n a significant turn of events, reminiscent of last year’s blockbuster movie ‘Pushpa’, which depicted the illicit smuggling of Red Sanders from Indian forests, India has finally received international approval to legitimize the trade of Red Sanders cultivated by farmers. This approval, received last week, marks the end of a nearly two-decade-long prohibition. This green light is expected to put an end to the smuggling of Red Sanders to countries like Japan, China, and various European nations, paving the way for a legal trade route. The Red Sanders tree, unique to India, grows in the Seshachalam, Veligonda, Lankamalla, and Palkonda hill ranges in the southern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. Known as ‘Lalchandan’ or Rakta Chandan in Ayurveda and Sandal Surkh in Unani medicine systems, it has a modest local market.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international body regulating wildlife trade for environmental conservation, removed India from the ‘Review of Significant Trade in specimens (RST)’ list for Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) at its 77th standing committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. India, a member of CITES since 1976, can now promote private plantation of Red Sanders and export it, while also conserving the naturally growing species. Red Sanders has been under threat due to illegal harvesting and smuggling, driven by its high market value, which has led to its depletion from natural forests. In 1994, CITES included Red Sanders in Appendix II, listing species that are threatened due to over-exploitation. Although it was removed from the endangered category in 1997, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) reinstated it on its red list under the highly endangered category in 2022. The government believes that the decision by CITES will encourage the farming of Red Sanders, particularly in states like Gujarat, where it has already been successfully cultivated in plantations. This will enable them to increase their income through cultivation and export.
