• Matale MP calls for halt on deforestation
• Minister deploys officials to visit all sites

By Sarah Hannan At a time when we as a country should be working towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) of 2030, the caring for the environment has become key. Out of the 17 SDGs, four SDGs – namely, Clauses 6, 10, 13, and 14 – are interconnected with the environment. In this backdrop, special attention needs to be drawn towards the other state forests that were recognised through the circular issued on 1 August 2001, commonly known as the 05/2001 Circular, by the then Government in order to protect the named areas and move their jurisdiction from the divisional secretariats to the central government to ensure they are protected from deforestation. It is apparent that the present Government, through their attempt to abolish the 5/2001 Circular, is attempting to reach their vision of prosperity by selling these other state forests to companies for development and commercial cultivation projects. The areas that were protected by the 5/2001 Circular were conveniently disregarded by the Rajapaksa regime of 2005, when they once again named the divisional secretaries as the authority over the other state forestlands. However, at the time, there was a strong opposition from the people’s side which halted such destruction taking place. According to Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna, about 30% of the country’s biodiversity is protected under the 05/2001 Circular, along with the other state forests that were recognised under the said circular. She also pointed out that at present, a total of 1,802 ha in the Matale District is being destroyed under the guise of commercial cultivation permits that are issued through the divisional secretariats, as requested by the incumbent Government. It is not only the incumbent Government that is at fault, as many governments before them too had issued cultivation permits to the residents of these areas, which were to be renewed each year. Even the Jayabhoomi and Swarnabhoomi permits had been issued in a haphazard manner, which later resulted in farmers gradually encroaching into nearby forest reserves to collect firewood or to expand their cultivation land under the influence of money that was offered to them by multinational companies. Kavirathna added that other state forests in Wilgamuwa, Laggala, Rattota, and bordering the Knuckles Forest Reserve are under threat by the deforestation that is taking place, which is allowed to expand the commercial cultivations initiated by multinational companies. Safeguarding OSFs crucial Kavirathna also noted that researchers and environmentalists for years had documented findings to highlight the importance of safeguarding other state forests in the central highlands. “If people recollect their memories, in 1998-2000 too there were instances where massive areas were being cleared in Matale, during which time my late husband Sanjeewa Kavirathna protested against this deforestation. They launched a campaign to protect these other state forests,” she recalled. As a result of the campaign launched by her late husband, then Land Commissioner Sumana Bandara Beddewela on 8 April 2000 had issued the 2000/03 Circular which decreed that, under the Land Development Act, any development work that is to take place adjacent or within the areas where there are forests, a permit has to be obtained by the Land Commission. It was after this incident that the then United National Party (UNP) Government on 1 August 2001 brought in the 05/2001 Circular. The move was celebrated widely by environmental groups and in an event to mark that victory, a celebration took place at the Knuckles Mountain Range. At present, the environmentally protected areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and other state forests fall under various jurisdictions – namely, the Forest Department, Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), and divisional secretaries. Dangers of abolishing 5/2001 Kavirathna stressed that by abolishing the 5/2001 Circular, the Government is trying to vest the powers of taking development decisions over such forests with the divisional secretaries, which will ultimately pave the way for massive destruction to continue with no regulation. Such a decision will not only destroy the Matale District or the central highlands, but the entire country’s biodiversity. “We do not want to see areas turning into deserts in the name of development. If we destroy the environment and not protect it, we will face more natural disasters. If the remaining forests are given to political henchmen, the destruction of Sri Lanka by the imperialists will take place in the central hills,” she opined. In 2006, a letter from then Secretary to the Ministry of Forest Resources and Environment N. Pathmanathan clearly stated that the then Government had tried to clear the remaining forests, after which the resolution to bring the “unwanted/underdeveloped” forestlands to the divisional secretaries had to be withdrawn due to the protests of the people. Destruction of the environment is not only a matter confined to Matale; it is a matter that affects the entire country and the world. If the forests in the Central Province are destroyed, it is inevitable that the whole country will feel its pressure. The Central Province has the largest number of environmental organisations in Sri Lanka. Kavirathna said that the country and the world would be ruined if the environment was not protected. Not forests but private property The Sunday Morning spoke to Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera to inquire about the action his Ministry is taking against the perpetrators who are destroying forests and sensitive environmental areas. Responding to this, Amaraweera noted: “The only major illegal clearances of forests or mangroves were reported from Anawilundawa, Wanathawilluwa, and then Thanamalwila, for which we are actively carrying out investigations and have brought the suspects to book. All the other posts that are circulating on social media are actually land owned privately or land that falls out of the boundaries of the Forest Department and Department of Wildlife Conservation.” Amaraweera also stated that he had deployed his ministry officials to visit these sites and compile a separate situation report, so that the Ministry is fully aware of the extent of damage and the actions that are taken against such environmental destruction.