Section 2b: SolutionsSolutions: A section dedicated to morphing raw data into workable, real-world strategies and plans for the preservation of the Amazon. Currently, this page is dedicated to brainstorming new solutions.
***ALL NEW MATERIAL IS IN GREEN FONT***
a. International
- Treaties: Create international treaties to limit the mahogany trade. International pressure should be high enough to cause significant changes.b. Domestic
* Status Quo: There are international treaties in place, such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), that are well-meant but lack effectiveness. CITES is a multinational cooperative plan to limit/stop the trade of endangered species.
> CITES: The Flaws: CITES is a great but immature attempt at preventing the trade of illegal species such as mahogany. Clearly, it has not been effective. This can be attributed to its lack of international participation and enforcement. Countries simply signing a document cannot prevent this illegal trade. The following excerpt from "Planting the seeds: A CITES and Mahogany Update" clarifies well:
The following is a list of member countries in CITES:"Big-leafed Mahogany Swietenia macrophylla is currently the most commercially
important of the Mahoganies, replacing Honduran Mahogany S. humilis and
Caribbean Mahogany S. mahagoni, both of which are considered commercially
extinct throughout much of their ranges. Exploitation has been taking place
for several centuries and their populations have been reduced throughout their
natural distribution, particularly in Central America. Both are now included
in CITES Appendix II.
...
It is clear that both domestic and international trade represents serious
threats to Big-leafed Mahogany. While current national legislation has
improved in some range States, there are major weaknesses in the harvesting
and trade control regimes, especially in the implementation of these regimes.
This is largely due to a lack of information on the biological status of the
species and cooperation among both producing and consuming countries.
It is therefore crucial that Parties at COP 11 make stronger commitments to
ensure that the Mahogany Working Group is revitalised. This can only be done
with clear terms of reference, specific goals and objectives as well as the
full support and participation of all the range States, consumer countries and
the relevant technical organisations and experts."
> Solution: The main and critical flaw of CITES is that it lacks an oversight committee. Furthermore, it lacks any enforcement policy. A successful international trade treaty must create a committee to evaluate the trade practices of its country members; furthermore, the centralized committee must have the power to enforce punishment (primarily, economic pressure). For example, if the committee decides that Country C is illegally allowing the trade of endangered species, the committee could call on all other member countries to place economic sanctions on Country C until corrections were made.Clearly, international support will not be the problem.
State
ISO
Region
Date 1
Date 2
Afghanistan
AF
2
30/10/1985 (A)
28/01/1986
Algeria
DZ
1
23/11/1983 (A)
21/02/1984
Antigua and Barbuda
AG
3
08/07/1997 (A)
06/10/1997
Argentina
AR
3
08/01/1981 (R)
08/04/1981
Australia
AU
6
29/07/1976 (R)
27/10/1976
Austria
AT
4
27/01/1982 (A)
27/04/1982
Azerbaijan
AZ
4
23/11/1998 (A)
21/02/1999
Bahamas
BS
3
20/06/1979 (A)
18/09/1979
Bangladesh
BD
2
20/11/1981 (R)
18/02/1982
Barbados
BB
3
09/12/1992 (A)
09/03/1993
Belarus
BY
4
10/08/1995 (A)
08/11/1995
Belgium
BE
4
03/10/1983 (R)
01/01/1984
Belize
BZ
3
19/08/1986 (Ds)
21/09/1981
Benin
BJ
1
28/02/1984 (A)
28/05/1984
Bhutan Bolivia
