India Fights to Get Rosewood Delisted from CITES | 22 Aug 2019
India, with the help of Bangladesh and Nepal, is trying to de-list ‘Dalbergia sissoo’, from the list of threatened varieties in order to protect the livelihood of handicraft manufacturers and farmers in the Sub-continent.
- Dalbergia sissoo is commonly known Rosewood, Shisham and is a medium to large deciduous tree, native to India, with a slight crown.
- Distribution: It is native to the foothills of the Himalayas. It is primarily found growing along river banks below 900 metres (3,000 ft) elevation, but can range naturally up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft).
- The temperature in its native range averages 10–40 °C (50–104 °F), but varies from just below freezing to nearly 50 °C (122 °F).
- It can withstand average annual rainfall up to 2,000 millimetres (79 in) and droughts of 3–4 months.
- Soils range from pure sand and gravel to rich alluvium of river banks; shisham can grow in slightly saline soils.
- Use: It is used as firewood, timber, poles, posts, tool handles, fodder, erosion control and as a windbreak. Oil is extracted from the seed and tannin from the bark.
- It is best known internationally as a premier timber species of the rosewood genus. However, Shisham is also an important fuel wood, shade, and shelter.
- With its multiple products, tolerance of light frosts and long dry seasons, this species deserves greater consideration for tree farming, reforestation and agroforestry applications.
- After teak, it is the most important cultivated timber tree in India, planted on roadsides, and as a shade tree for tea plantations.
CITES Status
- Dalbergia sissoo is currently part of Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.
- It says that the species is not necessarily threatened with extinction, but the trade must be controlled to avoid utilisation incompatible with their survival.