Was your inexpensive Chinese-made guitar made from illegally exported rosewood from Madagascar? Something to consider. Please.

NY Times: Shaky Rule in Madagascar Threatens Trees

""The rosewood is piled up near the rivers; no one is trying to hide anything," said Guy Suzon Ramangason, the director general of the organization that manages many of the parks. "Chinese businessmen pay the exporters and they in turn pay off the controllers like the police and the government."

"Malagasy rosewood — reddish and superbly grained — is among the world's most sought-after timber, especially since Asian sources of similar trees have been depleted. In China, the finished wood is primarily used to make replicas of antique furniture and musical instruments, some for export."

The challenge is to both to reduce demand so that the selling price is less than the fines, and to find economic opportunities for the locals that don't involve plundering their diminishing resources.

Never an easy thing.

~ Becky in Long Beach