巴西花梨木、維拉木廣泛用於精油提煉 亟需加以保護
三年一度的華盛頓公約(國際瀕危物種貿易公約，CITES)締約國大會19日做出最新決議，兩種使用於化妝品以及香水的南美洲樹種，除少數例外情況，未來將列入禁止貿易之列。
此貿易管制禁令將在90天後生效，受管制的樹種為阿根廷所提案的維拉木(Bulnesia sarmientoi)與巴西提出的花梨木(Aniba rosaeodora Ducke)。這兩種樹木將被列入CITES附錄二，僅允許在嚴格的審核制度下進行國際貿易。
CITES官員唐納森(John Donaldson)說：「由於具有芳香的特性以及美麗的紋理，維拉木在文化以及經濟上具有非常大的價值。」
維拉木只生長南美洲中心地帶的大查科(Gran Chaco)生態系統中，包含阿根廷、玻利維亞、巴拉圭邊界以及巴西西南部一小部分；而在玻利維亞東南部新成立的卡阿──伊婭德爾(Kaa-Iya del)大查科國家公園中，則存在最後一個、也是最大一個未受開發的亞族群。
維拉木目前已列入國際自然保育聯盟(IUCN)受威脅物種紅皮書內，屬於低風險/需保育物種(LR/cd)。
傳統上，維拉木多用於製作工藝品、木工車床製品、柱子以及工具。近年來維拉木也應用於地板和細木作家具，以提高在國際市場上的價值。
維拉木精油，又稱為癒瘡木酚、鄰甲氧基苯酚，是由蒸餾法取得。由於具有溫和宜人的玫瑰或紫羅蘭香氣，廣泛用於香水工業。維拉木所含的乙酸乙酯可作為玫瑰芳香成分的天然固定劑。也可用來掩蓋合成過程中不好的氣味，以製作高級香皂或是製造化妝品的輔助劑；維拉木的乙酸乙酯亦可與除蟲菊混合以製成蚊香。
至於副產品木屑，則可以用溶劑處理，生產帕洛桑托(palo santo)樹脂，可用來製造亮光漆以及暗色的油漆。
帕洛桑托(維拉木)的價值在於對皮膚癒合的療效，同時也可以作為良好的木炭和高品質的木材。雖然木質十分致密，它仍很容易被點燃，並產生具芳香的煙霧。查科地區的原住民會利用維拉木樹皮治療胃病的問題。小塊木材也被用來作為進行某些靈性儀式中的天然薰香。
所謂的巴西花梨木其實原產於哥倫比亞、厄瓜多爾、法屬圭亞那、圭亞那、秘魯、蘇里南、委內瑞拉和巴西，屬於IUCN紅皮書內的瀕危物種(EN)。
為了取得木材中豐富的芳樟醇精油，巴西花梨木一直受到非永續方式的開採。此精油常用於高級香水中的香料以及香水中的固定劑。芳樟醇也在應用芳香與香水工業中，以生產一些高價值的化合物。
生產1鼓(180公斤)的精油需要18至20噸木材，大約需要砍伐9至10棵樹。
巴西在1937至2002年之間，出口了近1.3萬噸的花梨木精油。但經過幾十年非永續方式砍伐的結果，1990年代這種商品的產量大幅下跌。在1994年，巴西只生產了59噸的精油。
IUCN指出，移動式蒸餾工廠現在已深入到森林之中，雖然一般認為「在一些難以開發的地區，仍有相當數量的野生族群存活」。
由於合成精油的使用量增加，目前此樹種開採的程度有所下降，目前世界市場的消費量約為每年100噸。其木材其實也可以用來製造家具和獨木舟，但由於精油的高商業價值，很少會用於此一目的。
Two trees from South America used in the perfume and cosmetics industries will be protected from most commercial trade, governments at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, have decided.
Trade controls will enter into force in 90 days for holywood, Bulnesia sarmientoi, proposed for listing by Argentina; and Brazilian rosewood, Aniba rosaeodora Ducke, proposed for listing by Brazil.
Both trees will be listed on CITES Appendix II, which allows international commercial trade only under a strict permit system.
"The holywood is a tree of great cultural and economic value praised for its aromatic properties and the texture of its wood," said CITES official John Donaldson.
This tree only grows in the Gran Chaco ecosystem in the center of South America, around the Argentina-Bolivia-Paraguay border and a small part of southwestern Brazil.
One of the last and also the largest unexploited subpopulations grows in the newly established Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park in southeastern Bolivia.
The holywood tree is classed as Lower Risk/conservation dependent by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, on its Red List of Threatened Species.
Historically, this species has been used for handicrafts, wood-turned items, posts, and tools.
Recently, holywood timber also has been used in flooring and fine furniture that fetches high prices on international markets.
Holywood essential oil, known as guayacol, guajol or guayaco, is obtained by distillation. It is widely used in the perfume industry because of its mild and pleasant fragrance, which is similar to the rose or the violet.
The ethyl acetate of holywood is used as a natural fixative in rose aromatic compositions. It can also be used to perfume luxury soap by masking the unpleasant smell of synthetic components and as an excipient in the manufacturing of cosmetics.It is also mixed with pyrethrum to make mosquito coils.
Residual sawdust, a by-product, is treated with solvents to produce palo santo resin, which can be used to manufacture varnish and dark paints.
Palo santo is valued for the skin-healing properties of its essence and also because it provides good charcoal and a high quality timber. It ignites easily despite being so dense, and produces a fragrant smoke.
Natives of the Chaco region employ holywood bark to treat stomach problems. Small pieces of the wood are also used as a form of natural incense in spiritual rituals.
Called Brazilian rosewood, Aniba rosaeodora actually is native to Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela as well as Brazil. It is classed as Endangered on the IUCN's Red List.
Brazilian rosewood has been subject to unsustainable exploitation to obtain linalool-rich essential oil from its timber. The essential oil is used as a fragrance ingredient in fine perfumes and as a fixative for perfumes. Linalool also is used to produce several valuable compounds for the perfume and fragrance industry.
Between 18 tons and 20 tons of timber are needed to produce one 180 kilogram drum of essential oil, requiring the harvest of about nine to 10 trees.
Brazil exported close to 13,000 tons of rosewood essential oil between 1937 and 2002. But in the 1990s production of this commodity dropped sharply after decades of unsustainable harvest, and in 1994, Brazil produced only 59 tons of essential oil.
The IUCN says that now mobile distillation factories have moved deep into the forest, although "substantial wild stands are believed to exist in areas which are unlikely to be exploited."
Levels of exploitation have declined with increased use of synthetic oils, which the current world market consumes at the rate of about 100 tonnes per year.
Timber can also be used to make furniture and canoes but is rarely used for these purposes owing to the high commercial value of the essential oil.
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