Restricted and Endangered Wood Species

by Eric Meier

The issue and ethics surrounding the utilization of trees for lumber is oftentimes both expansive and ambiguous. Not only are there questions of sustainability (i.e., given the current rate of harvesting, can a particular species continue to reproduce at a sustainable rate so that demand will not outstrip supply?), but there’s also the matter of habitat destruction (i.e., even if a tree species can be sustainably harvested from the wild, would doing so destroy or endanger other species in the same habitat?).

Further mixed into this murky ****tail is the fact that for some countries—especially poorer third-world countries—lumber is big business, and placing a restriction on such a lucrative sector of their commerce would be seen as counter-productive, and consequently actual or potential levels of exploitation may not be easily or readily discovered.

However, despite the complexity of the issue, and the incomplete or even possibly faulty data, some information is better than no information. With these shortcomings in mind, there are two international entities that will be used and cited on this website, CITES and the IUCN.

CITES

An international agreement between governments was formed in 1973, called the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, or CITES for short. CITES has three different levels of protection for species, known as Appendices.

Appendix I – This appendix represents species that are in the most danger and are considered to be threatened with extinction, and are consequently the most restricted in international trade.

Appendix II – This appendix contains species that are at risk in the wild, but not necessarily threatened with extinction. Species in this appendix are closely regulated, but are typically not as restricted as Appendix I.

Appendix III – This appendix contains species that a certain country (called a “party” within CITES), has voluntarily requested to be regulated in order to help preserve the species in question. Appendix III species regulation is only applicable for the specific party that has requested its inclusion, and is therefore much less restrictive than Appendix I or II.

Although there are literally thousands of plant species protected under CITES, only a portion of these species are trees, and of the included tree species, only a relatively small portion of them are actually used as lumber. Thus, the list below is a condensed and simplified version of the CITES Appendices, including only the species of trees that are typically used or harvested for lumber.

CITES Listed Species
Common Name	Scientific Name	CITES Status	Listing Date (mm/dd/yy)
Afrormosia	Pericopsis elata	Appendix II	6/11/92
Ajo	Caryocar costaricense	Appendix II (including finished wood products)	7/1/75
Almendro	Dipteryx panamensis	Appendix III (including finished wood products; wood from Costa Rica, and Nicaragua only)	2/13/03
Bois de Rose	Dalbergia louvelii	Appendix III (wood from Madagascar only)	9/28/11
Brazilwood	Caesalpinia echinata	Appendix II	9/13/07
Cedar, Spanish	Cedrela odorata	Appendix III (wood from Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Guatemala, and Peru only)	6/12/01
Cocobolo	Dalbergia retusa	Appendix III (wood from Guatemala and Panama only)	2/12/08
Ebony, Madagascar	Diospyros spp.	Appendix III (wood from Madagascar only)	9/28/11
Lignum Vitae	Guaiacum spp.	Appendix II (including finished wood products)	2/13/03
Mahogany, Cuban	Swietenia mahagoni	Appendix II	6/11/92
Mahogany, Honduran	Swietenia macrophylla	Appendix II (wood from Neotropics only)	11/16/95
Mahogany, Mexican	Swietenia humilis	Appendix II (including finished wood products)	7/1/75
Monkey Puzzle	Araucaria araucana	Appendix I (including finished wood products)	7/1/75
Podocarp, Black Pine	Podocarpus neriifolius	Appendix III (including finished wood products, wood from Nepal only)	11/16/75
Ramin	Gonystylus spp.	Appendix II (including finished wood products)	8/6/01
Rosewood, Brazilian	Dalbergia nigra	Appendix I (including finished wood products)	6/11/92
Rosewood, Honduran	Dalbergia stevensonii	Appendix III (wood from Guatemala only)	2/12/08
Rosewood, Madagascar	Dalbergia madagascariensis	Appendix III (wood from Madagascar only)	9/28/11
Sandalwood, Red	Pterocarpus santalinus	Appendix II	2/16/95
Stinkwood, Red	Prunus africana	Appendix II (including finished wood products)	2/16/95
Verawood	Bulnesia sarmientoi	Appendix II	6/23/10

 

Note that a listing generally means that trade of the raw wood, either in log, board, or veneer form, is restricted. On some species, the restriction is even greater, and includes even finished products made of or including a protected wood: one of the most common instances of this is with guitars made of Brazilian Rosewood. In these instances, it is illegal to take such items across international borders without a proper export permit.

If you believe that the wood or finished wood product was harvested/made before the date of the CITES listing, you still cannot legally travel with or export the wood unless you have written proof or other evidence that it was obtained before the listing date. If you have the required evidence, and are willing to pay a processing fee and wait 2-3 months for processing, then you may be eligible for a Pre-Convention Certificate.

In most cases, importing/exporting raw wood listed on CITES Appendices I or II can be complicated and costly, and in most cases, is neither legal nor encouraged. Some wood is further restricted to include even finished wood products, and in all but the most exceptional cases, is not recommended.

If ever in doubt on such complicated issues, be sure to consult proper authorities to get a matter clarified.

• CITES
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service

 

IUCN

Founded in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (or IUCN for short) is both the oldest and largest network dealing with global environmental issues. Perhaps most notably for woodworkers, the IUCN publishes what is known as the The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

Species included on the Red List fall into one of three categories:

Critically Endangered: Reportedly facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.

