Recently, Tom Bedell, of Bedell Guitars, visited Durban, South Africa to participate in the World Forestry Congress. Now in its 14th year and with the focus of “Forests and People: Investing in a Sustainable Future,” the gathering drew more than 1,700 leaders of government, civil society, business and academia to discuss the future of the world’s forests. Bedell was the only representative from the guitar industry to attend the conference, which is held once every six years. He presented on Bedell Guitars’ commitment to harvesting tonewood for guitars in a sustainable, ethical way. According to Bedell, “I advocated for accountability of protecting our forests and the economies of the people of the forest. Bedell Guitars seeks to connect the musician to the tree where his/her instrument began, as many as 500 years ago.”
Tom Bedell
The conference had four goals this year: to bolster political will for restoration, to improve forest legality and governance, to generate new strategies for the forests and people of Africa, and to drive home the importance of transparency and open data.