According to the Ministry of the Environment (Miambiente), this species, known as Dalbergia retusa and coveted in China for its properties for making luxury furniture, is felled indiscriminately, particularly in ecological reserves such as Soberanía and Chagres Parks.
The head of the department, Milciades Concepción, explained that a specialized team was formed to deal with this crime, made up of officials from that department, the Ministry of Security and the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation.
“We saw networks of Central American countries trading species, timber and metals, and there was no environmental information,” he said.
The Minister also highlighted the country’s commitment to the issue after Panama hosted the 19th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In this forum, the Deputy Director of Miambiente, Diana Laguna, proposed listing the cocobolo in Appendix I (prohibition of export) of Cites because of the risk of extinction.
Trade and illegal logging of cocobolo increased from 2013 when the Central American country listed the timber on CITES Appendix II (regulated trade) as part of measures to regulate sustainable trade.
According to Miambiente, criminal structures extract the wood from legally protected primary forests in the Panama Canal watershed.
The latest case was registered this week when the National Police seized 224 pieces of cocobolo wood and arrested two people in the Pacora area east of this capital.
The cargo was in a container in the municipality of Las Garzas and was probably taken from the Soberanía Park.
Elvin Ortíz, head of the environmental police, stressed that the cocobolo is a species protected by national and international laws as it is threatened with extinction.
Between January and October 2022, the public prosecutor’s office received 336 cases related to crimes against the environment and land use planning, i.e. one per day.
The provinces where the most irregularities of this type are committed this year are the provinces of Panama, Chiriquí and Darién.
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