Rosewood and ebony given CITES protection
23 March 2013International trade in a range of rosewoods and ebonies from Asia, Central America and Madagascar will now be regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Rosewood and ebony species were among those singled out for protection at the triennial CITES World's Wildlife Conference in Bangkok.
CITES secretary-general, John Scanlon described the conference decisions as a "big day for CITES".
"It takes enormous effort to negotiate treaties and then make them work. The international community has today decided to make best use of this pragmatic and effective agreement to help it along the path to sustainability in our oceans and forests."
The conference saw 170 governments effectively turn to CITES to ensure the legal, sustainable and traceable trade in their precious timber and forest products.
Rapidly rising demand for precious tropical hardwoods like rosewood and ebony has led to serious concerns that unregulated logging was depleting tree populations.
Rosewood is one of the world's most valuable hardwoods, with demand for Siam rosewood pushing up prices to as much as US$50,000 per m3.
Thailand believes regulation under CITES will help it manage these valuable resources more sustainably.
A joint programme between CITES and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) will support the efforts of the countries to strengthen their capacities to implement the Convention.
Special procedures under CITES have been agreed for musicians and institutions travelling with musical instruments containing precious woods such as Brazilian rosewood, and other products of species listed by the Convention.
