Exclusive to the Amazon River Basin in Brazil, the Ipe tree produces the most expensive wood in the world. On the market, one cubic meter of Ipe wood costs $3,775 (approximately 90 million VND). 96% of the world’s Ipe wood is sourced from Brazil. As a result, logging gangs in Brazil are aggressively targeting this type of wood, leading to the increasing endangerment of Ipe trees.
According to the International Tropical Timber Organization, biologically, Ipe trees usually grow alone, intermixed with other types of trees, and it takes between 80 to 100 years to reach a trunk diameter of over 1 meter. Ipe wood is resistant to termites, fungi, and high humidity, and it is also difficult to ignite, making it highly sought after in European, American, and Canadian markets.
Ipe trees being transported to the sawmill.
It is commonly used for flooring, wall paneling, staircases, steps, furniture, or as interior decoration for luxurious yachts, and even inside a private jet owned by an oil tycoon from the Middle East, which features very thin Ipe wood panels!
Due to its high value, Ipe wood is a tempting target for logging gangs in Brazil. The International Tropical Timber Organization reports that Brazil’s forests contain seven types of Ipe trees, with the cheapest costing $1,752 per cubic meter and the most expensive at $3,775. Between 2017 and 2021, at least 525 million cubic meters of Ipe wood were exported abroad.
A report published on July 18, 2022, shows many signs indicating that Ipe trees are at risk of extinction. Luciano Evaristo, director of Brazil’s environmental protection agency, stated: “On average, there is only 0.5 cubic meters of Ipe wood per hectare of forest in Brazil. This means that loggers have to clear the forest to create access roads for cranes, with some stretches longer than 10 kilometers just to fell one Ipe tree.”
Following a group of loggers, a reporter from Latin America Today described the logging operation as follows: “First, 2 or 3 individuals scout for Ipe trees. They are equipped with modern technology, including GPS devices, satellite phones, food, and waterproof tents. Each trip can last a week, or even 10 to 15 days. When they find an Ipe tree, they mark its location and continue searching for others. Once they locate 10 to 15 trees with a diameter sufficient to yield several dozen cubic meters, they return.”
A piece of Ipe wood for sale at $8,700.
Based on this information, the logging gang calculates the route they need to clear to bring in cranes. To avoid detection by satellites and forest rangers, the road’s width is just enough for the vehicle. Taking advantage of the solitary growth characteristic of Ipe, loggers use cranes with steel arms to grip the tree trunk; once cut, the steel arm lowers the trunk to the ground without knocking over nearby trees, making it difficult to detect from satellite images. After felling, the Ipe wood is transported by crane to a collection area for trucks to take it to processing sites. The “blind eye” turned by some forest ranger officials has led to substantial profits from Ipe wood, resulting in the term “Ipe mafias” to refer to the logging gangs operating in the Amazon River Basin.
To facilitate exports, the Ipe mafias collude with some companies involved in the legal harvesting, processing, and export of timber, creating “ghost” surveys that inflate the number of Ipe trees in a given area by several times. Following this, the “Ipe mafias” connect with certain forest officials to obtain certification for legal logging.
In May, the Brazilian government faced accusations not only of turning a blind eye to illegal logging in the Amazon but also actively participating in these activities. The Minister of the Environment was investigated and resigned, while the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (IBAMA) was suspended. Both were accused of enabling companies to exceed the allowable limits for logging in the Amazon, including Ipe wood.
Currently, Ipe logging is quietly but rampantly occurring in northern and western Pará state, northwestern Mato Grosso, northern Rondônia, and southern Amazonas state. The area of forest where the Brazilian federal government permits Ipe cutting is 2.5 million hectares, but according to estimates by the International Tropical Timber Organization, the area being illegally logged for Ipe totals 16 million hectares, six times larger than the permitted area.
A spokesperson for the International Tropical Timber Organization stated: “The high value of Ipe wood has encouraged illegal logging, leading to other criminal activities.” Furthermore, according to the organization, without transparency and publicly available data, it is very difficult to distinguish between legally and illegally harvested Ipe wood sourced from five of the seven states with the largest Ipe tree populations in Brazil. Preventing the extinction of Ipe trees requires more decisive action.
Daniel Bentes, director of the Brazilian Association of Forestry Companies, indicated that permits only account for 2% of the domestic natural wood production. This figure is minimal compared to the potential of 35 million hectares of native forest. Thus, where does the remaining 98% of production come from if not from illegal logging? Daniel Bentes stated: “Addressing this situation depends on assessing the current and future Ipe tree stocks, at least for the next 50 years, to plan for sustainable harvesting, as the growth of this species is very slow. If management continues as it currently is, timber harvesting and processing companies, as well as forest protection communities, will not be able to stop the activities of the ‘Ipe mafias.’”
