Pivithuru Sevena program to protect mountain regions

Chamikara Weerasinghe

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources will take steps to protect the country's central mountain regions with its forestry and 103 rivers that feed its forestry under a program named Pivithuru Sevena within the next few weeks. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday said, the program will be introduced once the Ministry gets Parliament approval for the Forest Conservation Ordinance which it plans to introduce in place of the Forest Ordinance.

The Forest Ordinance is to be enacted as a Forest Conservation Act, the Minister said, "The new Ordinance incorporates many steps to preserve the forests of the country," he said. Minister Ranawaka was speaking at a ceremony, which was held at the Central Environment Authority, Battaramulla, to hand over appointment letters to several divisional forest officers. He said, as the first phase of Pivithuru Sevena, steps will be taken to cultivate 150 hectares of forest land. "There are about 103 rivers that start from this region and the need to preserve the water sheds of the hill country is paramount," the Minister said.

An area of 2,500 hectares will be picked for forest conservation and forest cultivation under the program, he said.

"The foreign invasions to the country have been contributory that some of the forest covers have been lost and they have become barren lands. Its effects are felt as of today," Ranawaka pointed out.

He said, potato cultivations have to be removed from those hilly regions and added that the construction of houses on them should also stop in order to preserve the forest.