Bhubaneswar: The National Biodiversity Authority has released ₹29.40 lakh to the Odisha Forest Department for the conservation and protection of Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) under the Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism.

The ABS fund was generated from the benefit-sharing amount received for accessing Red Sanders wood logs sourced from the Parlakhemundi Forest Division in Gajapati District, Odisha. These trees, believed to be over a century old, were originally planted by the then Maharaja of Parlakhemundi.

The Red Sanders trees had naturally fallen during the cyclone in 2018, after which the Odisha Forest Development Corporation auctioned the fallen wood.

This release is part of the NBA’s continued disbursements to support conservation initiatives across the country. So far, NBA has released over ₹50.00 crore to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, Karnataka Forest Department, and the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board for the protection and conservation of Red Sanders, including sponsored research projects. Additionally, ₹3.00 crore has been released to 198 farmers in Andhra Pradesh and ₹55.00 lakh to 18 farmers in Tamil Nadu. With this release, Odisha becomes the fourth state to receive ABS funds arising from the commercial use of Red Sanders.

The funds will support conservation and sustainable use activities related to Red Sanders across states. This initiative shows how benefit-sharing from the commercial utilisation of biological resources can be directed towards conservation efforts.

BI Bureau