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Rosewood

Project Data

  • Started:
  • Planned end date:
  • Executant:
  • Managing Office: WWF Madagascar and West Indian Ocean Programme Office
  • Address:
    WWF Madagascar and West Indian Ocean Programme Office
    B.P. 738
    Antananarivo 101
    Madagascar
    +261 20 22 348 85
  • Status:

International Press Releases about Rosewood

Background

Towards sustainable management of hardwood species in Madagascar: Evaluation of the stock of rosewood (Dalbergia spp) and ebony (Diospyros spp) in the Andapa and Menabe regions

Madagascar is known for its rich and rare biodiversity. Ongoing deforestation that results in the degradation of the forest ecosystem is threatening the long term survival of numbers of forest dependent fauna and flora species. Precious timber species are among the most vulnerable of them as they are also targeted by selective logging. Twenty timber species of commercial value exist in Madagascar and the most sought in the local and international market belong to the Dalbergia, Diospyros, Ocotea and Commiphora genera. These recent years have been marked by massive exports, mostly illegal of timber especially from the north-east part of the country (Patel, 2008; Rasarely et al., 2005). The targeted species belong either to the rosewood (Dalbergia greveana, D.baronii, D.monticola, D. madagascariensis) or the ebony class (Diospyros spp). These cases show that illegal logging and exports are rampant and questions have been raised about the long term survival of some timber species. The issue is all the more worth concerning as (i) data on the wild stock is lacking for almost all the hardwood species and (ii) none of the Madagascar precious hardwood species is protected by international regulations, though 39 of the 44 Dalbergia species are considered threatened (vulnerable or endangered) by the IUCN Red list.

Objectives

The project aims at providing basic information on the sustainable use of hardwoods in two selected regions in Madagascar and preparing a support document for the listing of rosewood and ebony in CITES appendix III by filling important gaps in existing forest mapping and involving authorities and local communities concerning the management of precious hardwood.
Rose wood tree stump in Marojejy National Park, Madagascar

© WWF / Chris Maluszynski

Rose wood tree stump in Marojejy National Park, Madagascar

Project description

For these purposes, the project will support inventory field works to assess the stock of precious hardwood (rosewood, ebony) in the Andranopasy (south-west) and Andranomenakely (north-east) forest blocs. The inventory data collected will first be used to refine the existing national zoning map and then through consultation processes with local communities, management plans for precious timbers will be drafted and submitted to the regional authorities. We expect that these plans will provide investors such as music instrument makers with crucial elements to ground their business on. Based on these information, WWF Madagascar will sketch out documents to support the listing of the most threatened hardwood species in the CITES appendices and to engage discussion about these deliveries with Madagascar CITES authority and all partners working in the forestry domain.

Achievements

28 species of rosewood were inventoried in both sites with 23 from the humid and 6 from the dry forest; one species is shared by both. The number of species found in Andranopasy is far less than what is expected based on previous inventory works in the same area (18 species were inventoried at Mikea forest in 2005). The plausible explanation of this is that their overexploitation resulted in their extirpation from Andranopasy.

• Most mature individuals in both sites are gone due to illegal logging and the stock of trees with exploitable size is very low in both sites, with almost zero stock for Andranopasy;

• The regeneration rate for each species was assessed and the team found that it is highly variable from one species to another. 7 and 10 species have fair and good regeneration respectively. 11 have low regeneration and most worryingly, 6 of them have no regeneration at all. These are: Dalbergia chlorocarpa, D.monticola, Diospyros haplostylis, D.aff pervillei, D. cf calophylla, D. perrieri. Though Diospyros haplostylis has no regeneration in Ampasimenakely, it has a good regeneration in Andranopasy.

• There is a functional community-based forestry association in Andranopasy that shows strong will to manage the forest. Such structure is still absent in Ampasimenakely though the communities there aspired for some capacity building on forest management.

• Ongoing selective logging activities, forest conversions were still being recorded in both sites during the study.

Conclusion: This study brings tangible information on the status of rosewood species in two different ecoregions in Madagascar, at a time when illegal logging of these species to feed the international trade has taken an uncontrolled path. Though the target areas of the present study are not representative of all rosewood habitats, the fact that some species (21%) exhibit no regeneration at all shows that specific urgent conservation actions at the species level should be undertaken; otherwise many rosewood species will be locally extinct in many areas. Such actions may include sensitization of local communities and authorities, empowerment or establishment of strong community forestry, species reintroduction or at higher level, enhancing national regulations by enlisting vulnerable species in the CITES list, for instance in the appendix III as a first and attainable step. The present project is working on the latter and we are confident that this is one of the key measures to curb local and international illegal trades on these species.

Challenges

Rosewood issue is a very sensitive one especially during political turmoil such the one the country experienced in the first three months of 2009. During that period, illegal loggings of rosewood were widespread in the Andapa area (where one of our sites, Andranomenakely is located) and it was fairly dangerous for consultants to do fieldwork in such conditions;

Precious timbers from Madagascar are highly appreciated on the international trade and without concerted efforts at both national and international levels, the hemorrhage of these riches will not be abated. The recent rush on illegal trade reveal a deep failure on the civism education in Madagascar as inclination to corruption occurred at all level of the trade system from the people who cut the trees to the some high-positioned officials within the governing body.

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