Govt MPs backing illegal mining in Sinharaja Seven forest officials assaulted, two hospitalized

Several United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Parliamentarians from the Ratnapura District are alleged to be actively backing illegal gem miners operating within Sinharaja Forest Reserve. The allegations surfaced after officers from the Department of Forest Conservation (DFC) who raided a site in the area, were waylaid and viciously assaulted last week.

Environmentalists allege at least two UPFA MPs, who don’t hold ministerial portfolios, were backing the miners. Two DFC officers had to be admitted to hospital for treatment after seven of them were attacked by a mob of around 45-50 individuals on March 6 (Thursday) after they raided the location where the illegal mining was taking place, allegedly under political patronage.

The illegal mining activities, which are taking place in the Imbulkanda area, had caused enormous damage to the environment within Sri Lanka’s only rainforest, according to DFC officials.
Speaking to The Nation on grounds of anonymity, a DFC officer said the seven officers from the department’s Kalawana office who raided the site on Thursday managed to apprehend one suspect. Two others who fled the scene were identified. The team also found a large amount of equipment that was used in the illegal gem mining.

The area contained two gem mines, one of which was one of the largest they had ever seen, the officer said. The miners had set up camp at the location and it seemed they had been continuing the operation for a considerable time period, he further explained.
“However, as the team was returning with the suspect and the seized equipment, they were waylaid at the end of the Imbulkanda village by a mob of around 50 villagers, who proceeded to assault the officers.

They forced the officers to release the suspect, along with the equipment,” a DFC official said.
Two DFC officers who were injured in the incident were later admitted to hospital for treatment. A complaint was also lodged with the Potuvil police post regarding the incident, while a ‘B’ report was submitted to the Pelmadulla Magistrate’s Court, according to the DFC. The equipment that was forcibly taken away by the villagers had also been recovered by yesterday, and will be submitted to Court, it was further stated.

DFC officers had identified seven of the alleged attackers. When contacted, Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said investigations into the incident were underway, but no suspects had been arrested. However, the illegal gem mining operations in the area have stopped, at least for now. A DFC official said they would visit the area again tomorrow to ensure that the activities are stopped permanently

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Tea plantation takes a deadly toll on - Sinharaja Forest

Sri Lanka was blessed with vast stretches of lush green forests which were subsequently cleared on a massive scale throughout the British Colonial Era, primarily for cultivation of cash crops such as Tea, Coffee, Rubber and Cardamom. As a result, wet zone forests were fragmented leaving little of the original cover in viable continuous forest spans out of which Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya (KDN) forest complex is considered the most significant.
Although it has been 63 years since independence, we have failed to ensure the security of our wet zone forest ecosystems burdening the Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora compiled once in three years by the IUCN. Regrettably, information rendered by the red list and other records have not been incorporated in the process of policy making. Demeaned to mere records, these vital sources of information stand detached from the policy statements.
Sinharaja forest provides a prime example to this plight. Since late 80s the Forest Department, which has been entitled with the custody of the Sinharaja forest has been too preoccupied with the struggle to promote tourism in order to boost the treasury that protecting biodiversity has been allowed to drift into oblivion.
The first attempt to conserve the Sinharaja Forest was its declaration as a Protected Area by Gazette Notification bearing No 4046 dated May 8, 1875 published under the Waste Lands Ordinance during the British colonial era itself. A 2,428.1 hectare span of the Sinharaja forest was declared as a Protected Area. On May 21, 1926 this was further extended by 3,724.6 hectares. During the period from 1972 to 1977 roads were built into the forest from Waturawa, Mulawella, Athwelthota-Kalukadawa and Kudawa and logging operations were carried out in order to supply for the Plywood Corporation. By the time it was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1988 these logging operations had been terminated as a result of relentless protests of the environmentalists.


