NBA Releases ₹39.84 Crore to Andhra Pradesh for Red Sanders Protection and Conservation
The National Biodiversity Authority has released ₹38.36 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and ₹1.48 crore to the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board to support the protection and conservation of Red Sanders. With this allocation, India’s Access and Benefit Sharing disbursements have crossed ₹110 crore, representing one of the country’s larger biodiversity-linked ABS allocations.
Red Sanders, known for its deep red timber, occurs naturally only in limited areas of the Eastern Ghats, particularly in the Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Prakasam and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh. An amount of ₹87.68 crore was generated as benefit-sharing revenue through regulated access to auctioned or seized Red Sanders wood by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department.
The NBA has so far released over ₹49 crore to the forest departments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha, as well as to the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, for conservation, protection and research related to Red Sanders. Additionally, ₹3 crore has been provided to 198 farmers in Andhra Pradesh and ₹55 lakh to 18 farmers in Tamil Nadu.
The current release of ₹38.36 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department is expected to support frontline forest personnel, strengthen protection measures, promote scientific management of Red Sanders forests, create livelihood avenues through Biodiversity Management Committees and enhance long-term monitoring efforts.
The NBA has also approved an initiative to raise one lakh Red Sanders saplings by the Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board at a cost of ₹2 crore. An initial portion of the funding was released earlier, and the remaining ₹1.48 crore has now been transferred to the Board. These saplings will be supplied to farmers to support the Trees Outside Forests programme and to facilitate conservation of the species beyond its natural range.
This initiative reflects how Access and Benefit Sharing mechanisms can contribute to national biodiversity efforts by ensuring that conservation-linked benefits reach communities, farmers and biodiversity stewards. The NBA plans to continue working with State Biodiversity Boards, Forest Departments, Biodiversity Management Committees and local stakeholders to safeguard the country’s biological resources.