Red Sanders Smuggling

February 3, 2023

Context:

A fact sheet prepared by TRAFFIC has revealed that the CITES trade database has recorded 28 incidents of Red sanders confiscation, seizure and specimens from the wild being exported from India.

3feb1

Image source: The Hindu

About Red Sanders:

Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), or red sandalwood, is an endemic tree species with distribution restricted to the Eastern Ghats of India.
Habitat and Growth: It grow in the rocky, degraded and fallow lands with Red Soil and hot and dry climate.
- Red sanders is a very slow growing tree species that attains maturity in natural forests after 25-40 years.
Import and Export Policy:Under the foreign trade policy of India, the import of Red Sanders is prohibited, while export is restricted.
Uses of Red Sanders Wood and Dye: Its heartwood is in demand in both domestic and international markets and is used to make furniture and handicrafts, while the red dye is used as a colouring agent in textiles and medicines.

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List: Endangered.
CITES: Appendix II
Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule IV

Threats:

Illicit felling for smuggling, forest fires, cattle grazing and other anthropogenic threats.

Additional Information:

About CITES:

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments.
Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
It entered into force in July 1975. Currently there are 184 Parties (include countries or regional economic integration organizations).
The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is located at Geneva, Switzerland.
Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, it does not take the place of national laws.
Rather, it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
Appendix I

- They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research.
Appendix II

- It lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.
Appendix III

- It is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.

News Source: The Hindu