A span of 11,187 hectares of the Sinharaja Forest was declared a National Heritage Wilderness Area by Gazette Notification bearing No. 528/14 dated 21.10.1988 published under the National Heritage Wilderness Area Act number 4 of 1988. This stands as the sole declaration made under this Act up to date. Next, in 1989 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO under Natural Criteria ix and x, the first to be declared as a World Heritage Site on the island.
Sinharaja Forest is a unique ecosystem. It is comprised of a canopy typical to Tropical Wet Evergreen Rainforests and three unique climax vegetation types: Hora community, Na-Dun community, Milla-Diya para-Hedawaka-Welipanna community. A unique plant community composed of the two endemic species Rath Dun (Shorea gardneri) and Yakahalu (Shorea trapezifolla) exist in Sinharaja Watte and Enasal Watte owned by the State Plantation Corporation. These areas, situated outside the Protected Area, are vulnerable to clearing for plantation of tea.
Four hundred and ninety five (495) of the 926 endemic flowering plants of Sri Lanka as well as 13 of the 25 endemic plant Genera are recorded from the Sinharaja Forest. Fifteen point endemic species of flora occur in the forest while 340 woody plants are recorded, out of which 192 are endemic to the country. The overwhelming faunal diversity of the Sinharaja forest encompasses 448 species that belong to the animal groups of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and butterflies. Out of these, 137 species (31%) are endemic to the country.
Sinharaja forest accounts only for 0.17% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding, it shelters 44% of the terrestrial animals of six animal groups as mentioned above, recorded from Sri Lanka. Forty-four per cent of the endemic fauna of Sri Lanka are reported to inhabit the forest. Sinharaja records all 33 endemic bird species of Sri Lanka. Among the 20 recorded point endemic species of animals are 11 amphibians, five reptiles, one mammal (Kunuhik meeya - Crocidura hikmiya), two fresh water crabs (Ceylonthelphusa savitriae and Perbrinckia rosae) and one spider species (Onomustus nigricauds). These provide ample evidence to the invaluable biodiversity significance of the forest.
Five of the 11 point endemic Amphibians are Critically Endangered according to the IUCN red list (2007); Sinharaja shrub frog (Philautus simba), Cheeky shrub frog (Philautus procax), Papillated shrub frog (Philautus papillosus), Handapan Ella shrub frog (Philautus lunatus) and Morning side tree frog (Polypedates fastigo). As per the IUCN red list (2007), the rest are Endangered.
According to the veteran Zoologist P. B Karunarathne, Deraniyagala’s shield tail (Rhinophis tricoloratus), a point endemic fossorial snake, is a common inhabitant of the forest. The four tetrapod reptiles endemic to the Singharaja forest; Erdelen’s horned lizard (Ceratophora
erdeleni), Karunaratne’s horned lizard (Ceratophora karu), Desilva’s lizard (Calotes desilvai) and Rakwana bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus subsolanus) are Critically Endangered according to the 2007 IUCN red list.

Most of the point endemic amphibian, reptile and crab species are precariously confined to the unprotected areas of Morningside and Handapan Ella (Rakwana Mountain Range). These forests, owned by the State Plantation Corporation and the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Commission are being rapidly cleared for potato and cardamom plantations.
According to the Cabinet Paper bearing number PS/CS/26/2004 dated July 22, 2004 all the forest lands in the custody of the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Commission that adjoin the Sinharaja National Wilderness Area or situated within 0.5 km from the boundary have been prescribed to be ceded to the Forest Department in agreement with section 22 (1) e and 44(a) of Land Reclamation Law of 1972. However, the documents pertaining to this stipulation have lain dormant for seven years at the Environment Management Division of the Ministry of Environment.
As stated in this Cabinet Paper 2,508.4 hectares of virgin forests are prescribed to be combined with the protected area. Enasal watte, Kurugala watte, Beverly watte and Hemagiri watte of Matara District, Mura kele watte, Fab watte, Iluba kanda watte, Morningside watte, Canter watte, Gaze watte, Gonhela watte, Abbey rose watte, Backware watte, Konduragala watte and Dambahena watte of the Ratnapura District along with Homadola watte, of the District of Galle are recommended to be linked to the protected Area. These forest lands have been leased to many plantation companies by the Land Reclamation and Development Commission. Adding to the burden caused by plantation of Tea, Cardamom and Potatoes, clearing for Developmental Projects such as construction of hotels poses a detrimental impact on the forest cover.
Many exclusive forests in the environs of the Sinharaja forest have not been granted proper legal protection. Seven proposed protected areas including Morapitiya-Renakanda, Delgoda, Panagala, Warathelgoda and Thibbotuwawa are connected to the Sinharaja Forest. It is required to attach all these proposed areas to the protected Wilderness Area in order to guarantee the preservation of biodiversity.
Upon implementation of such conservation strategies, it is essential to declare the area within one kilometre or a mile from the boundary as a buffer zone under the National Environmental Act. In the case of the National Parks in the Dry Zone the areas within a mile from the boundary have been declared buffer zones (Environment sensitive area) and thus it is mandatory for any development activity located within to obtain Environmental Recommendation subject to the EIA process. But astonishingly, the Sinharaja forest, the most significant forest system in terms of Biodiversity had been treated unfairly with a hardly commendable allocation of a rather scanty buffer zone or sensitive area of 100 m from the boundary.
We wish that the Ministry of Environment would take necessary policy decisions in order to address these crucial issues in order to sustain this magnificent repository of biodiversity for generations to come.

