A pernambuco tree in flower. Photo by Juliana Neves. Inset: Bow tip using pernambuco wood. Photo courtesy of L’atelier d’Arthur.
In Tuesday’s (11/18) Al Jazeera, Sam Meadows writes, “The majority of high-end [string instrument] bows are made from brazilwood, also known as pernambuco. Prized for its reddish hue and durability, brazilwood is beloved among musicians…. A proposal to bolster restrictions could mean musicians would need to register their instruments in order to travel abroad or sell them…. The issue is set to come to a head next week, as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) holds its 20th meeting…. A proposal authored by the Brazilian government would increase CITES protections for brazilwood, placing it in the highest tier for trade restrictions…. Trade of plants and animals in [Appendix I] is largely banned, except for non-commercial use. But even in that case, both import and export licenses are required…. Brazil argues the upgraded restrictions are necessary to fight the plant’s extinction…. Currently, under Appendix II, there is an exemption for finished brazilwood products that allows musicians to travel freely with their bows…. Heather Noonan, vice president for advocacy at the League of American Orchestras, worries that the special permitting process for an Appendix I product would be a logistical quagmire for travelling orchestras. It could even result in instruments being confiscated … ‘The risks of getting some part of this process wrong as you endeavor to comply with it can be quite severe, especially for individual musicians who may not have a lot of infrastructure to help them get through the process,’ Noonan said…. [The NGO] TRAFFIC said it would be open to keeping brazilwood in Appendix II, so long as it receives additional protections.”
Read Symphony’s most recent coverage of the situation, “Conserving Pernambuco, Supporting Music,” at https://symphony.org/features/conserving-pernambuco-supporting-music/.
