Prized as a source of Chinese luxury redwood furniture, ‘rosewood’ is a generic term for several tree species that once grew throughout the tropics – before they were smuggled to near extinction.

So when scientists first noticed Pterocarpus tinctorius – known locally as mukula – vanishing from forests along the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they wasted no time in sounding the alarm, even before the full report was published in 2018. Once out, research results contributed to a series of very welcome outcomes, both nationally – with wide coverage by local media – and internationally.

In 2019, a Malawi-led proposal to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to have mukula listed in Appendix II, was unanimously approved by all CITES Parties. Towards the end of 2019, the United States Environmental Investigation Agency used CIFOR’s findings in their own call to action.

The road to save all Pterocarpus and other threatened genii and species is still long, but years of effort are paying some dividends. On the demand-side for instance, international pressure, detailed findings and engagement such as CIFOR’s, contributed to China revising its Forest Law, which now includes a prohibition on trading illegally sourced timber.