Strict protection policy can save sandalwood
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Illegal and indiscriminate felling of sandalwood trees is fast depleting the stock of this precious wood. As the Supreme Court has noted, the central government must frame a stricter policy for sandalwood protection. If some affirmative action is not taken, Karnataka, which is known the world over for its sandalwood trees, will soon lose this treasure.
Alarmingly, from 2007 to 2011, the total annual sandalwood production in the state has been only 7,209.505 kg. While in the same period more than three times that amount, about 36,188.21 kg, has been seized from smugglers. The sandalwood smuggling mafia is well organised and thrives in the absence of strong laws and poor enforcement of those laws that exist.
“It is a well organised mafia. Even in our campus, on several occasions, smugglers have been caught. However, the next day a lawyer will be waiting for these people and they are able to get bail,” revealed Syam Viswanath, a scientist at the Institute of Wood Science & Technology, who has written a paper on the subject.
The high demand for sandalwood oil in the international market means the price of sandalwood in India is actually controlled by its international price. “About 90 per cent of the sandalwood oil — which is used as a base for perfumes — goes to the international market where it fetches a huge margin. Hence a stern policy is needed to curb this complicated network, which involves politicians and bureaucrats,” Mr Viswanath says.
The protection policy must have initiatives to take the local population into confidence. Says former chief conservator of forests and head of the Forest Force, I.B. Srivastav: “The scarcity can be controlled by taking encouraging measures. Besides the natural growth, there should be more focus on scientific ways of growing.
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