Sandalwood disappearing from the wild

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Sandalwood disappearing from the wild

Ungelesener Beitragvon newsclip » Mo Feb 05, 2007 10:00 am

Sandalwood disappearing from the wild
Plantations hope they can sate world demand


APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

Prachin Buri _ An insatiable worldwide demand for aromatic wood over the past 2,000 years has led to a severe depletion of sandalwood trees in tropical forests in Thailand and across the world. Forestry officials and police have tried to crack down on sandalwood poachers and traders for decades, but efforts have not been able to save the endangered trees.

In Thailand, the problem is most severe in Khao Yai National Park, said to be one of the world's best sources of high-quality sandalwood, a species of aloe wood.

''We can say that there is no adult sandalwood left in the forest now. There are only baby trees that cannot produce any aromatic oil,'' said Saran Jaisa-ard, director of the Royal Forestry Department's suppression and prevention division.

Aloe wood, also called agar wood, contains valuable agar oil which is used in incense, perfumes and medicines. Middle Eastern countries are the largest sandalwood importers, followed by China, Japan and a number of European nations.

The tree is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which rules that importing and exporting of fragrant wood cannot be done without government permission.

Forestry statistics show that over recent decades, hundreds of sandalwood poachers have been arrested in Khao Yai National Park each year. But recently, the number has dropped to only 20-30 cases a year.

''This is possibly evidence that sandalwood has almost disappeared from Khao Yai,'' Mr Saran said.

Good quality sandalwood can be sold at 40,000-60,000 baht a kilogramme. The loggers supply the wood to oil extraction plants located around the edge of the national park.

The sharp reduction in the amount of sandalwood available in the wild, coupled with the unabated demand from the global market, has prompted some agribusinesses to invest in commercial plantations of fragrant trees in Thailand. Plantations have been set up in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chanthaburi and Prachin Buri.

However, many of them have reportedly failed as they were unable to grow trees able to produce the same high quality agar oil that is found in naturally growing sandalwood in the wild.

Porkaew Pitsathorn, a marketing executive of Touchwood Forestry, which operates a 2,000-rai aloe wood plantation in Prachin Buri, said it was not easy to grow aromatic wood and the company was developing a breeding programme and extraction technology in a bid to produce high-grade aromatic oil products.

The firm uses native sandalwood species and hires local villagers to grow the saplings. One of the major problems the plantation has been facing is the high death rate of the young trees, she said.

Ms Porkaew said the firm used US breeding techniques to increase the trees' capacity to produce the valuable agar resin, from which the fragrant oil is extracted.

The government's support and promotion of commercial fragrant wood plantations was key to the survival of sandalwood in Thai forests and would help reduce the illegal trade in the wood, she said.

Mr Saran said the forestry department's research division had also tried to breed the species in experimental fields, hoping that the project would reduce demand for agar wood from the wild.

''Thailand can become the regional centre for agar wood production and trade if we can successfully produce this wood in commercial plantations,'' he said.

Source: Bangkok Post feb. 5, 2007
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/05Feb2007_news12.php

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