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Rishad’s replanting bill being calculated

07 Jan 2021

Forest Dept. to issue estimate soon   By Pamodi Waravita   The Department of Forests is currently preparing a cost estimate for the reforestation of the Kallaru Forest Reserve close to Wilpattu National Park, which is to be borne by parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen as per a Court of Appeal ruling. “An estimate for the reforestation of the destroyed area in Wilpattu would be finalised soon,” Additional Conservator General of Forests Thilak Premakantha told The Morning yesterday (6). Bathiudeen was ordered to reforest the clearing of the Kallaru Sanctuary at his own expense by the Court of Appeal in a landmark ruling on 16 November 2020, as the clearing had been illegally carried out by the ex-Minister under the guise of resettling internally displaced persons (IDP) since 2009. When questioned about the potential success rate of the reforestation of the Wilpattu area, Premakantha cited earlier reforestation efforts in the North Central Province, where some areas had gained some success. However, Reforest Sri Lanka President Achala Meddegama, who boasts over five years of experience in reforestation efforts around Sri Lanka, told The Morning that the usual success rate of reforestation in a given area is “only 30%”. “There are many threats within an environment to reforestation, both natural and human,” he said. He urged the relevant authorities to prepare contingency plans for these inevitabilities in order to achieve a greater success rate of reforestation in Wilpattu. Maddegama further recommended an efficient plant nursery, a careful selection of approximately six feet tall plants, a thorough soil analysis, and the education of villagers in the surrounding areas regarding the Wilpattu reforestation effort. Meanwhile, Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Executive Director Hemantha Withanage said that they hope for a high success rate in the reforestation efforts in Wilpattu. However, he said the deforestation rate had increased in 2020 due to weaker government policy during the pandemic, politically motivated land grabbing during the election period, and the cancellation of the 2001/05 Circular last year. The CEJ recorded 34 instances of deforestation during the period between March and September 2020.   ---   Pic caption: A cleared land area close to Wilpattu


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