Forest cover, wildlife conservation and roadside trees

By Dr. Rohan H. Wickramasinghe

It was most welcome to read in The Island of 22 October that the Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation of the new government had stated in Parliament the intention of increasing the forest cover of the country. It was also stated that action has already commenced together with other relevant bodies to plant trees by the side of newly constructed roads. While these statements are most welcome it is hoped that the implementation of these intentions is effected by those with experience in the subjects in question and with the interests of the country at heart. This has not always been the case.

An example of the latter was the Sri Lanka Forestry Master Plan produced by foreign experts several years ago and condemned by Professor of Botany, Dr. B. A. Abeywickrema (then serving on the Board of the Central Environmental Authority) as a Master Plan to finish Sri Lanka. Professor Abeywickrema felt strongly about the matter and, after encountering political opposition locally to his recommendation to review the plan, arranged an appeal to the World Bank in Washington, D.C. His appeal was upheld but the opposition he encountered from a local politician and his sycophant on this issue resulted in Professor Abeywickrema’s resignation from the Board of the CEA (which, incidentally, he told me that he did not regret since he had done his duty by the country. He, also, did not accept a cynical proposal to accord him a farewell before he left.) The circumstances surrounding Professor Abeywickrema leaving the CEA were sad. This writer had seen at first hand the enormous knowledgeable and balanced contributions Professor Abeywickrema had made during the initial years of setting up the CEA despite pressures from politicians and their ‘yes men’.

Undertaking to increase the forest cover of Sri Lanka is well and good but very often translates into expenditure of funds and effort into planting extensive monocultures of exotic species, such as pines or eucalyptus. These, among other drawbacks, provide little or no benefit to our indigenous fauna and flora by way of food or habitat, in addition to other issues such as creating a potential fire hazard. They are chosen since new plantations are not attacked by hare and other wildlife.

While concern is, quite rightly, frequently voiced as regards the protection of elephants and leopards, there is little or no public discussion of the myriads of insects, birds, fish, orchids, tree ferns, etc., in our endangered forests, which are in great need of protection and conservation. In view of the numerous climatic zones ranging from the mangroves to the arid zones to the Sabaragamuwa rain forests to the upcountry Horton Plains and to its being an island, the country is host to a huge number of indigenous and endemic plant and animal species, which has led to its being labelled a biological ‘hotspot’. It is also the resting place of birds migrating south, such as flamingos and the Indian Pitta.

For those primarily concerned with the parlous state of the country’s economy, wildlife tourism has rightly been described as a money spinner. The essential role of pollinators in agriculture and of predators in the control of various pests (e.g. the control of mice by owls) are two further areas where wildlife conservation provides something more concrete than a ‘feel good effect’. (To digress briefly, the use of pollinators in agriculture was practiced in Ancient Egypt. Skeps of honey bees were loaded onto barges, which were then towed along the River Nile and parked where a crop was in flower as the seasons unrolled. This resulted in a honey harvest, as well as boosting the crop yield. Do Sri Lankan farmers transport pollinators to crops when they are in flower?)

It is suggested that the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation join forces with the Ministry of Education to increase the awareness of the people (both children and adults, such as the police) of the plants and animals of our country and the legal provisions which have been prescribed for their protection. This is sorely needed. Till not long ago, plants in flower of the yellow orchid (Vanda spathulata) were hawked openly on the streets of Kandy and in front of the Kollupitiya market in Colombo despite it being a protected species. (Advice may be sought from Samantha Gunasekera for information concerning the orchids of Sri Lanka.)

As regards the welcome move to plant trees along roads, mention may be made of deliberations in this regard by an Environmental Committee of the Colombo Municipal Council several years back, which was chaired by this writer. The Committee was constituted of several experts in various fields, who generously contributed of their time and expertise. One item discussed, which found support, was the need to have proper maintenance of the magnificent trees to be found along roadsides in Colombo. Unfortunately, recommendations to this end do not seem to have been followed and yet another tree fell over on Flower Road recently. It is fortunate that no-one was injured.

Before concluding this brief comment relating to the undertaking of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation to increase the forest cover of the island, the writer would like to refer to a communication received coincidentally on 22 October from the organization, AVAAZ. For those unfamiliar with the work of AVAAZ (which means ‘voice’ or ‘song’ in many languages), it is a network of some 60-million individuals living in every nation of the world. The teams engaged in the various diverse campaigns undertaken by the network are said to be based in 18 countries on six continents and to work in 17 languages. The latest communication from AVAAZ notes that half the earth’s forests have vanished with 15 billion trees being felled annually. This would translate to 476 trees per second.

The communication from AVAAZ quotes the observation of the organization called ‘Mother Jones’ that ‘Planting trees is good. Eliminating deforestation is better.’ AVAAZ is currently engaged in gathering support worldwide for a petition to the European Union, which is considering a new law to ban any products linked to deforestation. Professor Abeywickreme would have encouraged support from Sri Lanka for such a law.