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by Louise Baxter 

Deforestation is one of Sri Lanka's biggest environmental problems. In 1886, the percentage of land in Sri Lanka covered by forest was about 80%. However, today that figure has decreased to just 25%.

The blame for this extent of deforestation can be aportioned to a combination of factors, including poor land use practices in agriculture, massive agricultural land settlements, encroachment by the landless poor and illegal logging. This is detailed in a report carried out by Mangala de Zoysa of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, of the University of Ruhuna.

De Zoysa goes on to say that the majority of forest was cleared during British rule when dramatic changes were made in land use. Forests in the wet zone hill areas were cleared to plant export crops, such as coffee and tea, and dry zone forests were cleared for the export of valuable timber.

In fact, almost half of the forest cover was lost within a 150 year period from 1815 onwards. Furthermore, it was these major changes in land use and land policy that resulted in the near complete denudation of the forest.

The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) states that today, deforestation continues. Slowly but surely, rainforests are being cleared to provide land for agricultural crops and cattle grazing.

Subsequently, these pastures and crop lands are abandoned after a few years because the soil has become too poor for agricultural use and has retained few nutrients. After human use, there has been a dramatic change in the condition and the vegetation of the soil, and as a consequence, natural reforestation occurs very slowly.

It is recognised in a report by Mike Nurse, prinicipal consultant for FORTECH, and Gamini Hitinayake, senior lecturer for the Department of Crop Science within the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya, that a significant problem for Sri Lanka is that of a low rainfall and therefore variable productivity.

The rural people use agriculture as their main source of subsistence and farmers, particularly in Dry Zone areas, suffer wide fluctuations in crop yields due to the significant variation in rainfalls.

Their situation is made worse by low market prices for agricultural crops and the ongoing reduction of forest cover.

However, reforestation in these areas has in fact proved to be easier, as is the case at Sam Poppham Arboretum in Dambulla, where in just twenty years, it has been possible to grow a forest, almost to canopy level.

In comparsion, the situation in low land wet areas is more complex.

Nonetheless, in a pioneering project at Sinharaja, the team at the University of Peradeniya has demonstrated that indigenous tree species can be planted and grown to resemble natural forest, although this is a slow process.

Typically, in montane areas, tree growth is slower still and consequently, it is these areas that have been most widely affected by deforestation. The WHT have attempted to accelerate the rate of reforestation at Agrapatana, where there is a block of degraded tea land that borders the Agra-Bopath Forest Reserve.

Here, in collaboration with the Hakgala Botanic Gardens, they have created some shaded land by planting several species of fast growing exotic trees and then underplanted some species of indigenous trees. However, the reforestation process is still very slow due to low temperatures and high winds. Consequently, it will be decades and not years before some positive results are seen.

GLANCA

Non profit organisations such as GLANCA, (The Green Lanka Nature Conservation Association) have been set up to help protect and enhance Sri Lanka's natural habitat. Amongst their many environmentally focussed projects, are several reforestation programmes with the participation of 2000 private farmers in all provinces of Sri Lanka. There are some 1000 hactares of land, which are now slowly being restored.

Government policy

In 1995, the main objectives of the National Forest Policy were readdressed and have since been realigned in order to conserve forests for posterity, increase tree cover and productivity to meet the needs of present and future generations for forest products and services, and also to enhance forestry contribution to the welfare of the rural population and to strengthen the national economy.

It is imperative that the gravity of the situation is recognised. Forest areas are an important sources of land, timber, the regulation of water flow and stabilising the hillsides. As stated above, local communities rely heavily on the forest areas for subsistence. Therefore, their involvment is a must, if reforestation projects are to succeed.

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