Rosewood tree at risk as Conservation law lapses in TN

NILGIRIS: In the mist-soaked slopes of the Nilgiris, the rosewood tree has always stood apart — tall, dense-grained and quietly commanding. Locally called eetti, the species grows naturally in the region’s mild climate and steady rainfall, sharing the forests with sandalwood, teak and other high-value trees. For generations, the wood has been felled to make musical instruments and fine furniture, earning it a place among the most prized timbers in India, ultimately endangering the species.

But in recent months, a quieter conversation has been underway in Gudalur in the Nilgiris: what happens to this legacy now that the Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act, 1994, has lapsed?

Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) is native to India, stretching from the Himalayan foothills to Sikkim. In the Nilgiris, the tree carries more than commercial value. Tribal communities regard it as sacred. A 200-year-old specimen in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve was even declared Tamil Nadu’s heritage tree by the State Biodiversity Board in 2017.

Its market value, however, tells a different story. Furniture made from genuine rosewood often sells at high prices, leading to the trees earning a status comparable to gold. And where there is demand, there is poaching.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, illegal felling intensified as timber smugglers targeted mature rosewood trees in protected forests and on private lands. The steady decline pushed the species towards depletion.

In 1995, then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa introduced the Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act, aiming to curb rampant cutting and transport. Renewed every 15 years, the law created strict penalties and prevented easy bail for offenders — a provision that helped reduce smuggling attempts.

In 2010, then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi extended the law for another 15 years. That term expired in February 2025. This time, the extension did not follow.

Forest officials and activists say they showed limited interest in pushing for renewal, and as the months passed, the Act quietly slipped out of force. With no updated framework now in place, conservationists fear a return to the years when rosewood trees disappeared almost overnight.

“Without the Act, the risk of felling and smuggling increases,” forest welfare groups have warned, pointing to the species’ high value in timber markets.

For now, the forests of Gudalur continue to nurture rosewood as they always have, their deep red heartwood hidden beneath layers of bark and moss. But with the protective law no longer active, questions linger — about enforcement, renewal, and whether a tree so deeply tied to the Nilgiris’ identity can remain safe without formal safeguards.