News
Human activity suspected in dry zone forest fires
The dry zone has been ravaged by more fires this week, destroying forests and wildlife, and the authorities accuse organised groups, including farmers, land grabbers, and hunters, of starting the fires.
It is alleged that the culprits were using the prevailing drought to their advantage as they carried out their destructive activity. Their reckless behaviour has caused destruction to large swathes of forest areas in both the dry and wet zones.
Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) told the Sunday Times that the root cause of the rapid increase of fires was the cabinet decision to release forestlands to cultivators in 11 dry zone districts, after a proposal by Wildlife Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi in January.
He said a Forest Department analysis had revealed that, in comparison with the past ten years, this year had seen a record number of forest fires in 145 locations. In July and August alone, they destroyed an estimated 25,000 acres of land, apart from causing damage to crops and wildlife.
Mr. Chamikara said Sri Lanka had never experienced natural forest fires.
He stressed that the consequences of the fires were worse than the flames themselves, and warned that people in nearby villages could face more danger from wild elephants encroaching on their lands.
Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Director General Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe said the fires were largely in the hilly areas and had not spread to any nearby villages.
According to the DMC, there were five forest fires in Hambantota, six in Polonnaruwa, 12 in Kandy, 17 in Badulla, 20 in Matale, four in Nuwareliya, seven in Ratnapura, nine in Monaragala, and one each in Killinochchiya, Puttalam, Kagalle, Vavuniya, and Ampara.
Last week, wildfires were also reported in Thabbowa and Diyavanna.
Wildlife experts say it is impossible to measure the damage to wildlife because the traces of animals like reptiles, insects, and amphibians are lost after they burn in the fire. But they insist that a large number of wild animals have perished in these fires. They include tortoises, whose shells were found in burned-out areas. Several native species endemic to the dry zone were among those destroyed by the fire.
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