Sandalwood trade and development in Papua New Guinea

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ABSTRACT The harvest and trade of sandalwood (Santalum macgregorii) from natural stands began in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the late nineteenth century. Sporadic harvesting has occurred intermittently since then and continues to this day, with little active management to promote regeneration. This study was undertaken to determine the state of natural sandalwood resources in PNG, clarify the associated regulations for monitoring its trade and export, and identify practical options for local resource restoration through family and clan plantings. We studied export permit data, interviewed resource owners and traders, evaluated forestry legislation and regulation and engaged landowners in three areas of the country to establish sandalwood plantings. We found few regulations or monitoring protocols for sandalwood harvesting and trade in PNG. Export declarations are the only means for reporting the grades and volumes traded. There is evidence that both grades and prices have been underdeclared at point of export. No export permits in the last eight years contained records of any high-grade (A) products, and declared export values were lower than domestic prices paid to resource owners. Export records since 1997 reveal that significant volumes of up to 126 tonnes annually were traded in the early 2000s. The natural resource is yet to fully recover, with much lower volumes exported. To address the reduction in availability of natural sandalwood, we engaged landowners in three locations to establish sandalwood plantings. The results demonstrate that sandalwood, grown in agroforestry systems, can be productive in PNG, with mean basal stem diameter increments of up to 2.0 cm y−1 recorded. To further develop the sandalwood sector in PNG, we make four recommendations: (1) establish a ten-year moratorium on the sandalwood trade to enable the recovery of natural populations; (2) develop a product grading and sales registry system to improve trade transparency and monitoring; (3) reallocate the tax revenues generated from sandalwood exports to the PNG Forest Authority to fund the monitoring of harvesting and trade; and (4) promote options for resource restoration through family garden, boundary and enrichment plantings. The sandalwood industry in PNG has the potential to be viable and sustainable if the proposed recommendations are adopted by appropriate stakeholders to manage production and regulate the trade in the country and internationally.