New CITES restrictions on Rosewood

sculptor

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Rosewood from everywhere except Brazil has new restrictions on it such that taking an instrument containing it over an international boarder will require a permit. This is my one sentence summary of a much longer email sent out today by the Ukulele Source in San Jose.

-- Gary
 
Not that building guitars and ukuleles is going to destroy the environment, but Brazil seems hell bent on ruining theirs.
 
I'm sorry, but I have to post on this topic. Why in the world can't we have sustainable lumber trade, where one, two, four, or ten trees are planted and sustained until independent for every one that is harvested? Why can't the governments put that as a restriction?

I'm not a left-wing anything, but I like the earth and there seem to be some very practical things we can do to protect species yet still enjoy life. There really isn't that much wood in a solid wood ukulele!

And I understand it takes years for trees to grow, and in addition to human use, there are also acts of God and nature that can harm trees and agriculture. But if such efforts start today, things will be in great shape in 20 years.

And if I am hearing correctly, the issues with Koa in particular weren't caused by the ukulele trade, but mainly the cattle trade as pasture was needed.

Furthermore, as the price goes up, who is getting the money? It certainly isn't the luthier, who is paying for more the wood and then on further taxes (tariffs). Maybe the lumber companies? For sure, the governments. And many corrupt governments are likely also collecting bribes at various points?

I wish the fees that were collected would go back to reforestation. I doubt they will.

Go check out the Ukulele Site Podcast with Joe Souza as he talks about their reforestation project (http://kanileaukulele.com/reforestation-project/). It just seems that it would be wise for every "major" company to invest back into similar projects.

And as I said in a previous thread, I'd buy a Koa tree to grow in my house, I can't imagine that many Hawaiians wouldn't also want to plant Koa trees on their properties. And that is only one species.
 
You guys aren't getting the point of this. This is a serious travel restriction on most even half decent ukuleles. I've been told in the past that if you didn't have the right kind of paperwork it was basically impossible to transport any kind of ivory (e.g. walrus tusk) even it it was not restricted. There are penalties if you do transport something without the right permit. Note, on crossing the border they will confiscate any instrument suspected to contain rosewood if you do not have any the right paperwork.

-- Gary
 
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Rosewood is not the only wood on this list and this is not new. There are more woods on there now, but for the past few years there have been certain types of mahogany and cedar, among many other woods. These of course are used in many musical instruments and people have been crossing the borders all the time with them.

I always take a uke when I travel, which is usually from Canada to the US, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands. I always take it as carry on and I have never been asked about it. Except once when the customs agent asked if I played violin and I said no "ukulele"........the reply was "oh cool". I guess we will have to wait an see. I am concerned about this and I would hope there would be some exception for personal items purchased before 2017. There has been talk about this.
 
You can still travel with your instrument, see the link to fish and wildlife webpage in the namm link. There is an exception: "b) Non-commercial exports of a maximum total weight of 10kg per shipment." I suggest you claim it before you leave or you may not get it back in country and you may have a problem at your destination.
 
Nickie and Choirguy, thanks for your thoughts and I agree with you both. As Mivo mentioned in another thread, at least Kanilea, and Taylor may I add, are being responsible forest stewards.

Brazil though has been dismal, but on the bright side, Brazil has arrested the man who was a kingpin of illegal logging in the Amazon.
 
Not that building guitars and ukuleles is going to destroy the environment, but Brazil seems hell bent on ruining theirs.

Brazilian Rosewood has tighter restrictions than any other species of rosewood. It's cattle that are causing the problem.
 
Bonesoup, I'm so glad they arrested that creep. I hope the arrest and convictions continue. Cocobolo is also being responsible, Kevin stated that he is planting a new tree for every one that is cut down for his ukes. I hope they all survive.
Meat (cattle) is responsible for a large portion of the damage to our planet. I think long and hard before I order that burger nowadays. I plan to go vegetarian after I retire, it's too hard while I'm working, blood sugar dips easily, I get feisty and clumsy.
 
Brazilian Rosewood has tighter restrictions than any other species of rosewood. It's cattle that are causing the problem.

Cattle didn't cause anyone any problem. . . human beings on the other hand. . .
Actually Brazilian rosewood has been plundered for over 200 years. Not only for fine furniture and musical instruments. I think there was a very healthy trade in it for it's scent.
As for cattle and grazing land. We have increasingly become accustomed to eating huge amounts of meat. I'm old enough to remember when meat was seen as a once or twice per week meal. Now people are eating it multiple times per day. There has been a huge sea change in our consumption habits over the last 40 years. Go into any supermarket and look at those pre made meals. I'll guess that 90 to 95% of them are based on meat, at least they are in the UK.

