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University gives up plantain cultivation

by Florence Wickramage

The Colombo University has abandoned their project of cultivating plantains on an extent of land next to the Bundala National Park. This project got under way about two years ago amidst extensive protests by environmentalists that the rich biodiversity at the park would be threatened if the plantain cultivation was carried on.

A spokesman for the Environmental Foundation Limited (EFL) told the Daily News that the university decided to call off the project after negotiations that took place at the Attorney General's Department on the advice of Justice Shirani Thilakawardana.

The battle between the University of Colombo and the EFL lasted two years.

At the negotiations the Colombo University authorities had agreed not to clear the land allocated for them for this purpose and had agreed to use the existing building and perhaps expand it to house a tissue culture project and not for projects that would destroy the biodiversity in this area. The development of the site would be monitored by a committee headed by the Wildlife Department.

The spokesman said it was revealed at the negotiations that the university authorities had agreed that the land set aside for this project had a very high biodiversity and that they had decided to protect this land area for research. 

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