The international conference has adopted new regulations to protect endangered Brazilwood trees while exempting travelling musicians from permit requirements for their bows.
If you play violin, viola, cello or double bass, here’s some good news: you won’t need special permits to travel internationally with your bow.
Catch up on all the latest news here.
An international conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, has reached a compromise that protects endangered Brazilwood trees without creating bureaucratic nightmares for touring musicians. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) concluded its 20th Conference of the Parties last week with an agreement that keeps both conservationists and the music community happy.
Moving the Brazilwood tree (Paubrasilia echinata) to CITES Appendix I—the strictest protection level—would have meant every violinist flying overseas for a gig, audition, or festival would need permits just to carry their bow across a border.
Pernambuco, the dense orange-red heartwood from these Brazilian trees, has been the gold standard for bow-making for centuries. Nothing else quite matches its combination of strength, flexibility and acoustic properties. The species has been protected since 2007, but until now, permits were mainly required for raw wood, not finished bows.
Orchestras, musicians, bow makers and retailers pushed back hard on Brazil’s proposal. Their concerns sparked six working group meetings during the conference, with delegates from Canada, Brazil, Australia, the US, EU and over 20 other countries hammering out a solution.
The compromise is sensible: musicians travelling with bows for non-commercial purposes get a clear exemption from permit requirements. Meanwhile, the wood itself gets stronger protection through regulated international trade in bows, which takes effect in 2026.
“This is good news for the Brazilwood species and good news for musicians,” said Alex Masso, CEO of the Australian Music Association. “The species needs protection; the music sector is a constructive partner in finding solutions and this is a constructive outcome.”
Bow makers and importers will need to navigate the new permit system from next year, but that’s a far cry from requiring every touring musician to carry paperwork for their bow. Three Australian organisations—the Australian Music Association, Live Performance Australia and Symphony Services International—were among 93 music stakeholders who advocated for this outcome.
For local enquiries, head here.