I think that there's a bit of panic set in over the new rosewood CITES listings. I doubt that much will change. Luthiers will be required to obtain permits for international shipping of instruments that contain rosewood. It will be a little more expensive and a little more paper work. It's not a ban or prohibition, just a matter of complying.
There's always the option of using locally sourced timbers. I've been using them for years. In fact my old stocks of exotics are down to a bare minimum and what is left I will retain for repairs. Even ebony I've happily substituted with ancient bog oak, I even have it on my own personal guitar, the back/sides of which are made of yew. I wouldn't swap it for any Brazilian rosewood guitar.
At the end of the day we all have options. I've made mine. I wouldn't worry about any of the rosewoods becoming unavailable anytime soon though, if that's what you desire. It will be freely available, with the exception of Brazilian and perhaps one or two other rare types.
 
Bonesoup, I'm so glad they arrested that creep. I hope the arrest and convictions continue. Cocobolo is also being responsible, Kevin stated that he is planting a new tree for every one that is cut down for his ukes. I hope they all survive.
Meat (cattle) is responsible for a large portion of the damage to our planet. I think long and hard before I order that burger nowadays. I plan to go vegetarian after I retire, it's too hard while I'm working, blood sugar dips easily, I get feisty and clumsy.

Well, I buy US produced antibiotic free beef so I don't have to worry about what goes in my mouth causing a bunch of unintended consequences.

If you really go vegetarian note that a lot of seniors in this country aren't eating a sufficient amount of protein so you'll have to be extra careful about this. You might instead consider just moderating the amount of meat that you eat which is probably better than either the typical American diet or being a vegetarian.

-- Gary
 
Cattle didn't cause anyone any problem. . . human beings on the other hand. . .
Actually Brazilian rosewood has been plundered for over 200 years. Not only for fine furniture and musical instruments. I think there was a very healthy trade in it for it's scent.
As for cattle and grazing land. We have increasingly become accustomed to eating huge amounts of meat. I'm old enough to remember when meat was seen as a once or twice per week meal. Now people are eating it multiple times per day. There has been a huge sea change in our consumption habits over the last 40 years. Go into any supermarket and look at those pre made meals. I'll guess that 90 to 95% of them are based on meat, at least they are in the UK.

I think that there's a bit of panic set in over the new rosewood CITES listings. I doubt that much will change. Luthiers will be required to obtain permits for international shipping of instruments that contain rosewood. It will be a little more expensive and a little more paper work. It's not a ban or prohibition, just a matter of complying.
There's always the option of using locally sourced timbers. I've been using them for years. In fact my old stocks of exotics are down to a bare minimum and what is left I will retain for repairs. Even ebony I've happily substituted with ancient bog oak, I even have it on my own personal guitar, the back/sides of which are made of yew. I wouldn't swap it for any Brazilian rosewood guitar.
At the end of the day we all have options. I've made mine. I wouldn't worry about any of the rosewoods becoming unavailable anytime soon though, if that's what you desire. It will be freely available, with the exception of Brazilian and perhaps one or two other rare types.

I agree, it was only a few years ago that they required any paperwork for imported instruments despite CITES being nothing new.
 
Actually, most Americans are more at risk of protein poisoning (from a surfeit of protein) than protein deficiency. The average American consumes over two and a half times the protein that is recommended (and that figure comes from years ago, before meat consumption increased again). One can get sufficient proteins from a combination of grains and legumes—they don't even have to be consumed in the same meal, as was once believed. I've been vegetarian—near vegan—for over thirty years, and as of yet haven't suffered any of the serious health issues have afflicted most of my (omnivore) cohorts, despite that I'm hardly obsessive about meal planning; I just follow a few simple guidelines, the kind dieticians have been shouting at us all for decades. The alarmist worries people have about going vegetarian are grossly overblown.

Sure, you can eat badly as a vegetarian just as you can eat badly as an omnivore—the bad habits are exactly the same (except that vegetables aren't yet being force-fed antibiotics and hormones the way cattle are, and vegetarians don't over-consume meat—particularly the saturated fats in meat—and they tend to eat a greater variety of nutrient-rich foods). The protein hoopla is just a straw dog to scare people away from going vegetarian or even reducing their meat consumption. It's similar to the myth that milk is a superior source of calcium, when actually, milk consumption is a major cause of osteoporosis, due to enzymes in milk that inhibit calcium absorption and the form of calcium compounds in milk, which are less usable by the body than those in vegetable sources.

Apologies for the thread creep.

I did say seniors... so what you say applies to the rest of the population. However, seniors often cut back quite a bit on the total number of calories consumed so if as younger vegetarians they consumed an adequate amount of protein then this might not hold in later life as they reduce their total caloric input. Many seniors now who eat a traditional American diets are suffering from a protein deficiency. One big factor in all of this is the aging metabolism simply needs 25% more protein (1g/Kg protein to body mass verves 0.8g/Kg for the younger.)

Note, there are a lot of seniors on this blog so this information is useful and this is what they call a teachable moment.

-- Gary
 
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