Whether you live on the border of a forest or in central Colombo, the destruction of our natural resources affects us all. It is the responsibility of Sri Lanka’s citizens to protect and ensure that our country’s forests and wildlife are managed wisely; it is our responsibility to hold those who have committed to the care and conservation of our natural resources accountable. Deforestation is presently taking place on the legally declared Forest Reserves of Maraichukkaddi-Karadikkuli (Kallaru Forest), Vilaththikulam and Veppal,
EFL recently commented on the allocation of land for resettlement and development in the Mannar District based on the Report of the Integrated Strategic Environmental Assessment (ISEA) of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka published in the year 2014 by the Central Environmental Authority and the Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka. The comments focused on the fact that the report only includes protected areas declared up to 2010, and has failed to make allowances and recommendations for gazetted protected areas
Following up on reports of illegal soil extraction in the Panirendawa forest reserve, EFL conducted a site visit on 26th May 2016 to assess the ground situation. 4 abandoned excavation sites were found and approximately 20 acres of land appears to have been cleared for excavation. Further investigations revealed that illegal soil extraction had been carried out 3-4 years ago but had since stopped. Other land use patterns contiguous to the forest reserve are paddy fields, settlements, and the village temple. To prevent illegal soil
