Geographical Indication tag sought for Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders

Red sanders is a native and endemic to India and can only be found in the Southern parts of the Eastern Ghats. It is a small tree that grows to 5-8 meters in height with a trunk 50-150 cm diameter.

The Andhra Pradesh forest department represented by Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force have submitted an application seeking geographical indication (GI) tag for the famous Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders. Red sanders is a native and endemic to India and can only be found in the Southern parts of the Eastern Ghats. It is a small tree that grows to 5-8 meters in height with a trunk 50-150 cm diameter. The geographical area of red sanders include Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya, Nandyal, Prakasham and Nellore.

There is a huge demand for this timber in the domestic and international market, especially in East Asian Countries. Red Sanders timber is used for carvings. furniture, poles, and house posts. The rare “wavy” grain variant is highly valued in Japan for its acoustic properties and is used to make musical instruments. In addition, the timber is also exploited for the extraction of Santalin (a red pigment used as dye and colorant in food), medicine and cosmetics. Its IUCN red list status is “endangered”.

Red Sanders was listed as an endangered species by the IUCN because of over exploitation for its timber in South India. Details provided in the application that was filed shows that it was later re-classified to near threatened in 2018, as the scale of this loss is not properly known.

The applicant in order to protect the trees from illegal felling and trading of the wood has taken several initiatives through the government by enforcing strict monitoring system in the forest by guarding them with support of man force. And because of this the percentage of ill-legal felling has come down drastically. The applicant has mentioned that steps have also been taken to plant more trees in the forest region.