Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Plan to revive Marayur sandalwood forests

G. Anand

Call for better coordination among departments

Thiruvananthapuram: The Forest Department has launched a major programme to regenerate the heavily depleted sandalwood forests in Marayur in Idukki district.

Nearly two lakh sandalwood saplings are being reared in Government nurseries for reviving the forests that were ravaged by sandalwood thieves. The department is fencing off four sandalwood reserves spread across 500 acres in the Marayur Forest Division to protect the valuable and ecologically important trees. The "chain-link" fencing will also restrict cattle from grazing in the forests, thereby giving a better chance for the sandalwood saplings to mature. Only an estimated 60,000 sandalwood trees survive in the once lush Marayur forests.

At least 8,000 sandal trees have been stolen from Revenue land bordering the 2,000-hectare forest area. The department has decided to harvest the remaining 1,000 trees prior to the setting up of a sandalwood oil extraction unit in Marayur, Government sources said.

The huge demand for sandal oil in the Gulf and Europe for making cosmetics has caused sandalwood smuggling to thrive in South India. Marayur sandalwood is particularly valued because of its high oil content, nearly six per cent. In comparison, the oil content of East African sandalwood is less than one per cent. Sandalwood oil costs over Rs.1 lakh a kilogram. The market price for sandalwood is approximately Rs.3,500 a kg. According to a Government estimate, the black market price for sandalwood is Rs.2000 a kg and the main buyers are owners of certain sandalwood oil extraction units in Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

Sandalwood theft became rampant in Marayur in 2003 after nearly 6,000 acres of sandal forests shared by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were depleted by brigands. In 2004, nearly 2,600 sandal trees were stolen from Marayur forests.

Marayur forests are particularly vulnerable to sandal wood theft because they are scattered, shared a porous border with Tamil Nadu and have considerable number of people living on the fringes.

In July 2005, the Forest Department responded by launching an anti-smuggling drive led by K.T. Pradeep Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Marayur, that resulted in the seizure of over 3,800 kg of sandalwood and arrest of 500 suspects, including some alleged kingpins of the trade. The thefts came down and in December last, only one sandal tree was reported stolen. This year, so far, eight sandalwood thefts have been reported.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom has called for better coordination between forest and police officials in Idukki to protect Marayur's unique sandalwood forests.

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