Source:http://www.nation.lk/edition/columns/green-nation/item/926-tea-plantation-takes-a-deadly-toll-on-sinharaja-forest

 

Source:http://www.divaina.com/2011/09/25/feature14.html

Sinharaja bird wave – On the wings of a wildlife spectacle

The Sinharaja rainforest’s ‘Mixed Species Feeding Bird Flocks’ is a unique spectacle that can also be promoted as a tourist attraction, a leading zoologist said recently. Addressing a gathering of wildlife enthusiasts and tourism industry representatives at a lecture titled “Sinharaja Bird Wave” at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce auditorium, Prof. Sarath Kotagama, said that two or more species feeding and moving in the same direction is known as a ‘Mixed Species feeding flock’.

In Sinharaja, some of the flocks could have as many as 35-50 individual birds from dozens of different species. It is a spectacular sight and the usually silent Sinharaja forest erupts into a cacophony of bird calls for a few minutes, as the flock approaches. On an average, there could be about 12 different species of birds, with some flocks recording as much as 30 - 40 different birds. Some researchers have recorded flocks consisting of over hundred individuals.

The birds do not stay for a long time in one place, as they move forward all the while feeding. In a few minutes, the noise recedes and the forest is once again engulfed in silence. Bird flocks is a phenomenon well documented but least understood, Prof. Kotagama said. Researches have revealed its formation, function and other interesting scenarios. The nucleus or the centric bird species that take the lead in forming the bird flocks are the Orange-billed Babbler and Crested Drongo. Usually, in the morning, the Crested Drongo that inhabits the forest canopy, starts calling, which is believed to be the wakeup call to other members of the flock. Then the Orange-billed Babblers start steering the flock forward.

The Sinharaja rainforest, as its name implies, receives plenty of rain. This feature hinders birds from locating food and therefore moving in a group helps them to find food. It is believed that this ‘feeding efficiency’ is one of the reasons for these flock formations. Interestingly, various birds travel in the flock at different levels. A rainforest can be divided into different levels, based on height and vegetation, namely ground, under storey, sub canopy, canopy, above canopy and emergent. Different birds specialise at different levels. For example, when the Orange-billed Babblers feed on the under storey, they disturb lots of insects which take flight. These become easy prey for the birds hovering above at canopy level.
Security is the other major advantage these birds enjoy moving as a unit. Many birds mean many eyes. So they are able to detect a predator and warn others, says Prof. Kotagama. An added advantage is that these birds move at different levels, so that dangers at all levels are covered. When a predator like an owl is present, some of the birds flock closely to mob the intruder. Unable to bear the continuous mobbing by the chattering birds the predator usually gives up and departs.


Prof. Kotagama said that researchers have also identified vocal signals used by the birds to communicate. Of them, the most important is the ‘alarm call’. The Crested Drongos play the role of sentinels, usually warning of any danger from above. As soon as the Drongos make the alarm call, the whole flock goes silent and ‘freezes’, so as not to reveal their location to the probable predator. Only after the Drongos give the ‘all clear’ call do they come out.

Bird watching is becoming popular around the world and Sri Lanka can easily be promoted as one such destination. However, it was important to highlight and present the unique features within the country, if we are to become an Ultimate Wildlife Safari as Sri Lanka Tourism is trying to promote. Citing ‘The Gathering’ which has been nominated as one of the 10 Best Wildlife Spectacular events of the world by LonelyPlanet, Prof. Kotagama said the mixed-species Bird Flocks can be presented to the Tourism industry as the ‘Sinharaja Bird Wave’.

