Los Guardianes de la Selva

USING INTELLIGENCE AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE AS DEFORESTATION DETERRENTS

USING INTELLIGENCE AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE AS DEFORESTATION DETERRENTS 2

Los Guardianes De La Selva

WHATS WRONG WITH BIG LEAF MAHOGANY?

Mahogany: A popular wood used to create high quality furniture. Mahogany is valued for its tight grain, majestic red undertones, durability, and resistance to decay.1 Mahogany wood products are considered luxury items, fetching high prices on the furniture market. One of the more desirable and genuine

mahogany varieties is Big-Leafed Mahogany, or Swietenia macrophylla. Historically, it was used as a substitute for Cuban Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), which was overharvested by Spains shipbuilding industry and became endangered. In turn, Big Leaf Mahogany itself has now become threatened. In response, countries like Nicaragua and Brazil, have banned the exportation of its timbers.2 However, high prices and the relative isolation of Amazonian rainforests have incentivized illegal deforestation operations in the rainforests of eastern Per. These camps continue to spring up, even in areas that are clearly protected by domestic and international law. There is a global need for action against extralegal Switenia macrophylla logging before its too late.

WHY PERU?

Big Leaf Mahogany is listed as vulnerable on the CITIES list of endangered species3, and Per is the last remaining bulk exporter of its naturally-grown timber.4 The Peruvian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, and the removal of Swietenia macrophylla trees will have a serious nagative impact on the local habitats of other vulnerable plants and animals, like the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). Large parts of the Peruvian Amazon have recently become more accessible due to the contruction of roads and the pressures of development. The time to act in Per is now, before irreparable damage is done. These patches of forest are not just important to Peruvians, but also to the global concern for oxygen production, carbon reduction, and climate change. Per has adequate legal frameworks to protect these vital patches of forest; now they need to be enforced.

1. Hardwoods (Mahogany - Obeche). Hardwood Pricing Guide: Mahogany to Obeche. West Wind Hard Wood Incorporated, Web. 14 Apr. 2013.

2. Swietenia Macrophylla. Sustainable Forest Products. 3. Bigleaf Mahogany. CITIES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. .4. Forest Legality Alliance. http://www.forestlegality.org/risk-tool/species/swietenia-macrophylla

An Illegal logging camp near Perus Ucayali River Image taken by Toby Smith and the EIA as part of an investigation: The Laundering MachineImage used with permission

USING INTELLIGENCE AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE AS DEFORESTATION DETERRENTS 3

Los Guardianes De La Selva

SOCIAL INJUSTICE

Illegal logging camps can be detrimental to the indigenous communities they invade. Loggers present a major threat to a forests indigenous people. They bring disease, they destroy food & water resources, and they murder local residents who seek legal protection. Invasions of nationally protected indigenous reserves have been on the rise since Swietenia macrophylla have become scarce outside of protected zones.5

There is also a substantial amount of forced labor and sexual slavery within the logging camps. Locals are recruited to the camps with promises of good pay - which is not what they find. Men are forced to work grueling hours and are grossly overcharged for basic provisions.6 Women are trafficked for sex with few resources to turn to for escape. There are few medical supplies in the camps and workers who become ill are typically left to die in the forest.

LEGAL FRAMEWORKS

The USA imports 80% of Pers mahogany. As an attempt to control the trade of this desirable commodity, the US/Peruvian governments and other international organizations have created a number of state, federal, bilateral, and global trade agreements. STATE LEVEL: California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2012

US FEDERAL LEVEL: U.S. Lacey Act (2008 Amendment)

PERUVIAN FEDERAL LEVEL: The Seventh Complementary Disposition of the Forestry and Wildlife law (Law N 27308) - 2000

BILATERAL LEVEL: United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) - 2006 INTERNATIONAL LEVEL: UN International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) - Ratified by Peru in 2010

Unfortunately, despite the abundance of legal protections, the proliferation of forged timber documentation has rendered most of these laws ineffectual. Many Swietenia macrophylla trees are illegally harvested from reserve lands but are marked as having come from legal logging concessions.7

