Development work will need EIAs: Environmentalists
By Sarah Hannan While the Government has released nearly 1.5 million acres of other state forests to be repurposed for development work, environmentalists have expressed concerns over forest land that will come under threat, especially since several circulars that protected other state forests to a certain extent have been repealed. The Ministerial Circular numbered MWFC/1/2020 titled “Management of other state forests” issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation, which repealed several circulars including the 05/2001 circular that was providing protection to unrecognised forest covers, became a hot topic of discourse since July this year.
Explaining the circular that was issued, Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation Secretary M.K. Bandula Harischandra stated: “The existing forest cover of Sri Lanka, that is 29.2% of the country, does not include the land extent that is under ‘other state forest’ lands. These other state forests will be allowed to be repurposed for development work through the authority of the divisional and district secretariats, whilst taking into consideration that no impact is made to biodiversity and wildlife, and there is no severe environmental damage. We have no connection to the alleged international agreement or compact.”
According to Harischandra, the Ministerial Circular No. MWFC/1/2020 that was issued on 4 November, repealed circular No. 05/98, dated 1 July 1998, limiting the size of the forest lands managed by the divisional secretaries; and subsequent circulars 05/2001 dated 10 August 2001, which authorised the management of all other forest lands to the Conservator General of Forest, and 02/2006, dated 17 May 2006, which allowed the Conservator General of Forest to release lands for non-forest purposes.
Rainforest Protectors of Sri Lanka Convenor Jayantha Wijesinghe meanwhile noted: “The total area of the remaining other state forest lands in Sri Lanka is estimated to be close to 1.5 million acres. That is about 5% of the total forest cover of the country. In the past, large-scale deforestation occurred across the country, despite the goal of increasing forest cover by 3%. Deforestation in my village has taken place over at least 50 acres of forest, which I believe was done through the permits that were obtained by the divisional/district secretariats, referring to land development.”
Wijesinghe added that, given the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and local environmental protection policies and regulations as well as the election manifesto, this policy decision is totally unacceptable.
Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Chairman and Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare and Executive Director Hemantha Withanage, in a statement issued on Friday (13), noted: “It’s very sad to see this Cabinet of Ministers direct the government officers to deregulate forests which are public common goods, which will result in mass forest grabbing which will also result in environmental destruction and disasters. We vehemently oppose this undemocratic move and demand the cancellation of the new circular, and to give due respect to the available Forest Act (as amended) and to the National Environmental Act (as amended).”
Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, speaking to The Sunday Morning, said: "Most of the forest reserves in Sri Lanka are demarcated; there are sensitive environmental zones that we are presently identifying, which are also going to be demarcated in order to separate the land that is to be used by the people for development and cultivation purposes. We are working towards protecting the remaining forest cover and ensuring that wildlife too is protected.”
Amaraweera added that the Environmental Protection Units that are established across the country will be tasked to keep a close watch on any encroachment, deforestation, or environmental destruction taking place going forward. The units will immediately report on such activities and take necessary action with the assistance of the relevant authorities, institutions, and, if required, ministries.
Meanwhile, according to the findings of the Land Use Policy Planning Department (LUPPD), 33% of Sri Lanka’s land expanse is dedicated for agricultural industries. But only 12% of it is put to use productively. What the Government should be looking to do is to increase the productivity of the underutilised cultivation land.
There is a 21% land expanse that could be repurposed and put to use for agriculture. Therefore, there is no immediate necessity to revoke circular 05/2001 for farmers to be afforded more land within protected forest areas.