Andhra Pradesh government plans selling red sanders in furniture form to curb smuggling
VIJAYAWADA: With the twin objectives of curbing the smuggling of red sanders and adding value to the precious wood, the State government has decided to sell and export about 1,000 metric tonnes of red sanders in the form of furniture and other household articles every year. The government is of the view that apart from a generation of income, the proposal of adding value to the precious redwood will provide job opportunities locally. Though the government auctioned red sanders several times earlier, it allowed the buyers to export it in the form of logs.
Now, it has proposed to make it mandatory for the buyers to export red sanders only after converting it into furniture and other products by engaging the services of local artisans, which helps add value to exports.
The Andhra Pradesh government has already sought the permission of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority in this regard.
In an exclusive interview with TNIE, Special Chief Secretary (Environment, Forest, Science and Technology) Neerabh Kumar Prasad said, “Soon after getting the nod from the Centre, the State government will sell the seized red sanders logs. As 6,280 metric tonnes of the precious wood is already available, it will be enough for exports for six years,” he said, adding, “We are planning to auction 250 MT of red sanders each time and conduct the process four times a year, preferably once in three months.’’
Informing that red sanders, which was in the red list of endangered species in 1997, recognised as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2018, Neerabh said in case of non-availability of sufficient seized stock of red sanders in any particular year, the remaining quantity of wood will be harvested from the forest to reach the yearly sales target of 1,000 metric tonnes without causing any harm to the existence of the precious tree species.
Non-availability of red sanders in the international market legally is the root cause for its smuggling, he said.“After taking all such issues into consideration, the government has proposed to make 1,000 MT of red sanders available per annum in the international market, which will help combat the menace of smuggling of precious wood effectively,” asserted Neerabh.
The Andhra Pradesh government has auctioned 8,100 metric tonnes of red sanders against 8,498 metric tonnes permitted by CITES for one-time sale and export.