{"id":112892,"date":"2021-03-22T01:25:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T07:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=112892"},"modified":"2021-03-21T18:23:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T01:23:48","slug":"deforestation-in-sinharaja-and-elsewhere-it-is-time-the-president-took-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/03\/22\/deforestation-in-sinharaja-and-elsewhere-it-is-time-the-president-took-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Deforestation in Sinharaja and elsewhere; It is time the President took action"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Sinharaja Forest\nReserve is a <\/em>forest\nreserve<\/em><\/a> and\na <\/em>biodiversity\nhotspot<\/em><\/a> in <\/em>Sri Lanka<\/em><\/a>. It is of international significance and has been\ndesignated a <\/em>Biosphere\nReserve<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>World\nHeritage Site<\/em><\/a> by <\/em>UNESCO<\/em><\/a>. According to International Union for Conservation\nof Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country’s last viable area of primary <\/em>tropical rainforest<\/em><\/a>. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of\nthem are considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan’s endemics species of animals (especially\nbutterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95%\nendemic birds -Wikipedia<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sinharaja forest is the country\u2019s most priceless jewel\nthat belongs to the future generations to come. Any person or entity that has destroyed\nthis jewel has committed a crime where punishment is useless as this forest and\nits bio diversity can never be regenerated by punishing anyone after the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, punishment there has to be, very dire punishment,\nto deter others from continuing to commit this crime and reducing this jewel to\nrubble. It is not only some official or a businessman or woman who has to be\npunished, but the politicians and the government who are the temporary\ncustodians managing the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UNESCO states that, quote Sinha raja encompasses\nthe last extensive patch of primary lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka, and it is\nsituated in the south-west lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka.  Covering an\narea of 8,864 ha and ranging from an altitude of 300 \u2013 1,170 meters, it\nconsists of 6,092 ha of Forest Reserve and 2,772 ha of Proposed Forest Reserve.\nThis narrow strip of undulating terrain encompasses a series of ridges and\nvalleys that are crisscrossed by an intricate network of streams. Draining to\nboth the south and north, this detailed matrix of waterways flow into the Gin\nRiver on the southern boundary of the property and K\u0101lu River via the Napoli Dole,\nKoskulana Ganga and Kudawa Ganga on its northern boundary. Annual rainfall over\nthe last 60 years has ranged from 3614 – 5006 mm with most of the precipitation\nduring the south-west monsoon (May-July) and the north-east monsoon (November-\nJanuary).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is home to 830 endemic species, of which 217\ntrees and woody climbers are found in the low land wet zone. Of these, 139\n(64%) have been recorded in the reserve including 16 rare species. Faunal\nendemism is particularly high for birds with 19 (95%) of 20 species recorded in\nthe property being endemic to Sri Lanka. Endemism among mammals and butterflies\nis also greater than 50%. A number of threatened, endangered and rare species\noccur within the reserve including: leopard (Panthera\npardus)<\/em>, Indian elephant (Elephas\nmaxiumus<\/em>), <\/em>endemic\npurple-faced Langur (Presbytis\nsenex<\/em>), Sri Lanka wood pigeon (Columba\ntorringtoni<\/em>), green-billed Coucal (Centropus chlororrhynchus<\/em>), Sri Lanka\nwhite-headed starling (Sturnus\nsenex<\/em>), Sri Lanka blue magpie (Cissa\nornate<\/em>), ashy-headed babbler (Garrulax\ncinereifrons<\/em>) and Sri Lanka broad-billed roller (Eurystomus orientalis irisi<\/em>)\u201d<\/strong>\nunquote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarmingly,\nthere appears to be credible evidence that unauthorised deforestation is\noccurring within, on the periphery or just outside the Sinharaja forest\nreserve, an elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthis is true, it is a crime against the future generations of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nshort term gain, and avarice in some cases, is destroying a priceless treasure\nlike Sinharaja, the rulers of today need to be taken to task for allowing this\nto happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nreports made, photographs published (not the fake photos doing the rounds on\nsocial media, but credible ones published in the Daily Mirror), and the\nimpassioned plea of a young women, Bhagya Abeyratne and that of a respected\nBuddhist Monk like Omalpe Sobitha Thero, are untrue or they