Domestication of northern sandalwood (Santalum lanceolatum, Santalaceae) for Indigenous forestry on the Cape York Peninsula

• Published in: Australian forestry 2019-05, Vol.82 (sup1), p.14-22
• Main Authors: Lee, D. J., Burridge, A. J., Page, T., Huth, J. R., Thompson, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cape York Peninsula; conservation; domestication; Indigenous forestry; participatory forestry; sandalwood; Santalum lanceolatum
• ISSN: 0004-9158; 2325-6087
• DOI: 10.1080/00049158.2018.1543567

Over recent decades there has been considerable private investment in developing a sandalwood (Santalum spp.) industry due to the high international demand for products derived from its heartwood. While Santalum album (Indian sandalwood) has been the primary species used in these investments, other species may also have potential for commercialisation. In Cape York Peninsula (CYP), where Santalum lanceolatum occurs naturally, there are limited options for industry development, but research has shown that sandalwood products may provide an opportunity. The potential to incorporate sandalwood into existing Indigenous land management plans and further extend this into commercial plantings provides the opportunity to utilise an endemic tree species for economic development. This paper summarises participatory research with two Indigenous communities in the CYP to evaluate and improve conservation and development outcomes through sandalwood domestication. The project has been implemented through a series of community consultations with the aim of reaching a consensus on how a sandalwood industry could develop and facilitating community involvement in the technical aspects of domestication and forest development. Differences in the progress achieved in the communities are significant and depend on the cultural and municipal structures and relationships within the communities. The participatory approach in the northern part of the CYP has resulted in the establishment of important S. lanceolatum genetic resources that will be used to underpin the development of an industry: (1) sandalwood demonstration plantings (Bamaga and Lockhart River); (2) clonal seed orchard (Bamaga); (3) conservation enrichment plantings (Bamaga) and (4) two progeny trials (Bamaga). The survival of S. lanceolatum from the northern CYP has been good in both the progeny trials and the grafted seed orchards; however, sandalwood from other sources (other sandalwood species including S. album, Santalum austrocaledonicum and Santalum leptocladum and non-local provenances of S. lanceolatum) have performed poorly in the northern CYP. This paper outlines the history of sandalwood exploitation in CYP, which has led to the need for interventions to improve its conservation, as well as efforts to domesticate sandalwood so that the Traditional Owners of the northern CYP can benefit from this species.