兩個祕魯原住民團體和美國保育組織「自然資源防護協會」(NRDC)6日提出訴訟，控訴由祕魯亞馬遜流域進口的桃花心木進口至美國製作成高級傢俱，此舉已造成雙重違法，有三個聯邦機搆涉入此案。他們向位於紐約市的美國國際貿易法庭提出此項訴訟。據這些團體表示，由秘魯出口至國外的桃花心木幾乎皆為非法砍伐。
訴訟狀中指控︰進口桃花心木到美國是違法的，因為它違反了美國瀕危物種法案，及一個主要的國際合約——國際瀕臨絕種動植物貿易公約(華盛頓公約，CITES)。
自然資源防護協會表示，亞馬遜的伐木活動威脅到原住民社區、野生生物和倖存的桃花心木本身。專家預測，以目前砍伐的腳步，桃花心木將在10年內在商業市場上絕跡。
在他們的訴訟當中，自然資源防護協會和兩個秘魯的團體「馬德雷德迪奧斯原住民聯盟」(FENAMAD)與熱帶雨林行動組織Racimos de Ungurahui，要求聯邦單位禁止所有非法桃花心木進口到美國，且下令沒收進口商以不合法手段進口的現存祕魯桃花心木。
「非法的伐木工侵入那些刻意與世隔絕的原住民同胞們的生活領域，掠奪了原住民保留區的自然資源，將置我們的同胞於疾病和暴力的危機中」，27個秘魯原住民社區聯盟副主席Victor Kamena Manuaje表示。「我們的訴求是公義以及法律的支持，為我們生存的權利和領土獲得尊重。」
繼這場美國國際貿易法庭的訴訟之後，自然資源防護協會與「野生物保衛者」（Defenders of Wildlife）要進一步要求美國家具製造業者不使用秘魯桃花心木製造其產品，這些業者包括Stickley、Furniture Brands International，和Henkel-Harris and Hekman。
透過消除有利可圖的桃花心木走私市場，自然資源防護協會與其夥伴希望促使秘魯伐木產業的變革，讓非法伐木消失無蹤。
Doubly illegal, mahogany from the Peruvian Amazon is being imported into the United States for deluxe furniture under the noses of three federal agencies, according to a lawsuit filed today by two Peruvian indigenous groups and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a U.S. conservation organization. The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City. Nearly all of Peru mahogany exports are logged illegally, the groups say.
Importing it into the United States is illegal because it violates the U.S. Endangered Species Act and a major international treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the lawsuit charges.
Logging in the Amazon threatens native communities, wildlife, and survival of the mahogany species itself, the NRDC says. At the current pace, experts predict that mahogany will be commercially extinct within a decade.
In their lawsuit, NRDC and two Peruvian groups – Native Federation of Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) and Racimos de Ungurahui – are asking that the federal agencies stop all illegally traded Peruvian mahogany from entering the United States, and that the importers be ordered to forfeit illegally imported Peruvian mahogany already in the country.
“Illegal loggers are invading the territories of our indigenous brothers, who live in voluntary isolation, to plunder the natural resources in their reserve, putting them at risk from disease and violence,” said Victor Kamena Manuaje, vice president of, a coalition of 27 indigenous Peruvian communities. “Our claim is just and supported by the law – to get respect for our right to life and our territory.”
The lawsuit at the U.S. Court of International Trade follows an effort by NRDC and Defenders of Wildlife to ensure that furniture manufacturers, including Stickley, Furniture Brands International, Henkel-Harris and Hekman, do not use Peruvian mahogany in their products.
By eliminating the lucrative market for contraband mahogany, NRDC and its partners hope to spur Peruvian logging industry reform and put an end to illegal logging.
