The Campaign
Saving the Rain Forest is a big goal which cannot be achieved overnight. First, it had to be figured out where the main threats come from not only by looking at companies, institutions and politics operating in the area, but also by observing how people that live in the surrounding treat the forest.
Awareness-building is our first step on the long way to saving the Rain Forest, because it can have a huge, direct impact. Opening the dialogue with the local community is what we do at the time. We are also aiming to go campaign at local schools to get children into the topic and to show them the importance of maintaining their living environment. We want to inspire them on how every single person can make an effort by very small actions.
Furthermore we focus on running the Deniyaya National Motel eco-friendly: we have a small organic farm in the backyard and try to preserve nature by including trees and plants in the construction of our cabanas.
This is just the beginning, but going step by step, we will make a difference.
Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1d8Lgny6BQ
�
You want to work as a volunteer at our place to contribute to the campaign or to learn about the project? We are currently looking for people who want to go to local schools - just get in touch, experience is welcomed but not a must!
Saving the Rain Forest is a big goal which cannot be achieved overnight. First, it had to be figured out where the main threats come from not only by looking at companies, institutions and politics operating in the area, but also by observing how people that live in the surrounding treat the forest.
Awareness-building is our first step on the long way to saving the Rain Forest, because it can have a huge, direct impact. Opening the dialogue with the local community is what we do at the time. We are also aiming to go campaign at local schools to get children into the topic and to show them the importance of maintaining their living environment. We want to inspire them on how every single person can make an effort by very small actions.
Furthermore we focus on running the Deniyaya National Motel eco-friendly: we have a small organic farm in the backyard and try to preserve nature by including trees and plants in the construction of our cabanas.
This is just the beginning, but going step by step, we will make a difference.
Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1d8Lgny6BQ
�
You want to work as a volunteer at our place to contribute to the campaign or to learn about the project? We are currently looking for people who want to go to local schools - just get in touch, experience is welcomed but not a must!
Further
Information:
Protection and management requirements
Noted as a national heritage wilderness area on October 21st 1988, the majority of the area within the property was originally declared a forest reserve on May 3rd 1875, providing a long history of protection. The property is afforded the highest level of legal protection under the National Heritage and Wilderness Area Act of Sri Lanka and almost all the peripheral natural forests along the boundary have already been declared as conservation forests or reserved forests under the Forest Ordinance. The values encompassed by the property were further recognised when it was declared a Biosphere Reserve in April 1978 and subsequently inscribed on the World Heritage.
Sinharaja World Heritage property is managed directly by the Divisional Forest Officer from the Forest Department, under the authority of the Ministry of Lands and Land Development. A National Steering Committee coordinates the institutions for Sinharaja as a National Wilderness Area, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage site. Management practices and research are executed in accordance with the prescriptions of the respective management plans, prepared for the Sinharaja Conservation Area as well as the property’s peripheral natural forests, under the national forest policy directives. The management plans for the property, prepared in 1985/86 and 1992/94, emphasize conservation, scientific research, buffer zone management, benefit sharing, and community participation.
Sinharaja is provided with the highest level of legal protection under the National Heritage Wilderness Area Act and a high level of environmental awareness of the local community is extremely helpful in implementing management plan prescriptions. Forest dependency of local communities is very low and maintaining this healthy partnership with local communities is the main strategy to ensure future protection of this property. Historically protected as a result of its inaccessibility and steep, hilly terrain, the Forest Department prioritizes protection of the reserve over development pressures and resource extraction. Visitor numbers remain low with entry by permit only. ( http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405)
Threats to the values and integrity of the property primarily come from encroaching cultivation, particularly along the southern boundary. Development undertaken outside the property indirectly impacts the site through road developments which subsequently open up routes and entry points into the property, facilitating illegal logging and removal of resources, with illegal gem mining also posing a threat. The traditional use of forest products is now restricted to areas outside the boundaries.
