Musicians and luthiers worldwide are pushing back against proposed restrictions from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which would require certification of the majority of string instrument bows for international travel.

Photo © Zac Gudakov/Unsplash

Pernambuco – also known as brazilwood and the country’s national tree – is one of the most-commonly used woods for professional-quality bows. It is currently listed as an endangered species due to over-harvesting and has been covered by CITES’ Appendix II protections since 2007 which allows regulated trade.

In June, Brazil submitted Proposal 46, a formal request to CITES to reclassify pernambuco from Appendix II to Appendix I – the treaty’s highest level of protection – in order to “combat criminal activities” and “reduce pressure on the remaining native populations”.

Appendix I protection would prohibit all international trade of the wood and require musicians travelling internationally with a pernambuco bow to obtain a CITES permit or a Musical Instrument Certificate (MIC) to be verified at a border. MICs are not currently implemented within Australia, meaning that Australian musicians with pernambuco bows would have to deal with more...