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Kenyan researcher, Dr Jane Mwangi, has developed habitat suitability maps, an innovative tool that pinpoints regions where sandalwood can thrive.

The African sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata) is one of the most highly sought-after trees. Its demand has surged in local and international markets hence its harvesting has become rampant.

“African sandalwood is under significant threat. I decided to uncover the ecological and human-induced challenges facing the African sandalwood and factors influencing its distribution across Eastern and Southern Africa,” says Mwangi, who is one of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) scholars.

RSIF is the flagship programme of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET), managed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) as the regional coordination unit.

Sandalwood is a fragrant wood used in incense and essential oils that has the potential to uplift many people out of poverty.

According to a report by Market Research Future (MRFR) the sandalwood oil market is projected to exceed $165 million by 2027, with African sandalwood contributing to regional exports. In East Africa, harvesting sandalwood can generate incomes ranging from $100 (Sh12,939) to $500 (Sh64,695) per kilogramme, depending on wood quality.

Despite all this potential, according to Dr Mwangi African sandalwood is under increasing threat in the region, with significant gaps in knowledge about its ecology, distribution and the factors influencing its survival in the wild.

Despite its ecological, socioeconomic and cultural importance, research and data on the species remain limited, both regionally and globally.

“This is why I created these maps that identify areas where African Sandalwood can thrive despite climate change. The maps also highlight areas where communities can focus their efforts on sustainable management and conservation practices.

These maps, the first of their kind for African Sandalwood, could be further enhanced by incorporating habitat characteristics such as biotic factors like hosts of Osyris lanceolata,” she says.

Village input

Mwangi has been organising workshops to educate villagers about sustainable practices. She has been showing them how they can use the maps to engage in Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM and also how to nurture existing sandalwood plants through techniques like coppicing where rootstocks are tended to help regenerate their forests.

“If the areas predicted to be suitable in the Habitat Suitability Maps are in private and communal lands that are not under the control of the government due to land tenure, then the CBNRM managers should sensitise and encourage the local community to participate actively in conservation, especially in tending the remnants of African sandalwood,” she suggests. So far she has encouraged her community to plant young African sandalwood saplings in their fields, integrating them into agroforestry systems that provide economic benefits while enhancing environmental resilience.

According to her, communities in the central region have already learnt about the ecological significance of their native trees and felt empowered to take action.

She explains that cultivating the African sandalwood alongside other crops could create climate-resilient landscapes, generating income from its valuable wood and oils while contributing to conservation goals.

“It will act like a cash crop and in agroforestry systems with medicinal, cosmetic, essential oils, erosion control and soil conservation, as an agent to help extract and remove elements of pollutants in soil (known as soil phytoremediation), ethno-veterinary medicine, resilient food source for local consumption benefits as well as help in creating climate-resilient landscapes,” she adds.

Her research not only sheds light on the economic potential of African sandalwood but also advocates for policy reforms that allow local communities to participate actively in conservation efforts, especially through the use of the Habitat Suitability Maps.

She emphasises the need for updated laws to ensure fair sharing of benefits from the African sandalwood cultivation among those who tend the land.

Looking ahead, she acknowledges that much remains to be explored regarding African sandalwood’s ecological needs and threats. However, she is optimistic that the use of Habitat Suitability Maps especially, would help save the African sandalwood from over and unsustainable harvesting.