BANGKOK, March 13 – The Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) unanimously voted Tuesday to list Siamese rosewood or payung trees on Appendix II, requiring exporters to produce official documents to prevent illegal logging of the endangered timber.
Suravich Wankrairote, a Thai specialist in biological technology on breeding development, said the stricter control under Cites’ Appendix II will effectively clamp down on the encroachment of payung trees.
He said the Thai authorities are capable of differentiating payung trees from other woods to prevent smuggling of Siam rosewood from Thailand.
He added that the government will encourage Thai people to plant payung trees as “economic plants” similar to teakwood.
