The Forest Department has strongly protested against a Cabinet-approved proposal to allow an agricultural firm to convert 15,000 acres of forest land in the Trincomalee district into a banana plantation. The department has said in no uncertain terms that the project would mean the destruction of a forest reserve and a proposed forest reserve.
In July last year, the Cabinet gave its approval for a leading company to cultivate bananas on part of the Chundankadu forest reserve, as well as on adjoining land for a proposed reserve.
The area is typical dry zone tropical forest, and banana cultivation would destroy the biodiversity there, a high-level Forest Department official told the Sunday Times.
"We conducted a field survey and we have indicated that this area is not suitable for economic development, including the cultivation of banana," the official said, adding that the department has suggested that banana cultivation be carried out on a land nearby that had been cleared many years ago for sugarcane cultivation.
The Sunday Times understands that the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), in association with the University of Moratuwa, had conducted a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in Trincomalee district and had recommended the Chundankadu area for conservation.
On the strength of this recommendation, the Urban Development Authority declared, through a Gazette notification, this area an eco-system conservation area and a national park zone, according to another source.
However, when the Sunday Times requested a copy of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, Central Environmental Authority chairman Charitha Herath said the CEA was not in a position to release the report to the public.
"A Strategic Environmental Assessment is conducted to identify areas to be protected, developed, and so on. The report is then submitted to relevant agencies, such as the Wildlife Conservation Department and the Forest Department. We are therefore not in a position to release it to the public," Mr. Herath said, adding that when dealing with environmental issues, "we are with the position of the Forest Department."
Former Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka, during whose tenure Cabinet had approved the project, told the Sunday Times that a mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA) would decide whether or not the project would go ahead. "Although Cabinet approval is given for a project on principle, the EIA will place the environmental conditions," he said.
According to Mr. Ranawaka, the land in question was previously used for sugarcane cultivation, but was abandoned 10 to 15 years ago and had fallen into neglect. The land is covered in thick jungle. "There have been several proposals for utilising this land, but we halted those to get an EIA done, and also because an elephant corridor has been proposed for the area," Mr. Ranawaka said.
Under the National Environmental Act, an environmental impact assessment is mandatory for any proposal to develop land more than five hectares in extent and in which the land use is to be changed, the Sunday Times learns.
The Central Environmental Authority then sets about the usual procedure of ascertaining the ownership of the land. In the case of Chundankadu, the land comes under the Forest Department, which becomes the approving authority for the EIA. The next step is setting up a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), comprising all stakeholders, according to another source.
In this instance, the TEC - which will include the CEA and the Forest, Wildlife Conservation, Agriculture, Irrigation departments, etc. - will study the project proposal before preparing exclusive terms of reference for the EIA, based on which the firm will have to prepare the EIA, the source said.
When the EIA is submitted, the TEC will study it, and if there are shortcomings, suggest amendments. Once the final report is in, it will be open to public scrutiny and comment, with approval or rejection taking place only thereafter, the source explained. If the proposal is rejected, the firm can appeal to the Secretary of the Environment Ministry.
The Green Movement, which is opposed to the banana cultivation project, points out that 5,000 acres of the proposed project would be from the Chundankadu forest reserve and the balance 10,000 from the proposed reserve adjoining it.
The canopy density of both forests is 60-80 per cent. The area is rich in valuable timber trees, including kaluwara, kalumediriya, palu and milla, according to Green Movement spokesman, Bandu Ranga Kariyawasam. He stressed the importance of the land area's biodiversity.
The number of trees with more than 10 cm girth per hectare of land is between 112 and 125, while the density of plants in the under canopy per hectare is between 11,200 and 12,300.
In addition, there are several tanks in the area to be considered. The Janaranjana Wewa and the Sooriya Wewa are frequented by as many as 100 elephants. Banana cultivation would cause much harm to the environment and the biodiversity, Mr. Kariyawasam said, adding that the use of chemicals and pesticides in cultivation would pollute the area.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the agriculture firm that has proposed to undertake the banana cultivation said the company was awaiting the EIA terms of reference to begin the process. "Only if the EIA is all right will we go ahead with the project," he said.
The spokesperson, contradicting the position taken by the Forest Department, said the land selected for the banana cultivation was not a reserve but comes under the Mahaweli Development Programme, and had been vested in the Kantalai Sugar Corporation for its expansion in 1980. |
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