There has been considerable concern in the stringed instrument world concerning the trade in, and movement of, pernambuco/Brazilwood bows. This followed a proposal from the Brazilian government to move paubrasilia echinata (pernambuco/Brazilwood) from Appendix II to Appendix I on the CITES list (CoP19 Prop. 49), effectively stopping international trade of the wood in its unfinished and finished forms.
The working group on proposal CoP19 Prop. 49 after discussion in the seventh session of Committee I (see document CoP19 Com. I Rec. 7) proposed a draft amendment.
The original proposal (in italics) to be replaced with the amendment (in bold).
Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I of Paubrasilia echinata in accordance with Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP17), Annex I, Paragraph A) i) habitat where the species occurs is reducing and v) the species is suffering selective logging and Paragraph B) iii) the species is suffering selective logging and iv) a decrease
in the area and quality of habitat and in the number of individuals, and with the following annotation.
Annotation
All parts, derivatives and finished products, including bows of musical instruments, except musical instruments and their parts, composing travelling orchestras, and solo musicians carrying musical passports in accordance with Res. 16.8.
Maintain Paubrasilia echinata in Appendix II with the following annotation which would replace current Annotation #10: All parts, derivatives and finished products, except re-export of finished musical instruments, finished musical instrument accessories and finished musical instrument parts.
What this means is that when the new status comes into operation on 23 February 2023 initial shipments of pernambuco, in all forms, including finished bows, from Brazil will require CITES permits but subsequent movements of ‘finished musical instruments, finished musical instrument accessories and finished musical instrument parts’ will be exempt from the requirement.
This was agreed after strong representations in a document submitted by the United States of America which, it points out, ‘does not reflect the official position of the United States. However, it presents the views of certain representatives of the private sector, which may help inform the discussion.’
The decision has met with a mixed response. Within the bow trade there is great relief. ‘We are very pleased with the outcome and the spirit of cooperation on the part of Brazil and other CITES Parties that made this consensus result possible.’ (Daniel J. Weisshaar, president of the International Alliance of Violin and Bow Makers for Endangered Species, reported in The Strad.)
https://www.thestrad.com/news/future-of-pernambuco-decided-at-cites-convention/15818.article
While some working in environmental protection were disappointed:
‘The whole world agrees to oppose deforestation in the Amazon. However, for the Brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata), CITES is sensitive to the music of chainsaws and is not concerned about the disappearance of Brazil’s last Atlantic forests.’‘
https://robindesbois.org/en//?s=paubrasilia&x=7&y=9
Bow makers and those in associated trades should not regard this as a victory but rather a wake-up call. Unless the bow trade not only promotes reforestation schemes (which it does) but also actively takes a stand against the widespread illegal activity, in which it seems at least some members of the trade are active participants, then this issue will keep returning.
The Brazil delegation also called on CITES to ‘assess the possibilities of establishing a traceability system to record the origin of bows’; how this might work remains to be seen.
The official notice of decisions and resolutions has not yet been released and future actions should be taken in accordance with that document.
A communication (02.12.2022) from the CITES Secretariat to the author of this blog states: ‘Resolutions and Decisions adopted at meetings of the Conference of the Parties enter into effect 90 days after the last day of the CoP, i.e. on 23 February 2023 for CoP19. All adopted Decisions and Resolutions will be published in all three languages shortly before their date of entry into effect.’
A final word of caution, there is nothing to stop individual countries going beyond the restrictions imposed by CITES so a certain amount of due diligence will still be required.
This is a guide only and Tim Toft Violins accepts no liability for its accuracy and strongly urges any one requiring a definitive ruling to contact the appropriate authorities.