Analysis of Policies in Sustaining
Sandalwood Resources in India
M. Srinivasa Rao, G. Ravikumar, P.R. Triveni, V. Soundara Rajan
and Sunil Nautiyal
Abstract Sandalwood (Santalum album Linn.) is an important tree species in
peninsular India because of its high economic value and is the best endemic tree in
the world. Past regulations and policies have been identified as the main cause for
the decrease in Sandalwood population, particularly in southern parts of India.
Stringent regulations and policies which excluded farming communities from
growing sandalwood resulted in scarcity of Sandalwood which in turn increased
demand-supply gap. Human intervention, however, has decreased sandalwood
adaptation capability for its sustainability. Due to high value of sandalwood and its
oil and rising demand in domestic and international markets, prices have skyrocketed. Smuggling of Sandalwood has created socio-economic and law and order
problems in all Sandalwood producing states. Karnataka Forest (Amendment) Act,
2001 allows cultivation of sandalwood trees on private lands. This comes as a major
policy change as far as sandalwood cultivation is concerned. Liberalization of
policies of different States in southern parts of India encourages commercial
plantation, but much remains in encouraging the corporate sector to embark on
plantation of this economically important pride species. The severe shortage of
sandalwood, hitting user industries like perfume, soaps and medicine, has
encouraged the policy makers to make pragmatic changes in the policies and rules
and make it more economical and to sustain this valued resource in India. The
governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu amended the sandalwood laws in 2001
and 2002, respectively, and made the grower an owner of the wood. This
amendment encouraged the farmers to take up cultivation on a commercial scale.
This paper focuses on the policies in sustaining Sandalwood resources in India.
M. Srinivasa Rao (&) Á G. Ravikumar Á P.R. Triveni Á V. Soundara Rajan
Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleswaram, Bangalore 560003, India
e-mail: srinivasarm92@gmail.com
S. Nautiyal
Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR), Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore 560072, India
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
S. Nautiyal et al. (eds.), Climate Change Challenge (3C)
and Social-Economic-Ecological Interface-Building, Environmental Science,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31014-5_19
327
Sandalwood Resources in India
M. Srinivasa Rao, G. Ravikumar, P.R. Triveni, V. Soundara Rajan
and Sunil Nautiyal
Abstract Sandalwood (Santalum album Linn.) is an important tree species in
peninsular India because of its high economic value and is the best endemic tree in
the world. Past regulations and policies have been identified as the main cause for
the decrease in Sandalwood population, particularly in southern parts of India.
Stringent regulations and policies which excluded farming communities from
growing sandalwood resulted in scarcity of Sandalwood which in turn increased
demand-supply gap. Human intervention, however, has decreased sandalwood
adaptation capability for its sustainability. Due to high value of sandalwood and its
oil and rising demand in domestic and international markets, prices have skyrocketed. Smuggling of Sandalwood has created socio-economic and law and order
problems in all Sandalwood producing states. Karnataka Forest (Amendment) Act,
2001 allows cultivation of sandalwood trees on private lands. This comes as a major
policy change as far as sandalwood cultivation is concerned. Liberalization of
policies of different States in southern parts of India encourages commercial
plantation, but much remains in encouraging the corporate sector to embark on
plantation of this economically important pride species. The severe shortage of
sandalwood, hitting user industries like perfume, soaps and medicine, has
encouraged the policy makers to make pragmatic changes in the policies and rules
and make it more economical and to sustain this valued resource in India. The
governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu amended the sandalwood laws in 2001
and 2002, respectively, and made the grower an owner of the wood. This
amendment encouraged the farmers to take up cultivation on a commercial scale.
This paper focuses on the policies in sustaining Sandalwood resources in India.
M. Srinivasa Rao (&) Á G. Ravikumar Á P.R. Triveni Á V. Soundara Rajan
Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleswaram, Bangalore 560003, India
e-mail: srinivasarm92@gmail.com
S. Nautiyal
Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR), Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore 560072, India
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
S. Nautiyal et al. (eds.), Climate Change Challenge (3C)
and Social-Economic-Ecological Interface-Building, Environmental Science,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31014-5_19
327