The Score | League Speaks Up in Global Protected-Species Discussions

The League of American Orchestras is an official participant as delegates from around the globe gather to reshape policies that control how musical instruments may cross international borders under the terms of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Working with worldwide music organizations and conservation leaders, the League is at the table this year in meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, and Sochi, Russia to ensure that rules related to rosewood, ivory, and other materials in orchestral instruments address urgent conservation concerns while also supporting international cultural activity by traveling musicians. The League provides essential assistance to orchestras as they navigate the permit requirements for international tours, and has been meeting regularly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to advance recommendations that will streamline the complicated permit process. Partnering with the National Association of Music Merchants, U.S. and international musicians’ unions, and woodwind, violin, and bowmakers, the League is seeking policy improvements as the terms of the treaty are negotiated in Sri Lanka in May 2019. For more information, visit the Endangered Species Material pages at americanorchestras.org/.