BO
3
06/07/1979 (R)
04/10/1979
Botswana
BW
1
14/11/1977 (A)
12/02/1978
Brazil
BR
3
06/08/1975 (R)
04/11/1975
Brunei Darussalam
BN
2
04/05/1990 (A)
02/08/1990
Bulgaria
BG
4
16/01/1991 (A)
16/04/1991
Burkina Faso
BF
1
13/10/1989 (A)
11/01/1990
Burundi
BI
1
08/08/1988 (A)
06/11/1988
Cambodia
KH
2
04/07/1997 (R)
02/10/1997
Cameroon
CM
1
05/06/1981 (A)
03/09/1981
Canada
CA
5
10/04/1975 (R)
09/07/1975
Central African Republic
CF
1
27/08/1980 (A)
25/11/1980
Chad
TD
1
02/02/1989 (A)
03/05/1989
Chile
CL
3
14/02/1975 (R)
01/07/1975
China
CN
2
08/01/1981 (A)
08/04/1981
Colombia
CO
3
31/08/1981 (R)
29/11/1981
Comoros
KM
1
23/11/1994 (A)
21/02/1995
Congo
CG
1
31/01/1983 (A)
01/05/1983
Costa Rica
CR
3
30/06/1975 (R)
28/09/1975
Côte d'Ivoire
CI
1
21/11/1994 (A)
19/02/1995
Croatia Cuba
CU
3
20/04/1990 (A)
19/07/1990
Cyprus
CY
4
18/10/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Czech Republic
CZ
4
14/04/1993 (Ds)
01/01/1993
Democratic Republic of the Congo
CD
1
20/07/1976 (A)
18/10/1976
Denmark
DK
4
26/07/1977 (R)
24/10/1977
Djibouti
DJ
1
07/02/1992 (A)
07/05/1992
Dominica
DM
3
04/08/1995 (A)
02/11/1995
Dominican Republic
DO
3
17/12/1986 (A)
17/03/1987
Ecuador
EC
3
11/02/1975 (R)
01/07/1975
Egypt
EG
1
04/01/1978 (A)
04/04/1978
El Salvador
SV
3
30/04/1987 (A)
29/07/1987
Equatorial Guinea
GQ
1
10/03/1992 (A)
08/06/1992
Eritrea
ER
1
24/10/1994 (A)
22/01/1995
Estonia
EE
4
22/07/1992 (A)
20/10/1992
Ethiopia
ET
1
05/04/1989 (A)
04/07/1989
Fiji
FJ
6
30/09/1997 (A)
29/12/1997
Finland
FI
4
10/05/1976 (A)
08/08/1976
France
FR
4
11/05/1978 (Ap)
09/08/1978
Gabon
GA
1
13/02/1989 (A)
14/05/1989
Gambia
GM
1
26/08/1977 (A)
24/11/1977
Georgia
GE
4
13/09/1996 (A)
12/12/1996
Germany
DE
4
22/03/1976 (R)
20/06/1976
Ghana
GH
1
14/11/1975 (R)
12/02/1976
Greece
GR
4
08/10/1992 (A)
06/01/1993
Grenada
GD
3
30/08/1999 (A)
28/11/1999
Guatemala
GT
3
07/11/1979 (R)
05/02/1980
Guinea-Bissau
GW
1
16/05/1990 (A)
14/08/1990
Guinea
GN
1
21/09/1981 (A)
20/12/1981
Guyana
GY
3
27/05/1977 (A)
25/08/1977
Honduras
HN
3
15/03/1985 (A)
13/06/1985
Hungary
HU
4
29/05/1985 (A)
27/08/1985
Iceland
IS
4
03/01/2000 (A)
02/04/2000
India
IN
2
20/07/1976 (R)
18/10/1976
Indonesia
ID
2
28/12/1978 (A)
28/03/1979
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
IR
2
03/08/1976 (R)
01/11/1976
Ireland Israel
IL
2
18/12/1979 (R)
17/03/1980
Italy
IT
4
02/10/1979 (R)
31/12/1979
Jamaica
JM
3
23/04/1997 (A)
22/07/1997
Japan
JP
2
06/08/1980 (Ac)
04/11/1980
Jordan
JO
2
14/12/1978 (A)
14/03/1979
Kazakhstan Kenya
KE
1
13/12/1978 (R)
13/03/1979
Kuwait Latvia
LV
4
11/02/1997 (A)
12/05/1997
Liberia
LR
1
11/03/1981 (A)
09/06/1981
Liechtenstein
LI
4
30/11/1979 (A)
28/02/1980
Lithuania Luxembourg
LU
4
13/12/1983 (R)
12/03/1984
Macedonia (see The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) Madagascar
MG
1
20/08/1975 (R)
18/11/1975
Malawi
MW
1
05/02/1982 (A)
06/05/1982
Malaysia
MY
2
20/10/1977 (A)
18/01/1978
Mali
ML
1
18/07/1994 (A)
16/10/1994
Malta
MT
4
17/04/1989 (A)
16/07/1989
Mauritania
MR
1
13/03/1998 (A)
11/06/1998
Mauritius
MU
1
28/04/1975 (R)
27/07/1975
Mexico
MX
5
02/07/1991 (A)
30/09/1991
Monaco
MC
4
19/04/1978 (A)
18/07/1978
Mongolia
MN
2
05/01/1996 (A)
04/04/1996
Morocco
MA
1
16/10/1975 (R)
14/01/1976
Mozambique
MZ
1
25/03/1981 (A)
23/06/1981
Myanmar
MM
2
13/06/1997 (A)
11/09/1997
Namibia
NA
1
18/12/1990 (A)
18/03/1991
Nepal
NP
2
18/06/1975 (A)
16/09/1975
Netherlands
NL
4
19/04/1984 (R)
18/07/1984
New Zealand
NZ
6
10/05/1989 (A)
08/08/1989
Nicaragua
NI
3
06/08/1977 (A)
04/11/1977
Niger
NE
1
08/09/1975 (R)
07/12/1975
Nigeria
NG
1
09/05/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Norway
NO
4
27/07/1976 (R)
25/10/1976
Pakistan
PK
2
20/04/1976 (A)
19/07/1976
Panama
PA
3
17/08/1978 (R)
