Brazilwood: a colonial refrain

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.

Native Americans felling a Brazilwood tree.
Excerpt from Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amérique, & de plusieurs terres et isles découvertes de nostre temps (The New Found World, or Antarctike), André Thevet, 1558. Gallica/National Library of France.

Battle for Brazilwood between Portuguese and French ships near the port and village of Paraíba.
Excerpt from Two Trips to Brazil, Hans Staden, 1557. Guita and José Mindlin Brasiliana Library.

The exploitation of Brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata, ex-Caesalpinia echinata) to make bows began around 1750. Portuguese, Spanish and French colonists had already been at war for two centuries to appropriate this wood, which was used to dye fabrics red and adorn palaces with luxurious wood panelling.

Brazilwood grows exclusively in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, and the disappearance of the species has been a concern for over 400 years. In 1605, the exploitation of Brazilwood was prohibited without prior authorisation from the Portuguese crown, under the threat of expulsion from the colony or even of death sentence (2). In 1978, Brazilwood was declared Brazil’s national tree. In 1992, it was added to the official list of nationally endangered plant species. In 2007, Brazil, under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, obtained the listing of Brazilwood in Appendix II of CITES, with an exemption for finished products such as bows. Appendix II enables control over international trade flows. The music industry opposed Appendix II and considers this listing to be a disaster.

Between 2018 and 2022, Brazilian authorities carried out operations against illegal Brazilwood trafficking, named “Do-Ré-Mi” [C-D-E]. More than 292,000 bow blanks and bows and 395 Brazilwood logs were seized. Between 2021 and 2022, the federal police carried out nearly 60 raids. They estimate that illegal exports have earned criminal networks more than 46 million US$. Do-Ré-Mi has been extended until 2024 by Operations Ibirapitanga 1 and 2, named after one of the vernacular names for Brazilwood in Brazilian Portuguese.
More than a dozen French bow makers are targeted by Brazilian federal justice for their links to Brazilian traffickers. For example, in September 2021, 208 bows originating from Domingos Martins (in the State of Espírito Santo) and destined for France were seized.

The resilience of the traffic led Brazil, under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, to propose in 2022 the listing of Brazilwood in Appendix I of CITES (prohibiting international trade). Faced with pressure from the European Union, the United States of America and the music industry, this proposal was ultimately withdrawn (3). However, the Brazilian delegation succeeded in having finished bows exported from Brazil included in the scope of Appendix II. Since then, illegal logging has continued unabated and importing countries, particularly in the European Union, have failed to establish a robust register of Brazilwood stocks or even a traceability system ensuring that bow makers are not part of a chain of looters.

Today, building on its investigations and findings, Brazil, once again under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is proposing for the second time the listing of Brazilwood in Appendix I (4). Faced with this major and ongoing concern on the part of Brazil, the musical instrument sector continues to behave as if it were the heir to the first colonists who imported Brazilwood into Europe.

Behind “the preservation and continued creation of an intangible cultural heritage essential to all the world”, behind the defence of century-old know-how that would justify decimating the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, lies the defence of a significant turnover. A new, top-quality Brazilwood bow made in Europe can fetch up to 5,000 € Vichy Enchères, a signatory to the latest appeal against the listing of Brazilwood in Appendix I, published in the French newspaper “Le Monde” on October 15, 2025 (6), prides itself on having sold a Brazilwood bow for 576,600€ in 2017.

To date, the CITES Secretariat, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organisation), WWF, Robin des Bois and the 89 other NGOs that are members of the Species Survival Network believe that the current status of the Brazilwood population justifies its inclusion in Appendix I of CITES.

Robin des Bois, an observer at CITES since 1989, is calling on the 27 member States of the European Union, and France in particular, to give up their post-colonial position and speak in support of listing Brazilwood in Appendix I of CITES. 

(1) Violin, viola, cello and double bass.
(2) Marion Daugeard et Paulo Roberto Cunha, “Entre exploitation et protection : la question forestière au coeur d’une ambivalence historique au Brésil” (Between exploitation and protection: the forest issue at the heart of a historical ambivalence in Brazil), Caravelle, 119 | -1, 51-70.
(3) Press release of Robin des Bois ” Panama, the great sellout of wild animals and plants “, November 14, 2022 and “An arrk and 9 tuned notes”, November 25, 2022
(4) Proposal of Brazil to transfer Paubrasilia echinata from Appendix II to Appendix I – CITES CoP20 (2025)
(5) https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2022/11/08/ne-faisons-pas-du-monde-musical-un-bouc-e-missaire-de-la-de-forestation-en-interdisant-le-commerce-du-bois-de-pernambouc_6148964_3232.html
(6) https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2025/10/15/l-alerte-de-musiciens-du-monde-entier-deux-essences-de-bois-au-c-ur-de-notre-artisanat-sont-aujourd-hui-directement-menacees_6646978_3232.html