conservation strategy of sandalwood resources in indonesia

CONSERVATION STRATEGY OF SANDALWOODRESOURCES IN INDONESIAAnto RimbawantoCentre for Forest Biotechnology and Tree ImprovementYogyakarta - Indonesia

BACKGROUNDNative to eastern IndonesiaEconomically important speciesfor west Timor (Nusa TenggaraTimur/NTT)Genetic resources aredisappearing fastUrgent need for geneticconservation andrehabilitation/replanting

Map of Santalum album generalized natural distribution inIndonesiaSouth Sulawesi, Moluccas Islands, Timorand eastern tip of Java

RESOURCESNatural populations mainly inwest Timor are disappearingfast. During the 10 yearsperiod from 1987 to 1997, thenumber of sandal trees inTimor dropped almost 50%from 544,952 trees to only250,940 trees.Plantation establishment ishampered by social/politicaland silvicultural issues

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCEImportant commodity for theProvince of NTT as it contributessignificantly to the local economy.Between 1986 and 1991,sandalwood contributed up to40% to the total income of theProvinceSince 1997 it has declinedsteadily reaching a low level ofless than 5%

RISKSSlow growing speciesFormation of heartwood - themost valuable part of the tree - isslow and subject to genetic andenvironmental factorsSocial and physical conditions forplantation establishment arelacking (fire, grazing, silviculture)

OPPORTUNITIESEconomically important productsfor NTTSantalum album is the mostvaluable sandalwoodCould help alleviating poverty inNTTCollaborative projects withneighbouring countries such asAustralia and other countries inthe Pacific

Genetic Diversity StudyCollection of 17 provenances (Timor-10, Sumba-3,Alor-3, Jawa-1)17 RAPD primers

OutputsGenetic diversity mostly resides withinpopulation: 0.391 (within population);0.038 (between population)Lack of association betweengeographic location and clustergrouping

CONSERVATIONSTRATEGYStrategy 1Inventory of the remaining sandalwood trees still exist in Timor islandsStrategy 2Maintain existing sandalwood trees to protect the remaining geneticresources and to prevent further loss of genetic diversityStrategy 3Collect seeds from the existing trees found across Timor islands andestablish ex-situ conservation plots in several locations as well as foroperational plantation

CONSERVATION STRATEGYStrategy 4Planting program for rehabilitation of natural stands aswell as for commercial production of sandalwood shouldbe continuedStrategy 5Continue research on sandalwood necessary for thedevelopment of a scientifically based conservationstrategy

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