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.
“The current global annual demand amounts to about 25 m3” (International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative, spearhead of the promotion of Brazilwood bows, September 10, 2025). “Instrument making is a virtuous sector, using only minimal amounts of wood to produce high-value cultural objects.” (Opinion page in the French newspaper Le Monde, October 15, 2025). A luthier from Marseille, in response to Robin des Bois’s press release on October 30, 2025 repeats that “the volume of Brazilwood used in our profession is ridiculous“.
This argument distorts reality. While it is true that less than 10% of a Brazilwood log meets the “gold, silver, nickel” quality criteria of bow makers (wood without defects such as splits, cracks, holes, cross grain or nodes), the entire tree is felled to meet their demand. Have we ever heard an ivory carver justify himself by saying that he only uses 20 kg of ivory from a 4-tonne elephant? Brazil’s proposal to list Brazilwood in Appendix I of CITES clearly states that “more than 90% of harvested Brazilwood is discarded as waste during the production process, deemed unsuitable for professional bow-making due to stringent quality standards”.
The other major argument put forward by the coalition concerns “340,000 tree nurseries since 2000”. In fact, these “trees” were seeds that have been planted after being harvested from the last natural areas of Brazilwood in the Atlantic Forest, the species’ only habitat. None of these plantations have been approved by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). There is no guarantee that the density, rigidity and elasticity of trees from this monoculture will match, when they reach maturity several decades later, the performance of wild trees. Plantations have mainly been useful to criminal organisations that have diverted permits for cultivated trees in order to sell illegally felled wild trees on the black market.
Brazilwood is a pioneer species. It plays a key role in ecological succession. It contributes to the regulation of the water cycle and soil stability by paving the way for other plant species. The yellow corollas of Brazilwood flowers attract native bees of the genera Centris and Xylocopa. Despite their decline, they contribute to the pollination and genetic diversity of the remaining Brazilwood populations. The trunk provides habitat for ants, beetles and small lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus. The dense foliage of Brazilwood trees provides perches and shelter for songbirds such as seedeaters (genus Sporophila), great kiskadees (Pitangus sulphuratus) and tanagers (genus Thraupis).
Brazilwood flowers © Nelson Wisnik
The final declaration of the G20 Environment Ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 16 and 17, 2025 calls on “to respect national legislation on crimes that affect the environment and put in place measures to prevent the entry of natural resources sourced illegally elsewhere “. Brazilwood is the ideal candidate to prove that this declaration is not just soap opera. Brazilwood is protected by Brazilian national legislation, lives exclusively in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and is smuggled, particularly to the European market. The European Union must therefore support Brazil’s proposal to list Brazilwood in Appendix I of CITES.
See also:
“Brazilwood: a colonial refrain” (CITES CoP20 n°1), October 30, 2025
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