Today, the exploitation of WA sandalwood in the wild is carried out by the Forest Products Commission (FPC) under licence from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

The FPC hires contractors to uproot whole mature sandalwood trees, over 30,000 in total per annum, as confirmed by questions in Parliament.

The FPC calls this ‘harvesting’ but it is a one-off mining operation.

Numerous studies have shown there is little or no regeneration of sandalwood in the wild due to a combination of climate change, fires, introduced herbivores and loss of native mammals such as the woylie, which used to help the species germinate.

Effective regeneration of sandalwood takes money, time and care, which the FPC lacks.

In 2021 WA sandalwood was placed on the IUCN international threatened species list, the ‘Red List’, a listing that followed a review by five scientists including two former senior DBCA scientists.

The current government-approved wild-take quota for sandalwood is set at 2,500 tonnes per annum (tpa), with up to 1,250 tpa of ‘green’ sandalwood (coming from the uprooting of whole live trees), and the rest dead wood. The quota period expires at the end of 2026.

DBCA has now commenced a process to review the wild sandalwood quota and make a recommendation to the Minister for Environment on the next 10 years’ exploitation.

After almost 200 years of destruction it is time to prioritise conservation over exploitation.

Find more more with further readings below.