Islandwide deforestation on the rise
On Wednesday (16), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) politician Rasika Jayakody said 282 acres of forest land had been destroyed since the 2020 General Election—at the rate of approximately seven acres a day.
The news came as no surprise to those concerned with conservation, but many others were unaware of the extent of the damage in such a short period of time.
Sajeewa Chamikara, Director of the Environmental Conservation Conservation Trust, a non-profit organisation told Roar Media far more destruction had taken place than that which had been reported in the media.
“The deforestation in the Sinharaja Natural reserve, the Anawilundawa wetland sanctuary, Wanathawilluwa-Eluwankulama areas adjacent to the Wilpattu reserve and the Hanthana mountain range are what was reported in the media widely,” Chamikara told Roar Media.
“But there are a number of other cases of deforestation that have gone unreported. [It is the] environmentalists and the activists [that] are aware of it and lobbying against it.”
The 2020 General Election was held on August 5, and by the end of the month, the construction of a 15 kilometre long road through the Sinharaja forest and its adjacent reserve forests sparked national debate.
Work on the road was only temporarily halted after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa intervened, after the local and international backlash.
Early this month, September, the media reported that forest areas in Eluwankulama-Wanathawilluwa were being burned down and destroyed using heavy machinery. This was followed by news that a 2.5 acres of wetland within the Anawilundawa sanctuary had been destroyed in order to construct a prawn breeding aquaculture project.
Not too long after, an unidentified group set fire to 19 acres of land along the western slopes of the Hanthana mountain range, forcing activists to increase their call on authorities to enforce law against the perpetrators.
Roar.LK