5. National Geographic. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/mahogany/wallace-text6. Survival International. http://www.survivalinternational.org/campaigns/threats7. The Environmental Investigation Agency. www.eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Laundering-Machine.pdf

A Sawmill that processes Amazonian timber Image taken by Toby Smith and the EIA as part of an investigation: The Laundering MachineImage used with permission

USING INTELLIGENCE AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE AS DEFORESTATION DETERRENTS 4

Los Guardianes De La Selva

A NEW LEVERAGING TOOL: LOS GUARDIANES DE LA SELVA

Los Guardianes de la Selva is an initiative designed to protect specific patches of Swietenia macropylla against the threat of illegal logging. The project will launch with a dual pronged approach that marries grassroots conservation to emerging technologies.

Programmatic Projects

EXPANSION OF THE CROWD SOURCED RESEARCH PLATFORM

Utilizes pro-bono reports from researchers in relevant fields: anthropology, sattellite tech, biology, environmental crime prevention, intl law, etc

Provides vital information to Los Guardianes while also expanding their reach and exposure. All research reports released under creative commons licence.

IDENTIFICATION OF AT-RISK AREAS (USING GIS MAPPING)

Factors used in vulnerability mapping include, but are not limited to:

Location of Natural Growth Mahogany Stands

Deforestation Trends

Regions protected by Perus law 28736; federal indigenous land protection act

Municipal/Regional Govt Corruption Index

Proximity to roads, paths, waterways, or other timber exportation outlets

Proximity to known timber laundering facilities

Topographical suitability for base-camp creation such as elevation or slope.

CREATION OF A GRASSROOTS INFORMATION NETWORK: THE FOREST GUARD (LOS GUARDIANES DE LA SELVA)

Seek out multilingual field representatives to serve as intermediaries between local whistleblowers and the central office. Intermediaries are used for cultural and linguistic reasons - to build trust.

Recruit local whistleblowers to periodically check on at-risk zones within their territorial reserve. These members also monitor a variety of societal factors and socially based dangers.

SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE INFORMATION NETWORK:

DELPOY NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Use keyword based online data-gathering to: supplement research projects, develop GIS maps, and follow up on suspicious activity.

Use satellite imaging to detect deforestation-in-progress and to perform spot-checks on areas of concern.

Use UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to take detailed pictures of active camps, and to gather the logistical data needed for camp-dispursement.

Hornbill Surveys Skywalker Model Recommended by Lian Pin Koh of Conservation Drones Consultation provided by HackManhattan

USING INTELLIGENCE AND POLITICAL LEVERAGE AS DEFORESTATION DETERRENTS 5

Los Guardianes De La Selva

USING DATA AS LEVERAGE

Share data with NGO partners to increase media exposure and global pressure to disperse the camp.

Share data with corporations looking to make Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the Peruvian Amazon - putting Limas money on the line.

Share data with the national and regional forestry agencies which are in charge of timber enforcement.

Promote any action on the part of the Peruvian government (local or national) to remove the camp. Create a positive media report upon their success.

LONG TERM GOALS

DEVELOP NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES IN AT RISK ZONES:

REPLACE THE INCENTIVES FOR MAHOGANY EXTRACTION

Use microfinance banks, sustainablility initiatives, and private equity investors to fund ecofriendly businesses in at-risk zones.

Businesses will be launched with robust equity transfer plans, where the ownership of the businesses are slowly tranferred to local residents.

Perspective business concepts: Mahogany seed gathering, Certified artisan collectives, Recycling facilities, 3D printing center, & Herbal Farming.

PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES

Launch a robust praise campaign to promote companies exhibiting excellent Corporate Social Responsibility.

These companies can include: logging concessions, sawmills, exporters/importers, lumber retailers, furniture factories, and any other business which handles Swietenia macrophylla.

CLOSING STATEMENT

We at Los Guardianes de la Selva aspire to make a substantial difference in the realms of: Biodiversity, Deforestation, Global Oxygen Production, Indigenous Rights Protection, and Environmental Crime.

Our combination of local inigenous knowledge and innovative information technology has laid the foundation for the most comprehensive whistleblower project ever mounted against the illicit mahogany trade - all the way to the point of extraction.