Thailand, Vietnam Seek Controls on Rosewood Trade

Thailand and Vietnam have called for strict controls to be placed on the international trade of rosewood in an attempt to prevent the luxury wood species from be­ing logged to extinction. Cambodia currently exports thousands of cubic meters of the wood to China each year, and high demand for the lucrative timber has sent dozens of Cam­bo­dians on deadly searches into Thai territory in recent years. Last year alone, 45 Cambodians were shot dead by Thai authorities while hunting for rosewood. The proposal is on the agenda for discussion at a 12-day conference that began on Sunday in Bangkok involving the 177 countries party to the Convention on International Trade in Endan­gered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It calls for logs, sawn wood and veneer sheets of Siamese rosewood—found in Cam­bodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos—to appear on CITES’ list of endangered species. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thailand-vietnam-seek-controls-on-rosewood-trade-12299/