FORESTS: ONCE
SACRED, BUT?
Buddhism vs. Business in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island famed from
antiquity. It was referred to about four
thousand years ago in the Hindu epic, the
Ramayana, as the domain of the ten-headed
demon king Rawana. It is also believed that
Sri Lanka was visited by Buddha on three
separate occasions.
A hundred million years or so ago, Sri
Lanka, which was part of the massive
continent of Gondwanaland, separated
together with India and traveled northward.
It later became separated from India by a
narrow stretch of sea to form the island of
Sri Lanka, but the Strait of Talaimannar
may have provided land connections with
India from time to time.
For the most part however, Sri Lanka has
developed in isolation. This is probably
why 27 percent of the country's ancient
trees
and 14 percent of its mammals
are endemic, and why the island is ranked
highest in terms of biological diversity
per unit area in Asia. Over 3,000 species
of plants can be found in Sri Lanka, as
well as approximately 430 species of birds
of which about 130 are migrant and the
others resident. The island is also home to
84 mammal species, including elephants,
leopards, four species of deer, several
species of monkey, several varieties of
mongoose, sloth bears and wild boars. The
133 reptile species include the python, two
varieties of crocodile, and several endemic
snakes and lizards. Thirty-two frog and
toad species and a wide variety of
freshwater fish can be found in Sri Lanka’s
waterways.
Paradise Spoiled
However, this rich heritage of natural
resources has been under grave threat for a
long period of time. On one hand, a growing
number of people burdened with poverty and
landlessness have encroached upon state
land, often in ecologically sensitive
areas. On the other hand, government
schemes to open up new lands for
agricultural settlements, projects that are
often ill conceived and badly planned, have
had equally adverse impacts on the
environment. Massive hydropower projects
and a concerted drive towards
industrialization have contributed to the
environmental damage.
Forest destruction is one of the most
pressing problems in Sri Lanka today. At
the beginning of the century, about 75
percent of the land area was clothed in
dense forest cover. Today, the total
forested area in Sir Lanka is now less than
19 percent. This has had a direct impact on
fauna and flora, and many species face the
threat of extinction due to the loss of
their natural habitats. The disappearance
of the Sri Lankan elephant in its wild
state is a very real possibility today.
Buddhist Words of Wisdom
In the 3rd century BC, Arahath Mahinda
brought the teachings of the Buddha
Gautama, who lived and preached in India in
the 6th century BC, to Sri Lanka. The story
of Mahinda's meeting with King
Devanampiyatissa, who was on a hunting
expedition, is probably the best-known
legend in Sri Lanka. Mahinda’s words to the
King illustrate the Buddhist attitude
towards life, and particularly towards
animals:
"Oh great king, the birds of the air and
the beasts have an equal right to live and
move about in any part of this land as
thou. The land belongs to the people and
all other beings and thou art only the
guardian of it."
Many kings in ancient times decreed that
no animal should be slaughtered within
certain limits of the city. However, the
invasion of Sri Lanka by the Portuguese,
Dutch and British changed these beliefs and
practices. The cultivation of coffee, tea
and rubber decreased forest cover to 56
percent of the total by 1948, when Sri
Lanka gained independence from the British
government. The forest destruction rate for
the last few decades has been about 10
percent of the forest cover.
The Current State of the
Forests
At present, only 19 percent of Sri Lanka
is covered by forest, mainly in wildlife
and forest reserves. Recent development
initiatives introduced via the government’s
"open economies" policy have been very
destructive to the forest in general.
Aquaculture development projects alone have
destroyed about 4,000 hectares of mangrove
forest since 1989.
But there have also been positive
milestones. Proposals for the clearing of
8,000 hectares of forest for a maize
plantation in Balaharuwa in the Uva
province, the destruction of 25,000
hectares of similar forest in the
Monaragala district of the Uva province,
and the clearing of 5,000 hectares of
similar forest for a pineapple plantation
in Bibila, Madagama in the Uva province
were successfully stopped by the public in
the past few years.
However, the trend is mainly towards
destruction. Currently, Sri Lanka’s rapidly
dwindling forests are facing a number of
threats, including encroachment upon
national parklands, a proposal to harvest
teak trees in protected areas, and a plan
for the commercial logging of 3,000
hectares of eucalyptus and teak. The Asian
Development Bank recently proposed setting
up three 1,000-hectare joint ventures for
commercial logging with the private sector.
Politicians, bureaucrats and other powerful
people maintain a vibrant illegal logging
trade in the country. Attempts to create
management plans have sputtered out and
stalled.
Sri Lanka’s forests are in a real
crisis. Legal authorities are unable to
protect them due to the lack of political
and public support. The forests, which
provide water, air, food, shelter,
medicine, and other basic needs for
communities, are in dire need of
preservation. In the words of the Buddha
Gautama:
"The forest is a peculiar organism of
unlimited benevolence that makes no demand
for its sustenance and extends generously
the products of its life activity. It
affords protection to all beings, offering
shade even to the axman who destroys
it."
Hemantha Withanage, FoE Sri Lanka
