250 shades of rosewood

Michael N. said:

If you have a good alternative I'm sure the authorities would love to hear the details.
Anyone?

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A straight-up ban on import, sale and trade of these species or products containing these species would be an effective alternative without the administrative costs or paperwork.

I suspect, having been involved in similar (but unrelated) bureaucratic actions, that what we have here is an attempt to find an acceptable middle ground. Such attempts always seem to please nobody and instead piss everybody off.

Seriously, my suggestion to the decision makers is to slap down a ban instead of a control.

I think that with all the talent from builders around here, working with different wood selections wont be a problem.

Actually, working with sustainable woods is not a problem. However there is a reason that the listed species are used in building - they are great musical instrument making woods, breathtakingly beautiful and are THE traditional luthiers' woods. I have no problem with changing but I can almost guarantee that the majority of the general public who have bought into the mythology, misinformation and nonsense surrounding the grail like status of these won't find it so easy to accept. And I have proved this on this very forum - look at the number of views/responses to my postings on my alternative-to-koa woods, Makore and Korina. Maybe it's me but hardly any response whatsoever. And yet these woods really give koa and mahogany a run for their money. I've posted in this thread about mgurure - nada, nothing. Lets get real. The ukulele buying community wants endangered species in their instruments and as long as we are able, we'll do it for you won't we?

I bow to your greater experience Dirk but a bribe is a bribe. And by illegal logging I mean everywhere. It may be in your experience that the bIG guys aren't involved but I have seen enough documentaries which are 'real' reporting regarding the link between organised crime and 'soft' contraband like timber to know that this is a significant part of the problem. There is also satellite evidence that shows the 'white' border between China and Russia growing wider each year as illegal loggers continue to rape southern Russia of it's pine forests. And I do have issue with the way this is all perceived. Luthiers are the little guys. I can't go to a village in Belize and negotiate with the local population to buy 5 legally felled mahogany tress a year so I can put mahogany necks on my guitars. It's what Bob Taylor has done and while it is laudable and responsible it is also keeping the idea of alternative temperate climate hardwoods like alder and tulipwood - woods used throughout the 20's, 30's and 40's right through to the 60's on guitars built in Chicago - firmly in the backroom. Yes there are alternatives - problem is they ain't brown and they aren't commercially managed but more worryingly, they are not even considered by the trend setting big boys... Yes, it is more complicated than we would each like to argue but drill down and you will find that there is a lack of will to change and a lack of consensus on what the future really is going to be shaped. When our Monarch had her 'terrible year' and one of her palaces was damaged by a great fire, there was not enough oak in Britain to meet the repairs - we had to go to France to get what could not be bought in the UK. There is a shortage of specialised wood. I am advocating that governments recognise this and in conjunction with the wood producers come up with a plan that takes into account the differing needs, structures, concerns of the little guy as well as the big guy. I note Andy Kitakis reckons this new legislation is going to cost him an extra $10k a year. A 'little guy' with a big bill. I was going to send back to Hawaii a made-up set of Amazon rosewood generously gifted to me by Chuck Moore - a gesture of appreciation honouring our friendship. That won't happen now.... that is the impact on me personally. This would have given me so much satisfaction and repay the warm and generous welcome I got when I visited Andrew and Chuck - just snatched away with the stroke of a ball point pen!

A podcast from the Fretboard journal

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/podcast/podcast-127-cites-rosewood-updates-john-thomas/

Dan Gleibitz said:

Seriously, my suggestion to the decision makers is to slap down a ban instead of a control.

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This was a blanket regulation. They could have just targeted the dalbergia in Thailand and Vietnam being severely deforested for Chinese furniture, but border officials have a hard time telling the difference in different species. But even still, banning doesn’t seem to help. The problem is money. Where there is land, there is money to be made, and the privatization of land always leads to destruction. When they made it illegal to cut Brazilian rosewood many investors had people illegally start forest fires so they could then “legally” turn it into cattle farms to make money off it. So did that help? And for what remains, as pointed out, banning raised the price of Brazilian rosewood making the risk of illegal logging more worth taking. These forests are often in poverty stricken lands and wherever there is money to be made it will be exploited.

Protecting the land and controlling the way it’s used as well as the exporting process is the only way. Take India for example. It has very strict rules for rosewood. Even if you want to cut a rosewood tree on your own property you have to get a permit and they will come take it away. The government is behind all the sales and very closely monitors all exports. You can’t buy a log. As many of you know you can now only buy Indian rosewood in pre-cut sets from India. The 3 ounces of bridge and fretboard material is the majority of what I'll be filing.

I’ll follow the rules. I just won’t pretend we’re solving any problems or making the needed changes to environmental regulations to the source of the issues. That may never happen but it’s still largely up to each individual. Each one of us has an impact on this earth that goes far beyond the wood you choose for your ukulele. It’s the things we buy, consume, and use on a daily basis that create this collective rippling effect our children and grandchildren will inherit. Hopefully they will also inherit our ukuleles so they can make some music and find more joy in life. I consider this art to be a truly positive use of the tiny bit of earth's resources it takes, and something that will give back many times over.

All wood is finite. To use it responsibly is to make objects that are special and intended to be used for many generations. If you want to use woods on appendix 2 and ship internationally, just get a permit.

Just listening to that podcast- John says that in 2016, China imports 350 Rosewood logs per HOUR

Crikey, no wonder all dalbergia got listed. From 100,000 m3/yr to 2,000,000 m3/yr in half a decade. Anything left off the list would cop all the demand.



I'd be interested to see an update to this graph a couple of years into the future.

Andrew, I agree that CITES is more sensible than a ban. It's just unpopular.

And the other end of the supply chain:

Senegal is proposing a crackdown on exports of African rosewood, native to West Africa’s savanna forests, which the government says have ballooned from $12,000 to $180 million between early 2009 and the third quarter of 2014.

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Link

Dan Gleibitz said:

Crikey, no wonder all dalbergia got listed. From 100,000 m3/yr to 2,000,000 m3/yr in half a decade. Anything left off the list would cop all the demand.

I'd be interested to see an update to this graph a couple of years into the future.

Andrew, I agree that CITES is more sensible than a ban. It's just unpopular.

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These problems are systemic. Right now ebony trees are more frightened than ever, and they already peed their pants years ago. And what will we find after that? We’re wood slingin’ gansters. Guangdong furniture bros., aka ISIS of the forest, ruins it for everyone. And all you furniture lovers. How dare you buy another cabinet. Shelves full of books you didn’t read. Shame.
Anyway, first order of business, change my shipping box logo to say All Carbon Fiber!