By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
Environmental groups and experts in the field have have raised serious concerns over the state of forests in Sri Lanka. They claimed that the country had lost around 10,000 acres of its forest cover due to the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga Development Projects.
The Executive Director of the ‘Gratec’ Sri Lanka Environmental Organisation Gamini Jayatissa told The Morning that the government was yet to start any government funded afforestration programme in a bid to tackle the reducing number of forest cover.
According to the government statistics, the estimated natural forests in Sri Lanka cover nearly 18 percent of the land area. They are mainly situated in the dry zone of the country.
Gratec Executive Director stressed that the natural forests were being gradually cleared for particular reasons with the utmost approval of the government and therefore the deforestation in Sri Lanka was one of the most serious environmental issues that have appeared to be rapidly for past few years.
Sri Lanka’s forest cover, which was around 49 percent in 1920, has fallen to approximately 18 percent by now. Between 2000 and 2016 the rate of deforestation growing rate was 1.46 percent per annum, according to the environmentalists.
Environmentalists alleged that approximately 65,000 acres have already been allocated for the gigantic projects and no government official has been concerned about the disaster that would cause in terms of this project.
They urged the government to streamline the environmental laws and to pay more attention on deforesting for the sake of development.
Meanwhile, The Morning learns that the government was planning to develop Pukkulam village which is situated in the borders of Wilpattu National Park.
The Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation Chandana Sooriyabandara said the government was still evaluating the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and none of the development projects had not yet started in the village as it was situated in Wilpattu National Park boarder.
However, sources told The Morning that the Pukkulam village was used by the land owners to attract NGO funds as the majority of the villagers had separate lands in Puttalam District. The villages were trying to secure their land rights in Pukkulam which was basically a fishing village.
Environmental Conservation Trust Director Sajeewa Chamikara alleged that the government was planning to implement a tourism development project from Wilpattu to Mannar and the development of the villages in the Wilapttu would be the first step of the plan.
Highlighting the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance (FFPO), Chamikara said it was illegal to construct any sort of development even through an EIA in a one mile buffer zone from a national park.