If India lifts the restrictions, could be a threat.
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The Indian sandalwood tree (Santalaum album) is perhaps the planet’s most expensive wood, because of its cosmetic and therapeutic value. There is huge international demand for it, with its fragrant heartwood priced at over Rs. 10,000 a kilo. This tree grows very well in South Indian soil, especially in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and needs very little water.
Fruiting happens throughout the year, and the tiny fruits attract birds like parrots and cuckoos. And while we eventually cut the trees to harvest the wood, during their lifetime they, like any other tree, function as a carbon sink and generate oxygen.
Ban on harvesting
Growing sandalwood by individuals was banned until 2002. Today, we can grow the trees but it is illegal to cut and harvest the wood, use it or sell it in the open market. Permission is required from the state forest department, which sends its officials to cut the tree and buy the sandalwood.
Such restrictions dissuade most people from growing sandalwood trees. There is also a security threat, as sandalwood trees are scarce and might attract unwanted attention.
“Because of these restrictions, 90 per cent of our sandalwood trees have been lost and soon, these trees may become endangered while other countries grow and export sandalwood freely.”
“If we allow unrestricted harvesting and promote widespread cultivation of sandalwood trees, the acute demand for sandalwood will be met and the security threat around it would also be negated,” says Professor D. Narasimhan, associate professor, Department of Botany, Centre for Floristic Research, Madras Christian College.
