Beastly Christmas!
Press release CITES CoP20 n°11
Of the 185 countries that are signatories to CITES, 165 were present (157 had the right to vote after being accepted by the Credentials Committee). The CoP20 registered a record participation.
Review of Tuesday December 2 and Wednesday December 3, 2025
Press release CITES CoP20 n°10
Fifteen pieces of good news
– South Africa obtained consensus for the transfer of the endemic euphorbia Euphorbia bupleurifolia from Appendix II to Appendix I.
Brazilwood, a slow-growing protection
Press Release CITES CoP20 n°9
2007. CoP14, The Hague, Netherlands. Brazilwood is listed in Appendix II. International trade in wood and its by-products is subject to approval by Brazil, the only range country. Bows and other finished products remain in free trade.
2022. CoP19, Panama City, Panama. Bows produced in Brazil are subject to an export permit.
2025. CoP20, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Brazilwood and its by-products remain in Appendix II with a zero quota for specimens taken from the wild. This annotation is equivalent to a ban on international trade, as no Brazilwood plantations are approved by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).
Four pieces of good news and one piece of bad news for flora
Press release CITES CoP20 n°5
1 and 2. Red doussié (Afzelia bipindensis) and African padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii)The proposals by Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo to downgrade their populations of doussié and African padauk from Appendix II were narrowly rejected.
Let the music play!
Press release CITES CoP20 n°4
Brazilwood or pau-brasil
Brazil’s proposal to list Brazilwood in Appendix I received overwhelming support, but the European Union, driven by France, proposed a working group, which Brazil accepted for the sake of diplomacy. The vote, which would have been approved by two-thirds of the delegations with flying colours, did not take place.
Opening of CITES CoP20 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Press release CITES CoP20 n°3
CITES Conferences of the Parties are not just hot air. Their decisions are binding. CITES, also known as the Washington Convention, is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 185 countries are signatories.
Brazilwood: the melody of chainsaws
Press release CITES CoP 20 n°2
The violin and other bowed string instrument sector coalition endlessly repeats that the use of Brazilwood for the purposes of bow making does not endanger Brazilwood populations.
Brazilwood: a colonial refrain
Press release CITES CoP 20 n°1
October 30, 2025
On the eve of the 20th Conference of the Parties to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), to be held in Uzbekistan, from November 24 to December 5, 2025, the maestros and the coalition of violon and other bowed stringed instrument bow makers (1) are once again beginning to sing their laments. For decades, they have refused to develop an alternative to the use of Brazilwood for bows. They are digging in their heels.
