The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released a total of ₹39.84 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board for the protection and conservation of the iconic Red Sanders. This disbursement marks a significant boost to India’s biodiversity conservation efforts.
The total release consists of ₹38.36 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and ₹1.48 crore to the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board. With this release, India’s total Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) disbursements have surpassed an impressive ₹110 crore, making it one of the country’s largest biodiversity-linked ABS releases.
Context and Utilization of Funds
Red Sanders is renowned for its deep red timber and grows naturally only in selected pockets of the Eastern Ghats, specifically in the Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Prakasam, and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh.
An amount of ₹87.68 crore was generated through regulated access to auctioned or seized Red Sanders wood by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department as a benefit-sharing amount.
The ₹38.36 crore released to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department will be used to empower frontline forest staff, enhance protection measures, encourage scientific management of Red Sanders forests, create livelihood opportunities through Biodiversity Management Committees, and strengthen long-term monitoring programmes.
Reforestation and Farmer Support
The NBA has also approved a major initiative to raise one lakh Red Sanders saplings by the Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board at a total cost of ₹2 crore. The remaining ₹1.48 crore has now been transferred to the Board for this purpose. These saplings will be supplied to farmers, thereby boosting the Trees Outside Forests (ToF) programme and aiding conservation outside the species’ natural habitat.
Previously, the NBA had released over ₹49 crore to forest departments in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Odisha, and to the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board for Red Sanders conservation, protection, and research. Furthermore, ₹3 crore has been distributed to 198 farmers in Andhra Pradesh and ₹55 lakh to 18 farmers in Tamil Nadu.
The initiative showcases how Access and Benefit Sharing can directly support India’s conservation achievements, ensuring benefits reach local communities, farmers, and biodiversity custodians.