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Samples of impounded, endangered Rosewood in special US lab for indentification
View(s):Samples from 28 containers of smuggled Rosewood impounded by Sri Lanka Customs in April, are being tested in a special laboratory in the US to determine their species and origin, officials said.
“A total of 84 small blocks- three per container, are now with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory,” said Chris Corkey, Economic and Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Colombo. The results, expected in a month, will shed valuable light on the illicit global trade in Rosewood.
Some species of Rosewood, such as those of Madagascan origin, are now listed as endangered. Among other things, Madagascan Rosewood is used to make clarinets and is becoming increasingly dear. It is yet not known from where the 3,669 trunks found and confiscated in Colombo- the largest ever such detection in the world, had been felled. Weighing a total of 420 metric tons, it was a transshipment consignment being sent to an East Asian country.
Trade in plants and animals listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is illegal. Mr Corkey said that the Sri Lanka Customs has done remarkably well in enforcing the Convention, often withstanding pressure. “Illicit trafficking enriches certain parties that would prefer if certain shipments are not detected or seized,” he pointed out.
The Forensics Laboratory will use a variety of techniques to determine the species of Rosewood in the containers, Mr Corkey explained, while it would be more difficult to trace their origin.
“This is one lab with sufficint samples from around the world that can help it do that,” he said. “The question, whether the wood is endangered or not, can be determined by its origin. There are multiple varieties of Rosewood, including some from India that are not endangered. All Rosewood from Madagascar are listed in Appendix II of CITES.”
The value of the consignment could not be determined immediately, but Mr Corkey placed it at between US$ 25 to 50 million. “It could be higher, depending on how much blackwood is there,” he said. Blackwood are also timber trees.
The Forensics lab is doing the tests free of charge. A Bangkok-based enforcement officer from the US Fish and Wildlife Service was in Sri Lanka recently to assist in the process of dispatching the samples.
Mr. Corkey said the tests cost around US$ 500 per sample. Once a determination is made, the information will be shared with the Sri Lanka Government. “Sri Lanka then has its domestic procedures to pursue prosecution,” he explained.
Sri Lanka Customs announced at the time of the detection that it had information of a Rosewood smuggling racket through sea routes passing Sri Lankan waters. The consignments came from the African continent, it said.