by Rathindra Kuruwita

COLOMBO (The Island/ANN) - Environmental group Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform warn rain forest cover of 1.9 per cent of the total land area, vital for the southwestern monsoons, is fast disappearing.

Rain forests, which cover only 1.9% of Sri Lanka’s land area are vital for the southwestern monsoons are fast disappearing, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) warns.

Chamikara said that, in 2010, forest cover encompassed 29% of Sri Lanka. "But when we look closely we see that the lowland rainforests cover only 1.9% of the country. These are the forests that facilitate the southwestern monsoons. Moist monsoon forests are around 18%. They facilitate the northeastern monsoons. The forest cover has shrunk to about 13%. "The depletion of the forest cover will have a devastating impact on our rainfall," Chamikara said.

It is estimated that between 1990 and 2010, on average the country lost 24,500 ha of forests or 1.04% per year. Thus during above mentioned period, Sri Lanka lost 20.9% of its forest cover, or around 490,000 ha.

Chamikara said that Sri Lanka had a major problem with allocating land for various uses and for most part those issues arose due to lack of data.

"We also have land that should not be divided like reserves and network forests. But these forests have now been divided and as a result those who have been settled there are continuously fighting wild animals. Although most of the people have been settled in these areas are engaged in agriculture, most of their crops are destroyed by wild animals."

What caused it was lack of informed decision-making, another issue was the country’s inability to move to a bio centric model, Chamikara said.