SRI LANKA

During the last 100 years, large areas of natural forest have been cleared in Sri Lanka in the face of rapidly increasing population pressures. Destructive slash and burn shifting cultivation, a focus on wood production and clearing for agricultural development resulted in very high rates of deforestation until fairly recently. In 1990, a logging ban was implemented in all natural forests in Sri Lanka.

Sir Lanka adopted a National Forest Policy in 1995, which has conservation as its main emphasis. The objectives are the establishment of protected areas, protection of biodiversity, soil and water, and the promotion of multiple use forestry with forests outside the protected areas being sustainably managed to meet increasing demands for fuelwood, timber and non-timber forest products and other forest services. The policy also advocates increased community participation in forest management, providing long-term leases to communities and the private sector to manage multiple use production forests, although a lack of available funding has delayed the implementation of this.

Commercial plantations are planned to become a major source of timber supply and existing plantations are being brought into a management system intended to produce wood in an economically efficient and sustainable way. Harvesting, processing and the sale of wood products from state forests is the responsibility of the government-owned State Timber Corporation.

Illegal logging has not been a major problem for the authorities. A key challenge, however, will be managing the increased pressure on resources posed by a rising population and economic growth. Resources for managing the conflicting demands for forest products and conservation are limited.

NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
10/09/2012	Sanctuaries threatened by excavations and deforestation Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC), Department of Forest Conservation (DFC) and Geological Survey ...	The Sunday Leader, Sri Lanka
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06/08/2012	Sri Lankan President focuses on preventing deforestation and reconstructing reservoirs in hill country Badulla - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today instructed the relevant authorities to take immediate ...	ColomboPage, Sri Lanka
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26/03/2012	New research can save tropical forests Scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have investigated how much carbon the natural forests ...	Physorg.com
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14/01/2012	UN aid to protect Sri Lankan forest cover The Department of Forests under the Ministry of Environment, with the support of FAO, UNDP and UNEP, ...	Daily News, Sri Lanka
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11/01/2012	Tractor load of illicit timber apprehended Naval personnel attached to SLNS Vijayaba in the Eastern Naval Area on information received apprehended ...	Sri Lanka Navy
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15/10/2011	Sri Lanka mulls action against illicit deforestation The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will take stringent action against those involved in the destruction ...	News.lk, Sri Lanka
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04/07/2011	STF busts illegal timber racket in Lahugala A racket engaged in illegal felling inside the Lahugala forest reserve was busted by the Special Task ...	Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka
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26/12/2010	Illegal timber racket bared A massive racket involving the felling of valuable tress worth millions of rupees in a State Forest Reservation ...	Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka
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01/09/2010	Curb illegal timber trade, sand mining President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday gave instructions to the IGP to curb the illegal timber trade and ...	Daily News, Sri Lanka
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27/02/2010	Asia Plantation Capital reintroduce endangered rainforest species to Sri Lanka The huge demand for oil that agarwood produces has driven the illegal logging trade and created a multi ...	Online PR News
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28/01/2010	Stock of timber seized, PS member summoned A member of the Damana Pradeshiya Sabha was summoned to appear before the Akkaraipattu Magistrate for ...	Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka
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02/11/2009	Five nations sign up to UN initiative to tackle deforestation Five countries today joined the United Nations initiative aimed at combating climate change by creating ...	UN News Centre
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05/05/2009	Sri Lanka minority 'threatened' The leader of the indigenous community of Sri Lanka, known as Veddahs, has said that his group of people ...	BBC News
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09/04/2009	Shrinking forests: the many costs In early December 2004, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military and police ...	Prism Webcast News
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06/06/2007	Sri Lanka Ministry of Environment opens a hotline for public Colombo, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources opened a hotline for the ...	Colombo Page (Sri Lanka)
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13/10/2006	STF Arrests Three Illegal Timber Transporters in Pothuvil Ampara, Sri Lanka - The Special Task Force arrested three illegal timber transporters in Karandaoya, ...	Sri Lanka National Security (Sri Lanka)
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23/09/2006	Pottuvil Massacre, clearly an LTTE act - Muslim community leaders in the East (Press Release) Sri Lanka - Several community organizations in the Eastern province have expressed their ...	Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka)
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17/11/2005	Nigeria has worst deforestation rate, FAO revises figures Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests according to revised deforestation ...	Mongabay.com
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PRESENTATIONS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
24/06/2009	Empowering local communities by making business a matter of human service	Dilhan Fernando, Dilmah Conservation / MJF Charitable Foundation
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