Alex Kirby at BBC:
Researchers from the wildlife conservation group Fauna and Flora International (FFI) say that more than 70 tree species used to make popular musical instruments are globally threatened.
The species include rosewoods, cedars, ebonies and mahoganies, and FFI has launched a special programme, SoundWood, to try to save them.
It is concentrating on two species:
- the African blackwood, known in Swahili as mpingo, which is used for making clarinets and oboes;
- the pau brasil, used to make violin bows.
FFI is also working to save other species widely sought for use in guitars, notably mahoganies and Brazilian and Indian rosewoods.
It says supplies of all these species are now in extremely short supply, because of logging and other forms of commercial exploitation.
More here.