15/11/1978
Papua New Guinea
PG
6
12/12/1975 (A)
11/03/1976
Paraguay
PY
3
15/11/1976 (R)
13/02/1977
Peru
PE
3
27/06/1975 (R)
25/09/1975
Philippines
PH
2
18/08/1981 (R)
16/11/1981
Poland
PL
4
12/12/1989 (R)
12/03/1990
Portugal
PT
4
11/12/1980 (R)
11/03/1981
Qatar Republic of Korea
KR
2
09/07/1993 (A)
07/10/1993
Republic of Moldova Romania
RO
4
18/08/1994 (A)
16/11/1994
Russian Federation
RU
4
13/01/1992 (C)
01/01/1992
Rwanda
RW
1
20/10/1980 (A)
18/01/1981
Saint Kitts and Nevis
KN
3
14/02/1994 (A)
15/05/1994
Saint Lucia
LC
3
15/12/1982 (A)
15/03/1983
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
VC
3
30/11/1988 (A)
28/02/1989
Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia
SA
2
12/03/1996 (A)
10/06/1996
Senegal
SN
1
05/08/1977 (A)
03/11/1977
Seychelles
SC
1
08/02/1977 (A)
09/05/1977
Sierra Leone
SL
1
28/10/1994 (A)
26/01/1995
Singapore
SG
2
30/11/1986 (A)
28/02/1987
Slovakia
SK
4
02/03/1993 (Ds)
01/01/1993
Slovenia Somalia
SO
1
02/12/1985 (A)
02/03/1986
South Africa
ZA
1
15/07/1975 (R)
13/10/1975
Spain
ES
4
30/05/1986 (A)
28/08/1986
Sri Lanka
LK
2
04/05/1979 (A)
02/08/1979
Sudan
SD
1
26/10/1982 (R)
24/01/1983
Suriname
SR
3
17/11/1980 (A)
15/02/1981
Swaziland
SZ
1
26/02/1997 (A)
27/05/1997
Sweden
SE
4
20/08/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Switzerland
CH
4
09/07/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Thailand
TH
2
21/01/1983 (R)
21/04/1983
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Togo
TG
1
23/10/1978 (R)
21/01/1979
Trinidad and Tobago
TT
3
19/01/1984 (A)
18/04/1984
Tunisia
TN
1
10/07/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Turkey
TR
4
23/09/1996 (A)
22/12/1996
Uganda
UG
1
18/07/1991 (A)
16/10/1991
Ukraine
UA
4
30/12/1999 (A)
29/03/2000
United Arab Emirates
AE
2
08/02/1990 (A)
09/05/1990
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
GB
4
02/08/1976 (R)
31/10/1976
United Republic of Tanzania
TZ
1
29/11/1979 (R)
27/02/1980
United States of America
US
5
14/01/1974 (R)
01/07/1975
Uruguay
UY
3
02/04/1975 (R)
01/07/1975
Uzbekistan
UZ
2
10/07/1997 (A)
08/10/1997
Vanuatu
VU
6
17/07/1989 (A)
15/10/1989
Venezuela
VE
3
24/10/1977 (R)
22/01/1978
Viet Nam
VN
2
20/01/1994 (A)
20/04/1994
Yemen
YE
2
05/05/1997 (A)
03/08/1997
Yugoslavia Zambia
ZM
1
24/11/1980 (A)
22/02/1981
Zimbabwe
ZW
1
19/05/1981 (A)
17/08/1981
***Finally, a SOLUTION. Read the First draft of the International Oversight Council CITES Amendment...CLICK THIS LINK!!!*** (this section is BRAND NEW!!!)
- Alliances: Create tactful alliances with interest groups that have similar goals. Funding, public relations, and political power would be greater than the sum of all partsc. Brazilian
- Lobbying: Create a lobbying strategy for influencing key political players on conservation issues, especially the Foreign Aid Bill that is approved twice a year.
- Corporate: Coerce polluting American companies to purchase protected Amazon areas to remedy their own environmental sins.
- IBAMA: Befriend the IBAMA through contacts, public relations, and financial incentivesd. Indigenous
- President: Use the new President's own pro-environment campaign platform to ease new environmental policy through the legislative process. Political capitol should be a very useful tool in this situation.
- Education: Create elementary education programs in cooperation with indigenous people to make them an integral part of environmental education/
- Appeasement Oversight: To establish and maintain an oversight committee that would ensure the appeasement of indigenous people. Because their help and cooperation are critical for our success, we must keep them happy. Nothing should be done that would harm their living environment or livelihood.
