The Hindu, July 21, 2014
Sandalwood trees grown in private land are now more
prone to be stolen after the Forest Department stepped up protection of
the trees in the Marayur Forest Division by devising various plans such
as annual census, intensified monitoring, and heavy fencing around the
sanctuary.
As per the last tree census, there were
60,160 sandalwood trees in the Marayur division; nearly 6,000 in Chinnar
Wildlife Sanctuary; and 5,000 in Periyar Tiger Reserve, in addition to
those grown in private land, especially in Marayur.
Marayur
sandal is best suited for extracting oil and it is in high demand from
cosmetic and perfume industries. However, there is no official data on
the trees grown in private land, making them an easy target for
smugglers.
An official of the Marayur Forest Division told The Hindu that
sandalwood smuggling had considerably dropped in the protected areas
following strong steps adopted by the government, including closing down
of private factories and amending of the Kerala Forest Act.
However,
the trees in private land are cut down by the farmers themselves at a
tender age as there is an impression that it is their responsibility to
keep the tree safe. Moreover, at the annual auctions, the Forest
Department takes fully grown sandalwood only when it is naturally dead,
or fallen.
In some cases, smugglers cut down the
trees with the connivance of the owner as growing them were not
considered commercially viable. In wildlife sanctuaries, dead trees
could not be sold or removed as they were considered part of the
ecosystem. Smugglers used this provision to steal such wood from the
forests, an official said.
Seized sandalwood timber
could easily be recognised whether they were from private land or not by
assessing the maturity of the trees.
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