Gibson, Martin and Taylor Guitars Visit Madagascar

Thursday, June 21, 2008

A delegation from the Greenpeace MusicWood Coalition representing Gibson, Martin and Taylor guitar companies visited Madagascar from June 9-20, 2008. Madagascar is home to several high value species that have been traditionally used for guitar and instrument building. The trip was organized jointly by Greenpeace and the Tropical Forest Trust designed as a fact-finding tour to examine first-hand the opportunities and challenges of current efforts to improve forest management in what is considered one of the most biologically imperiled regions of the world. Interest has been growing in the island nation to improve the country’s logging practices in order to be in compliance with the internationally recognized certification standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

“Historically Malagasy rosewood (Dalbergia spp.) and ebony, (Diospyros spp.) have been world renown for their tonal qualities,” said Rob Garner of the MusicWood coalition. “However Madagascar is also considered a global biodiversity hot-spot with very high levels of forest conversion and poverty. We’re here really just to better understand the on-the-ground realities and look at the potential for partnerships.”

A goal of the trip is to better understand Malagasy forestry practices and the conservation and legal status of both forests and forest products in order to explore the realities for Malagasy suppliers to go FSC. The delegation met with multiple stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The invitation for MusicWood members to visit was timed to coincide with current efforts to constitute new national forest zoning programs. The zoning programs are part of the government’s plan to significantly increase protected areas and sustainable management of Malagasy forests. The potential for establishing a high value – low impact market for well-managed FSC forests from Madagascar is seen as a potentially very important private – public partnership opportunity in the region.