Despite global recognition for their biodiversity, Sri Lanka’s moist tropical evergreen forests seem to be less valued by its citizens, as development goals and population pressures have steadily eroded forest cover, often leaving only isolated patches which still sustain rare and endemic species. Buoyed by green credibility and a conducive policy framework that was afforded to renewable energy, mini hydro power projects have mushroomed in the South-west, harnessing water sources that are often found in pristine and untouched rainforests. While the
Ever since it set up in 2012, the juice factory owned by Dabur Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has been the cause of severe water scarcity in Kotadeniya and 15 other adjacent villages including Velinhinda, Erabandha, Galingbure, Dhiyagampala and Halpe. Even villages like Halpe, which are situated 8km away from the factory have not escaped the effects of this escalating depletion of groundwater that has been instigated by over-extraction of the factory. During a site visit conducted on the 28th of March, EFL’s investigation team