Endangered: Not critically endangered, but reportedly still facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

Vulnerable: Not endangered, but reportedly still facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

It should be noted that “the immediate future” here is relative: the IUCN uses the gauge of three generations to determine a species’ rate of depletion. With mammals and other shorter-lived organisms, this tri-generational window may only be a few years or decades. However, since trees can be extremely long-lived, (several decades or even centuries for a single generation), the overall timeline for endangered trees is generally more drawn-out than other endangered species.

In addition to the three listed categories above, there’s also a few other assessments that the IUCN makes on species:

Near Threatened: Technically doesn’t meet the Red List criteria of a vulnerable or endangered species, but is close to qualifying and/or may qualify in the near future.

Conservation Dependent: Currently the focus of a species or habitat-species conservation program. Cessation of such conservation programs would shortly result in the species being listed on the Red List.

Data Deficient: Either not enough data to make an accurate assessment, or a species’ listing has been disputed or challenged.

Least Concern: Species that aren’t near threatened, and are not dependent on conservation efforts.

It should also be noted that one unintentional shortcoming of the Red List is that it only considers the risk of extinction; broader issues dealing with habitat destruction or deforestation are not considered. Also, it doesn’t necessarily take into account the maturity of the trees (i.e., centuries-old trees are cut down, and subsequently replanted with saplings).

Red List Species
Common Name	Scientific Name	IUCN Red List Status
Afrormosia	Pericopsis elata	Endangered
Afzelia	Afzelia spp.	Vulnerable/Endangered
Balau	Shorea spp.	Critically Endangered
Bois de Rose	Dalbergia maritima	Endangered
Bosse	Guarea cedrata	Vulnerable
Brazilwood	Caesalpinia echinata	Endangered
Cedar, Port Orford	Chamaecyparis lawsoniana	Vulnerable
Cedar, Spanish	Cedrela odorata	Vulnerable
Cocobolo	Dalbergia retusa	Vulnerable
Ebony, Brown	Caesalpinia paraguariensis	Vulnerable
Ebony, Gaboon	Diospyros crassiflora	Endangered
Ebony, Macassar	Diospyros celebica	Vulnerable
Ebony, Mun	Diospyros mun	Critically Endangered
Idigbo	Terminalia ivorensis	Vulnerable
Imbuia	Ocotea porosa	Vulnerable
Iroko	Milicia spp.	Vulnerable
Lignum Vitae	Guaiacum spp.	Endangered
Mahogany, African	Khaya spp.	Vulnerable
Mahogany, Cuban	Swietenia mahogani	Endangered
Mahogany, Honduran	Swietenia macrophylla	Vulnerable
Makore	Tieghemella heckelii	Endangered
Meranti	Shorea spp.	Critically Endangered
Merbau	Intsia spp.	Vulnerable
Narra	Pterocarpus indicus	Vulnerable
Nyatoh	Palaquiuim spp.	Vulnerable
Peroba Rosa	Aspidosperma polyneuron	Endangered
Pine, Longleaf	Pinus palustris	Vulnerable
Pine, Sumatran	Pinus merkusii	Vulnerable
Ramin	Gonystylus spp.	Vulnerable
Redwood	Sequoia sempervirens	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Brazilian	Dalbergia nigra	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Burmese	Dalbergia oliveri	Endangered
Rosewood, East Indian	Dalbergia latifolia	Vulnerable
Rosewood, Madagascar	Dalbergia baronii	Vulnerable
Sapele	Entandrophragma cylindricum	Vulnerable
Satinwood, Ceylon	Chloroxylon swietenia	Vulnerable
Satinwood, West Indian	Zanthoxylum flavum	Vulnerable
Utile	Entandrophragma utile	Vulnerable
Walnut, African	Lovoa trichilioides	Vulnerable
Walnut, Claro	Juglans californica	Vulnerable
Walnut, Peruvian	Juglans spp.	Endangered
Wenge	Millettia laurentii	Endangered
Zebrawood	Microberlinia brazzavillensis	Vulnerable

 

Borderline IUCN Species
Common Name	Scientific Name	IUCN Status
Amendoim	Pterogyne nitens	Near Threatened
Andiroba	Carapa spp.	Endangered (single species)
Anigre	Pouteria spp.	Conservation Dependent
Araracanga	Aspidosperma megalocarpon	Near Threatened
Blackwood, African	Dalbergia melanoxylon	Near Threatened
Blackwood, Burmese	Dalbergia cultrata	Near Threatened
Camphor	Cinnamomum spp.	Endangered/Vulnerable (three species)
Greenheart	Chlorocardium rodiei	Data Deficient
Juniper, African	Juniperus procera	Near Threatened
Kempas	Koompassia malaccensis	Conservation Dependent
Macacauba	Platymiscium spp.	Endangered (single species)
Mango	Mangifera indica	Data Deficient
Mesquite, Black	Prosopis nigra	Data Deficient
Muninga	Pterocarpus angolensis	Near Threatened
Padauk, Andaman	Pterocarpus dalbergioides	Data Deficient
Pau Ferro	Machaerium spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Paulownia	Paulownia spp.	Critically Endangered (single species)
Pine, Radiata	Pinus radiata	Conservation Dependent
Pine, Sand	Pinus clausa	Near Threatened
Pistachio	Pistacia vera	Near Threatened
Quebracho	Schinopsis spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Rengas	Gluta spp.	Vulnerable (single species)
Verawood	Bulnesia sarmientoi	Conservation Dependent
Yew, Pacific	Taxus brevifolia	Near Threatened

 

IUCN 2012. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <http://www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 14 December 2012.