Madagascar's rosewood trees (Dalbergia spp.), prized for their hard, burgundy-coloured wood, are under threat after being exploited to make high-quality furniture and musical instruments.

Earlier this year, rosewoods won greater trade protection at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference in Bangkok. The challenge now, as for CITES designations globally, is to implement and enforce this protection.

Despite previous logging and shipping bans on hardwoods from Madagascar, and even a voluntary CITES Appendix III listing of five Dalbergia species in 2011, illegal logging has persisted in the wake of the country's political turmoil in 2009. The current Appendix II listing will create legal obstacles to illegal trade through a permit system that allows only non-detrimental harvesting practices.