of range states, and sufficient implementation period for new listing. The full comments can be found HERE.
The CITES CoP 19 is taking place at the Panama Convention Center in Panama City November 14-25.
Established in 1956, the International Wood Products Association (www.IWPAwood.org) is the leading international trade association for the North American imported wood products industry, representing nearly 200 companies and trade associations engaged in the import of hardwoods and softwoods from sustainably managed forests. Association members consist of three key groups involved in the import process: U.S. importers and consuming industries, offshore manufacturers and the service providers that facilitate trade.