are misinformed, it\nis the responsibility of the President himself to assure them and the public\nthat the reports are untrue or the voices of a rising tide of protests are\nmisinformed, and that all is well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nno action is taken by the President, people may justly or unjustly form their\nviews that this is due to possible complicity or due to indebtedness to\npolitical supporters and financiers who worked to ensure his election as\nPresident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nPresident cannot do this by listening to the very parties who might be involved\nin this alleged destruction. He needs to get an independent, credible and\nimpartial investigator to investigate and report back to him, and do so soon.\nThat report needs to be made public, and if it reports that the allegations are\ntrue, then action should be taken against anyone responsible for this\ndegradation and a vile crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nPresident is urged, in the strongest possible terms that he should appoint such\nan investigator without delay, to investigate and submit his or her report,\nwith photographs, to prove or disprove the allegations, and to do so within a\nperiod of a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthis potentially very damaging crime is indeed occurring, and the future of\nSinharaja is threatened, it is the future of the country that is at stake, as\nthere will not be a country that could sustain itself without forests, and\nwithout bio diversity in those forests. Such a crime, if it\u2019s happening, is\nsomething that can, and should be referred to the UNHRC as it is a very genuine\ncrime against humanity and a violation of human rights of the people of Sri\nLanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthe other hand, if these allegations are a storm in a tea cup, and orchestrated\nby political opponents of the President and the government, that needs to be\nexposed as well. If this were the case, it would be in the Presidents interest\nand the interest of the government, and indeed in the interest of the country,\nto expose such a fraudulent campaign and take those responsible to task\naccording to the law of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nappears that at the centre of the alleged forest destruction is the government\ngazette notification 05\/2021 which permits Provincial and District Secretaries\nto allow residual land\u201d, land lying in between protected lands like wild life\nreserves, protected forests, which by themselves are not protected, to be used\nfor agriculture or for cattle grazing etc. \nWhile the intent of the gazette notification may have been honourable,\nit does leave room for dishonourable acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This writer highlighted this in an article titled Sri Lanka desperately needs a strategic, transparent\nand comprehensive State land management policy\u201d that appeared in the Daily FT, the Sri Lanka\nGuardian and Lankweb in November 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis the gazette notification 1\/2020, which revokes previous notifications \u201805\/2001,\u2019\n\u201802\/2006,\u2019 \u20185\/98\u2019 issued for the protection of the remaining remnant forests\nfor the acquisition of lands required for the National Physical Plan, that is\nat the centre of this controversy as the enabling tool that opens the doors for\nmisuse of protected land. In all likelihood the provisions of this\ngazette notification have been and are being misused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nnot, it is the duty of the President and the government to demonstrate it is\nnot being misused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutting\ndown forests in one area and planting trees in another area is not a solution\nto protect the environment. It is the bio diversity in a forest, along with the\nforest, that protects the environment of the country. An existing bio\ndiversity, once destroyed by cutting down forests, will be destroyed forever,\nand planting trees elsewhere will not give rise to bio diversity in such an\narea perhaps for thousands of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthe allegations relating to deforestation and environmental damage is proven to\nbe true, the government seems to be moving towards a self-destructing\ntrajectory. The alleged sugar scam, where the reduction of import duty from Rs\n50 per KG to 25 cts per KG, resulting in a revenue loss for the government to the\ntune of some Rs 15 Billion, and a windfall for some importers, appears as the\nbeginning of this journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nPresident needs to act, if he wishes to save himself and the government, and\nthe country, before the torrent becomes a damaging and devastating flood   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country’s last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-raj-gonsalkorale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}