Annex 3

Working Group on the Bigleaf Mahogany
and Other Neotropical Timber Species¹

1. Terms of reference of the Working Group on the Bigleaf Mahogany and Other Neotropical Timber Species:

a) The group shall work under the auspices of the Plants Committee;

b) The group shall act as a hub to circulate and exchange experiences on the sustainable use and management of these species;

c) The group shall contribute to the strengthening of capacities in range States;

d) The group shall facilitate a complete and effective implementation of the Review of Significant Trade in the bigleaf mahogany in the range States concerned by this process;

e) The group shall draft up reports on progress made in the management and conservation of and trade in the bigleaf mahogany, as well as on lessons learnt, for submission at the 19th and 20th meetings of the Plants Committee, which shall agree on how to submit them at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16);

f) The group shall include, as one of its activities, an analysis of the information received from range States and from Parties on species included in Decision 14.146 (Rev. CoP15) and the present Annex;

g) The group shall facilitate and promote the exchange knowledge and experiences gained as a result of the inclusion of Cedrela odorata, Dalbergia retusa, Dalbergia granadillo and Dalbergia stevensonii in Appendix III; and

h) The chair of the working group shall produce written reports for the Plants Committee on the tasks specified in the paragraphs above for consideration at its 19th and 20th meetings, and shall submit them to the Secretariat 60 days before those meetings are held.

2. Membership:

a) All range States;

b) The main importers of mahogany: the Dominican Republic, the United States of America and the European Union (Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland);

c) The two regional representatives of Central and South America and the Caribbean on the Plants Committee;

d) Intergovernmental organizations: the European Union, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD, Central American Commission on the Environment and Development);

e) Additionally, the Plants Committee shall select:

i) Two experts from two scientific institutions with relevant experience in forestry and management of neotropical timber species;

ii) Two experts from non-governmental organizations with experience in the forest management of these species in the region; and

iii) Three representatives from organizations of exporters from the three main exporting Parties; and

f) The chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of the working group shall be undertaken by people from the range States who will be selected by the Plants Committee on the basis of their curricula vitae within a period of one month after the entry into force of the Decision. Should there be no candidate or should they resign from their functions during the intersessional period between CoP15 and CoP16, the regional representatives of Central and South America and the Caribbean shall act as interim chair or vice-chair of the group, as relevant.

¹	Note from the Secretariat: this Annex was originally adopted at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP14) and amended at CoP15.