Forest Dept. to halt road adjacent to Sinharaja

By Ifham Nizam


The Forest Department yesterday said that they will go all out to stop a road that is to be constructed adjacent to the World Heritage site of the Sinharaja Rainforest.

The Department’s Conservator Operations K. P. Ariyadasa told The Island yesterday that such construction would lose the World Heritage site status; however, he said it comes under the purview of the Land Reforms Commission.

According to him, the Department is going all out to acquire the land from the LRC. He also said that they had requested the Central Environment Authority (CEA) to take the initiative on legal aspects.

CEA Chairman Charitha Herath told The Island yesterday that he was informed earlier about the concreting of a footpath. However, following numerous complaints, he has instructed officials to submit a report. He said that within two days he would be getting the report.

He says that the Forest Department should act immediately on the matter because it comes directly under their purview.

The Island learns that the proposed road will connect Pothupitiya/Illuokanda to Rakwana/Deniyaya.

Green Movement of Sri Lanka, spokesman Bandu Ranga Kariyawasam yesterday said that the proposed road will go through lands adjacent to the Morningside of Sinharaja.

He claimed a considerable area of forest is to be cleared under this project, although the CEA had not carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena said that any development activity within 100 metres of a Forest Reserve is illegal.

He said there was a possibility that this road would cut across protected areas too.

Environmentalists say the conservation of these tropical rainforests is linked to the conservation of natural forest cover and this is emphasized in the 1997 report `Designing an Optimum Protected Area System for Sri Lanka’ which has been collectively prepared by IUCN and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC).

The Report recommends Sinharaja Forest Reserve be conserved as a contiguous forest.

Environmentalists also said that they will take up the matter with UNESCO which is the governing body that gives World Heritage status.

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