Galle goes green

The actions of mankind have plagued the environment for years. We have caused severe climate change, global warming and an alarming number of natural disasters along the road to progress. Yet, perhaps the direst consequences have resulted through industrial emissions which eat away at the ozone layer – causing ultra violet radiation. The story of the fight to save this atmospheric film speaks of many enemies, including the toxic chemicals released by aircrafts.

With the incidence of skin cancer rising each day, the call for immediate preventative action has become urgent. Taking charge in the worldwide battle to save the Ozone Layer, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has launched the Towards a Carbon Clean Sri Lanka; a Tourism Earth Lung programme, built upon an inventive concept: You come to Sri Lanka, We'll plant the trees!

Sri Lanka Tourism together with the Rotary Club of Colombo Regency, Rotary Club of Kandy and the Rotary Movement and Rainforest Rescue International (RRI) launched the 10 million tree planting programme in Galle on December 16, 2007, to mark the opening of the new cricket stadium with greening its environment.

Planting the first celebrity trees to counteract carbon emissions associated with the cricket series, the Captain of the English Cricket Team Michael Vaughan and the English ODI Captain Paul Collingwood joined Sri Lanka's Cricket heroes Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara to kick start the programme. They placed four native Sri Lankan trees in the recently restored Galle Cricket Stadium on the eve of their final 2007 test match. The cricket match was the first played in Galle since the destructive Tsunami of 2004, which highlighted the importance of the stadium and trees as an essential part of Galle's restoration.

The Galle-based RRI also launched another exciting programme to place Galle on the map as Sri Lanka's "Rainforest City." Endorsed by Sri Lanka Tourism, the programme is indisputably a positive initiative in enabling the community to regenerate the natural heritage of the Galle Fort.

The concept was based upon the fact that Galle was once covered completely in rainforest. Even today, a few rainforest species can still be found in the currently bustling town. In fact, Sri Lanka's last remaining rainforest area, which is home to fifty percent of the island's endemic species of mammals, butterflies, insects, reptiles and rare amphibians, is only a one and half hours' drive away from Galle.

The programme is a part of Sri Lanka Tourism's Towards a Carbon Clean Sri Lanka; a Tourism Earth Lung programme. The programme envisages to make Sri Lanka a carbon clean destination within a period of 10 years with assertive action on stopping de-forestation, mitigating pollution and using energy efficient alternative technology.

"By running a community-focused, environment restoration project, we hope to create dynamic, living green spaces which can be enjoyed by everyone and provide benefits to both residents and visitors to the city," the RRI Managing Director Charith Senanayake clarified.

With the aim of restoring the diverse and indigenous ecosystems that the municipality of Galle once enjoyed, RRI's "Rainforest City" has set out to strengthen and deepen the understanding of the value of Sri Lanka's native plants. To this end, the programme will build upon a local commitment to care for the environment and to develop Galle as an attractive tourist destination.

The Galle Fort was chosen as the first community in Galle to take the Rainforest City project forward. To coincide with the ceremony at the Stadium, a public planting took place at the Fort. On Sunday, the RRI further enhanced the programme through planting of 20 trees by local schoolchildren, with the help from Galle Rotary in Galle Park. In addition to this, 1,000 mangrove trees were planted along 10KM of canal at Kepu Ela in Galle.

During the course of the "Rainforest City," the RRI will create green islands and corridors of native species throughout the city to provide shade and clean air to its residents and ardent tourists. The residents will be invited to play a part in the venture through the planting of a variety of rainforest species provided by the RRI, who will then work with the local community to develop the project by providing technical advice and guidance.

Parallel to the tree planting event at the stadium, the Rotary Movement is set to mobilize the Rotary Club of Galle, Rain Forest Rescue, Responsible Tourism Partnership, Ruk Reka Ganno and schools in the area to undertake an extensive tree planting programme in and around Galle. Over the next ten years, the campaign to plant 10 million trees will serve as a stepping stone as we confront global warming, the biggest environmental challenge of our time.