Need for immediate action to protect the World Heritage Sinharaja Rainforest
Many letters have been written on the subject of protection of the
Sinharaja Rainforest and its importance, however despite numerous
petitions, complaints and existing policies regarding the protection of
the forest, little or no action seems to have been taken to stop the
ongoing destruction of this precious rainforest.
As a resident living close by, I am witnessing on a daily basis the
ongoing destruction. I would insist on immediate action regarding the
following points:
Logging
Despite the forest looking full from the outside, in fact, within the
forest, there are huge areas where logging has taken place. This is
taking place on such a large scale that it is impossible that the forest
rangers and officials are unaware of this. The officials are simply
turning a blind eye to what is going on.
Border encroachment
The forest borders are constantly changing due to the tea plantations
encroaching on the forest boundaries with tea planting within the forest.
This is done in such a subtle way that it is is hard to notice. The tea
is planted within the forest boundaries and then when he tea plants have
matured and are seen to be part of an existing plantation, the trees are
then cut down. If checked it is possible to see that the existing forest
boundary today does not correspond to the official boundary
map.
Trapping
Illegal trapping of wild animals around and within the forest continues
to take place despite the widely publicised incident of 5 rare black
leopards being killed about 5 years ago. Extremely illegal wild bush meat
is blatantly being sold in Deniyaya shops and other shops bordering the
forest. These traps also create serious hazards to researchers and other
explorers. Why are the shops selling illegal meat not punished for
selling illegal meat and used to name the trappers who should be
prosecuted?
Gem Mining
The search for precious stone or gems is a serious problem. Often well
organised gangs financed by wealthy gem merchants are responsible for the
activity. Large marshy areas are dug up and the vegetation destroyed. The
open pits left after gemming are a danger to both man and wildlife.
Irresponsible behaviour of guides and Forest Rangers
Guides are constantly being accompanied by dogs on tours within the
forest. One day I witnessed 15 dogs within the forest!! As
representatives of the forest, these guides and rangers should know
better than to enter the forest with dogs that undoubtedly cause damage
to the wildlife. These guides and rangers also smoke within the forest
and leave cigarette butts and rubbish in the forest. If we cannot trust
our guides and rangers to act responsibly then we can hardly expect them
to take on the responsibility of reporting others who cause damage. They
are untrained and basically just accompany the tourists along the
trails.
Actions of villagers
Villagers continue to use motorbikes on forest trails despite having
access to a proper road. They also cut trees and gem mine at a level,
which is beyond home use. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Illegal tracks and entry to forest
Since the Deniyaya Rainforest Eco Lodge has been built, new unauthorised
forest trails have been created for the Lodges guests to gain
unauthorised entry to the forest. Once again the guides used to lead the
tourists along these trails are acting irresponsibly and should be
punished as well as the Lodge who organises these illegal treks into the
forest. Since this entry point is not official, it enables the Lodge to
take illegal entry fees from the tourists who are unaware that this is
not an official entry point. These fees of course which should go toward
the forest are entering the pockets of the hotel owners.
Where are the funds received from foreign aid, government and local
council funds and entry fees, going to? They are certainly not going to
fund training or programmes to educate the local guides, rangers or
villagers who are a big part of the problem.
It is a shame that the local community is not being used to help solve
the problem instead of causing damage. Without the cooperation of the
local community to monitor and report on illegal and /or irresponsible
actions, the forest will remain vulnerable. Another problem: to whom
should they or anyone else should, address complaints?
Despite officials knowing about the illegal activities that are taking
place, no one has ever been fined or prosecuted for any illegal activity
in the forest. It therefore makes no sense to complain to the existing
officials under the present circumstances.
Call to Action:
Please give us responsible officials to oversee the Sinharaja rain
forest. To protect our endemic
species of fauna and flora from exploitation, bar all people conducting
research in Sinharaja with the pretext of 舛onservation’ who are actually
engaged in Bio-piracy. Those who enter Sinharaja should be closely
monitored and supervised by officials of Forestry department.
Do not allow the approval of permits by the State of Provincial
Governments to build hotels or any other structure including roads within
Sinharaja, near Sinharaja or its precincts.
The younger generation of Sri Lankan expats who have never seen or heard
of Sinharaja, and young locals and foreigners who may have just heard of
Sinharaja, who have signed the petition to safeguard Sinharaja show the
keen interest they take when it comes to worldly environmental issues and
their commitment to save the planet.
Thank you.
Sidney Karunawardana
Save the Sinharaja Rainforest Campain,
Deniyaya @hotmail.com
The sinharaja rainforests of Sri Lanka threatened!
Sinharaja is a World Heritage Site, you could thing it is protected by
Unesco. Still it is getting smaller every year and in 20 years many
animal species will get extinct if the cutting of trees for tea will
continue in this pace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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