300 Species of Rosewood Added to CITES

The Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) added 300 species of rosewood to its list of trees that face trade restrictions, according to The Guardian.

The decision was made during World Wildlife Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, held Sept. 24–Oct. 5.

Rosewood is considered the world’s most trafficked wild product by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, and the value of the tree has caused severe population depletion in the forests of SE Asia, according to The Guardian.

“We are really thrilled [with the new Cites protection],” Lisa Handy, Environmental Investigation Agency senior policy advisor, told The Guardian. “It’s really in the nick of time to save them from extinction. The trade has exploded exponentially in the last decade. Now it really comes down to enforcement.”