The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed ₹45 lakh to Red Sanders farmers in Andhra Pradesh under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism, aimed at promoting sustainable use and conservation of the high-value endemic species.
The amount was released through the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, taking India’s cumulative ABS disbursements to over ₹143.5 crore. The initiative enables Red Sanders cultivators to earn dual income—through the legal sale of cultivated wood and through monetary benefits provided under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said the ABS framework directly incentivises farmers for conserving and sustainably utilising Red Sanders, while discouraging illegal trade and over-exploitation.
To date, the NBA has released more than ₹104 crore to Andhra Pradesh for Red Sanders conservation, protection and benefit-sharing. Additional disbursements exceeding ₹15 crore have been made to other states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana.
In the past three months alone, over ₹5.35 crore has been distributed to more than 220 Red Sanders farmers across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
The NBA said linking conservation outcomes with tangible economic returns has transformed Red Sanders from a protected species into a livelihood-supporting asset for farming communities. The authority added that continued ABS disbursements contribute to conservation, scientific research and socio-economic development, while strengthening India’s leadership in global biodiversity conservation.
