A 10 % forest cover hike -President

*Determined ‘greening’ effort

*Budgetary allocations already made

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said his government has launched a concerted drive to arrest the country’s fast depleting forest cover through a systematic reforestation programme.

“We are in the process of increasing the country’s forest cover from 25 percent to 35 percent and budgetary allocation have already been made for this,” the President said inaugurating the Deyata Sevana-2012 National Tree Planting Programme, organised by the Environment Ministry to plant 1.1 million trees.

“Through the budget, we allocated funds to increase forest cover as enunciated in the Mahinda Chinthanaya. It is not difficult to meet this target if we are dedicated and hardworking,” the President said.

“Sri Lanka can be a model to the whole world in taking the lead in protecting the country’s environment,” he said.

“I believe that it is our duty to produce a new generation for the future. At the same time we have to plant trees for the future.

We can guide the whole world from being the pioneers in protecting the environment,” said the President.

The President emphasized that if the present environmental degradation goes unchecked there will be no world to live in. There is a saying that the world is created from the rays of the sun and mother’s milk. But today scientists have discovered certain harmful effects in the sun’s rays.

“ Developed countries should take the prime responsibility for this. However, they still haven’t taken any meaningful step to protect the environment.

But they are always on alert about what is happening in a country like ours and attempt to magnify simple problems. In the same way we became an example to the whole world by eradicating terrorism we also can be a model to the whole world by protecting the environment,” he said.

President Rajapaksa said many are talking about the budget and some comment on it without even reading it deeply.

"Some people are harping on racing cars completely distorting what is contained in the budget while some others are looking to import sports cars as they have misunderstood what is mentioned in the budget. These people do not say a single good word about the positive proposals”.

He said certain officials issue gazette notices on forest cover. According to these gazette notices certain private lands too have been included in the forest cover projects.

The President requested these officials to be more realistic when drafting such gazette notifications. Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said the main objective of organizing the “Deyata Sevana National Tree-Planting Programme is to mark President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 67th birthday and the second anniversary of assumimg office as President.

“This programme makes a considerable contribution towards increasing Sri Lanka’s forest cover from 29 percent to 35 percent as aspired in the “Mahinda Chintana Vision for the Future.” said the minister.

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha, Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake, Environment Ministry Secretary B.M.U.D.Basnayake, Secretaries, heads of departments, school children and many others participated.