The warning came after the Ministry received reports that sandalwood plants had been harvested and stolen in Ha’apai.
Kaniva News reports that Sione Foliaki from the Ministry’s office in Tongatapu said he is aware of the reports.
He said it was announced on local radios reminding the public that harvesting and exporting of the “protected” plant is illegal.
According to the Ministry it “could be classified as a threatened species in the sense that it is very vulnerable to theft – so much so that the Tonga Timber Company is no longer planting sandalwood.”
