DIMO successfully completes five-year LIFE reforestation project

DIMO recently completed its contribution to the collaborative 5-year forest reserve restoration project, ‘LIFE’, in Kanneliya. The restoration programme was conducted together with Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) and several private sector companies along with the technical support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and guidance from the Forest Department.

DIMO commenced its ‘LIFE’ journey in 2016, along with 15 private sector companies to restore a 12-hectare patch of degraded forest land in the Kanneliya Forest Reserve. After years of planning, implementation and monitoring, the site has shown remarkable progress where over 18,000 plants from 46 native species have been introduced throughout the reforestation period. The project also commenced a biodiversity credit accrual system for Sri Lanka with the objective of assigning a unit of value for enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The reforestation project has also seen remarkable development in terms of butterfly diversity. A recent biodiversity study recorded 22 species of butterfly at the restoration site, which is incredible as they are a great indicator of the progress of ecological restoration. Additionally, several new species of animals which were not initially recorded in the area, have also been observed on site as a result of several areas of the site reaching the second and third stages of regeneration which attracts a plethora of animal species. A massive total of 100 animal species have been recorded in the area so far.