Low staffing levels hinder the policing of offences and a lack of funding is a barrier to the effective, long-term management of the area. The management agency, the Sri Lankan Forestry Department has designated the management of Sinharaja a high priority, allocating funds according to the priorities spelled out in the management plan and on-going management programmes. (WHC UNSCO site http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405)
Management Costraints
Of the many constraints to the protection of Sinharaja, socio-economic ones relating to the people and organisations in the immediate vicinity of the reserve are perhaps among the most important. Encroaching cultivations are probably the biggest problem, particularly along the southern boundary (McDermot, 1985). Contractors open up routes to facilitate logging operations and, although no felling is permitted within 1.6km of the reserve boundary, this may render the reserve more accessible to illicit timber operations. Planting of Honduran mahogany Swietenia macrophylla along abandoned logging trails as an enrichment species may lead to displacement of natural species, especially as it is a prolific seed producer (Zoysa and Raheem, 1987). Alleged malpractices by the State Timber Corporation are a source of concern for the Forest Department. Private land owners along the periphery perhaps make illegitimate use of timber resources within the reserve: having felled all merchantable timber on their own land, they continue to request permits for timber (Hathurusinghe, 1985). The most important forest produce is firewood, significant quantities of which are used in the production of jaggery (McDermot, 1985; Silva, 1985). The traditional use of minor forest products, most important of which are kitul for jaggery and wewal or cane for weaving baskets, is now restricted to forest surrounding the reserve. Illicit gem mining was considered to be a serious problem in eastern parts of the reserve. It is organised mostly by wealthy merchants from outside the Sinharaja region and needs to be stopped. The lack of a uniform land-use policy and the multiplicity of governmental and semi-governmental agencies involved in land-use planning in Sri Lanka are the major administrative constraints in evolving a suitable protection plan for Sinharaja. For the moment, transactions related to lands surrounding the reserve are suspended under presidential order until such time as the conservation plan for the reserve is ready for implementation (Forest Department, 1986). (http://www.environmentlanka.com/sinharaja.html)
Protection and management requirements
Noted as a national heritage wilderness area on October 21st 1988, the majority of the area within the property was originally declared a forest reserve on May 3rd 1875, providing a long history of protection. The property is afforded the highest level of legal protection under the National Heritage and Wilderness Area Act of Sri Lanka and almost all the peripheral natural forests along the boundary have already been declared as conservation forests or reserved forests under the Forest Ordinance. The values encompassed by the property were further recognised when it was declared a Biosphere Reserve in April 1978 and subsequently inscribed on the World Heritage.
Sinharaja World Heritage property is managed directly by the Divisional Forest Officer from the Forest Department, under the authority of the Ministry of Lands and Land Development. A National Steering Committee coordinates the institutions for Sinharaja as a National Wilderness Area, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage site. Management practices and research are executed in accordance with the prescriptions of the respective management plans, prepared for the Sinharaja Conservation Area as well as the property’s peripheral natural forests, under the national forest policy directives. The management plans for the property, prepared in 1985/86 and 1992/94, emphasize conservation, scientific research, buffer zone management, benefit sharing, and community participation.
Sinharaja is provided with the highest level of legal protection under the National Heritage Wilderness Area Act and a high level of environmental awareness of the local community is extremely helpful in implementing management plan prescriptions. Forest dependency of local communities is very low and maintaining this healthy partnership with local communities is the main strategy to ensure future protection of this property. Historically protected as a result of its inaccessibility and steep, hilly terrain, the Forest Department prioritizes protection of the reserve over development pressures and resource extraction. Visitor numbers remain low with entry by permit only. ( http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405)
Threats to the values and integrity of the property primarily come from encroaching cultivation, particularly along the southern boundary. Development undertaken outside the property indirectly impacts the site through road developments which subsequently open up routes and entry points into the property, facilitating illegal logging and removal of resources, with illegal gem mining also posing a threat. The traditional use of forest products is now restricted to areas outside the boundaries.
Low staffing levels hinder the policing of offences and a lack of funding is a barrier to the effective, long-term management of the area. The management agency, the Sri Lankan Forestry Department has designated the management of Sinharaja a high priority, allocating funds according to the priorities spelled out in the management plan and on-going management programmes. (WHC UNSCO site http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405)
Management Costraints
Of the many constraints to the protection of Sinharaja, socio-economic ones relating to the people and organisations in the immediate vicinity of the reserve are perhaps among the most important. Encroaching cultivations are probably the biggest problem, particularly along the southern boundary (McDermot, 1985). Contractors open up routes to facilitate logging operations and, although no felling is permitted within 1.6km of the reserve boundary, this may render the reserve more accessible to illicit timber operations. Planting of Honduran mahogany Swietenia macrophylla along abandoned logging trails as an enrichment species may lead to displacement of natural species, especially as it is a prolific seed producer (Zoysa and Raheem, 1987). Alleged malpractices by the State Timber Corporation are a source of concern for the Forest Department. Private land owners along the periphery perhaps make illegitimate use of timber resources within the reserve: having felled all merchantable timber on their own land, they continue to request permits for timber (Hathurusinghe, 1985). The most important forest produce is firewood, significant quantities of which are used in the production of jaggery (McDermot, 1985; Silva, 1985). The traditional use of minor forest products, most important of which are kitul for jaggery and wewal or cane for weaving baskets, is now restricted to forest surrounding the reserve. Illicit gem mining was considered to be a serious problem in eastern parts of the reserve. It is organised mostly by wealthy merchants from outside the Sinharaja region and needs to be stopped. The lack of a uniform land-use policy and the multiplicity of governmental and semi-governmental agencies involved in land-use planning in Sri Lanka are the major administrative constraints in evolving a suitable protection plan for Sinharaja. For the moment, transactions related to lands surrounding the reserve are suspended under presidential order until such time as the conservation plan for the reserve is ready for implementation (Forest Department, 1986). (http://www.environmentlanka.com/sinharaja.html)