Petition to Keep Pernambuco Wood Available for Bows

Artists are petitioning against the Brazilian government’s reclassification of pernambuco that would ban all trade and movement of pernambuco bows

Originating from Brazil’s national tree, pernambuco is known for being the first choice wood for making bows for stringed instruments. In the 18th century, bow maker Francois Xavier Tourte — the progenitor of the modern bow — discovered pernambuco’s durability and efficiency as opposed to materials like snakewood used for baroque bows that did not share the same elasticity. By his death in 1835, Tourte had set the standards for the bow that are still followed today.

However, pernambuco wood is becoming increasingly rare. Due to extensive deforestation of its native region, the pernambuco tree grows in a few areas of the forest and represents only around 5% of its original habitat, according to the Independent Society for Musicians (ISM).

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) currently categorizes pernambuco as “Appendix II,” meaning that while the tree is not in imminent danger of extinction, its use must be regulated to avoid that status.

In June 2022, Brazil submitted to CITES that it would maintain the highest protection level for pernambuco. The Brazilian government made a new proposal to move pernambuco to “Appendix I,” which includes the most endangered species, resulting in a total ban on pernabuco’s international trade, with limited exemptions. This reclassification would make life especially difficult for traveling string players who would then require special CITES permits.

In light of this, French violinist Emilie Berlaud has set up a change.org petition, acting on behalf of musicians in European orchestras, international soloists, chamber musicians, and teachers, ahead of the proposal’s presentation at CITES’s 19th Conference of Parties — held in Panama this month, where pernabuco’s status will be put to a vote.

“Pernambuco is and remains the only wood allowing the manufacture of quality bows, essential for the learning and practicing of our art,” Berlaud wrote. “We submit that a more appropriate regulated use of Pernambuco wood is a conservation opportunity for this species. 

“[This ban] would actually threaten this species of wood even more, since bow makers are among those who invest the most in the preservation of Pernambuco and such a ban would amount to putting an end to the programs for the renewal of the species that they have been developing for more than 20 years,” Berlund added. 

“Hundreds of thousands of musicians [would] find themselves directly and indirectly punished by [a ban]. And above all, the situation of Pernambuco — Brazil’s national tree — would not be improved in any way.”

The discussion around pernambuco and its supply has been circulating for years. In 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that centuries of deforestation in the pernambuco’s native habitat have jeopardized its survival. The deforestation began around 500 years ago when Portuguese explorers landed in Brazil and began trading pernamboco’s inner orange-red color — valuable in making fabric dyes. 

Pernambuco trees (pau brasil)

In the early 2000s, devoted bow-makers argued that at least limited trade be permitted to prevent skyrocketing prices but also to encourage landowners to reforest their properties with pernambuco trees to prevent their extinction. In 2019, around 500,000 trees were planted in hopes that they would be utilized sustainably upon maturity, according to Luthiers.

Organizations including ISM, the Association of British Orchestras (ABO), and the Musicians’ Union (MU) have been in discussion with the UK government on the issue and recently released a joint statement and a public survey to help lobby for exemptions to allow legal trade in bows to continue.

Additionally, luthiers including Martin Swan Violins have paid close attention to the imminent decisions. “We are concerned that CITES is being exploited for political gain, and that Brazil’s agenda has more to do with colonial reparations or social justice than environmental protection,” they said. “All the world’s bow-makers combined use about 200 semi-mature trees per year, an absolute drop in the ocean compared to the habitat loss caused by clear-felling sanctioned by the Bolsonaro regime for urbanization and arable farming.”

For more information, you can visit CITES, the International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative USA, and the International Alliance of Violin and Bow Makers for Endangered Species.