Mozambique risks being banned from the international trade of endangered forest species, including the highly valuable African blackwood (pau-preto), due to non-compliance with export regulations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Notícias reported on Tuesday, July 29.
The warning was issued in Lichinga, Niassa Province, during a seminar on CITES regulations by representatives of the Convention’s Scientific Authority, who voiced concern over the ongoing international circulation of pau-preto timber without proper traceability by national authorities.
Mozambique is currently the world’s largest holder of African blackwood—a species of high commercial value sought after mainly in Asia and Europe for luxury furniture and musical instruments. However, weak enforcement and rising smuggling activities have placed the country under international scrutiny. Ernesto Witimane Júnior, from the Forestry Department at Eduardo Mondlane University, told Rádio Moçambique that urgent action is needed to curb trafficking and safeguard state revenues. “The uncontrolled export of pau-preto threatens biodiversity and represents a major fiscal loss that could otherwise support national development,” he stated.
CITES may impose sanctions on Mozambique, including suspending the legal export of timber listed in its annexes, unless the government demonstrates progress in enforcing effective control and traceability systems. The seminar also stressed that sustainable forest resource management requires not only legislative and institutional reform but also active participation from local communities and accountability for trafficking networks that operate with impunity.
The event aimed to strengthen national stakeholders’ understanding of Mozambique’s obligations under CITES and to promote best practices in forest management that ensure the legal and sustainable use and economic valuation of natural resources.
Source: Diário Económico
