Honduras Rosewood (Dalbergia Stevensonii) is a wood of high value for today’s percussionist and for the percussion industry. It is used as the primary timber for the production of marimba and xylophone bars, and it is also used to build other instruments such as woodblocks, drumsticks, guitar fingerboards, violins, and violin bows. Additionally, the wood is sought for furniture and cabinet making.
In 2008, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) placed Honduras Rosewood in its third Appendix. As part of an international treaty with 175 member countries, the purpose of CITES is to monitor and regulate international trade on approximately 30,000 protected species. This action, requested by the government of Guatemala, placed the species under the watch and protection of CITES to prevent further endangerment.
This treatise seeks to examine the relationships between the international supply of Honduras Rosewood, the demand by the percussion industry, and the need to protect it through international organizations such as CITES. Initially, a history of the development of the xylophone and marimba will be presented, with extra focus given to the constructional methods and materials used. Using the CITES listing as a starting point, further examination will be given to the factors that have led to Honduras Rosewood’s endangerment and the efforts to counteract it. Also, the views of the percussion industry on the matter will be presented through interviews with prominent marimba and xylophone manufacturers. Due to the limited chronological scope of Honduras Rosewood’s endangerment at the time of writing (less than two years), the treatise will conclude by positing recommendations for further conservation and research efforts based upon the data presented within this treatise.