Public lecture
The ‘Sinharaja Bird Wave’ is one of four lectures organised by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), together with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). Sri Lanka Tourism has declared September the month of Wildlife, particularly focusing on ‘The Minneriya Elephant Gathering’, recently named as the 6th Best Wildlife Spectacle of the World, by the prestigious travel guide LonelyPlanet.

The final lecture of the series will be on Blue Whales, to be delivered by Gehan De Silva Wijeratne on September 28, at 5.30 pm, at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Auditorium, Navam Mawatha, Colombo 2.The Lecture is open to the public free of charge.

International conference on bird flocks in Sinharaja
An International Conference on Bird Flocks was held recently in Sinharaja.
Prof. Kotagama and other zoologists started their researches in Sinharaja as far back as 1981. This was a landmark research started soon after logging at Sinharaja was completely stopped in 1978. Since then, the research on Bird Flocks continued with over 500 observations to date, making the feeding flocks of Sinharaja the most studied Bird Flocks in the world.

To share this knowledge with other researchers who conduct flock studies in other parts of the world, the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), a local affiliate of BirdLife International, organised an International Conference on Mixed-species Bird Flocks recently in Ratnapura and Sinharaja rainforest. The conference was attended by international experts on bird flocks. Another objective of the conference was to afford university students interested in Ornithology, to get international exposure on flock studies and scientific research.

Workshop on location
FOGSL will also conduct a special four-day workshop on Sinharaja Bird Flocks for bird lovers, in Sinharaja, starting October 8. The team will leave the University of Colombo on October 8, and stay in the rainforest. FOGSL has also opened their trips to non-members and those interested in obtaining an ornithological background knowledge to ‘Sinharaja Bird Wave’. Further details of the programme could be obtained from Prof. Kotagama’s office on fogsl@slt.lk or call 2 501 332.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110925/News/nws_27.html

Snow whites that leap from tree to tree in the Sinharaja canopy

In his book The Natural History of Ceylon (1861), Sir Emerson Tennent says, “A white monkey, taken between Ambepussa and Kornegalle, where they are said to be numerous, was brought to me to Colombo. So striking was its whiteness that it might have been conjectured to be an albino, but for the

circumstance that its eyes and face were black”.

Tennant also mentions that he has heard of White Monkeys from Ridi-galle Wihara in Seven Korles and in Tangalle. Robert Knox in “Seeing Ceylon’ written in 1681 too makes mention of them - “Milk-white both in body and face; but of this sort there is not plenty”.

Are they still there in Sinharaja and its environs?

This is the discovery that members of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Galle (WCSG) have reported during their recent research studies in the area. “Some of them have a completely white coat and it is like large snow balls falling from the sky when they leap from the canopy of large trees in Sinharaja,” said a researcher of the spectacular sightings of white monkeys in lesser explored areas of the rainforest a few months ago.

Albino or white monkeys are recorded intermittently, but researchers of the WCSG found 30 individuals who are either completely or partially white from 14 monkey troops they had studied in this area. All were recorded within an 18 km stretch in and around home gardens around Sinharaja.

These monkeys are a different colour morph to the endemic Purple-faced Leaf Monkey known as ‘Kalu Wandura’ in Sinhala. Some are completely white while others have mixed coats. The babies of some of the white mothers are black while the reverse too has been observed in the wild. The discovery was made by the researchers of the WCSG while they were studying the Southern Purple-faced Leaf Monkey (Semnopithecus vetulus vetulus).

President of WCSG Madura De Silva explained that this colour morph named the Galanthus colour morph is a snow-white colour variant of the same species. The researchers also say that the monkeys are not albinos as none had red eyes. All had black naked parts of the face and beige to ashy brown crown hair, observed these researchers.

Well known environmentalist Rohan Pethiyagoda, says this is due to a phenomena known as leucism. Leucism is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals that gives colour to their skin and fur. In the case of albinism, it is the reduction of a skin pigment melanin, but in this case a reduction in all types of skin pigments occur. “Clearly the leucistic gene has been spreading across several troops and may even be selected, if males prefer white females.

But these kind of white animals are unusual in the wild probably because a white animal is conspicuous and more likely to be preyed on, so it would be interesting to see how these monkeys do in the long term,” Pethiyagoda said.

There are four different subspecies of this primate in addition to the Southern Purple-faced Leaf Monkey namely Mountain purple-faced leaf langur (Semnopithecus vetulus monticola), Western purple -faced leaf langur (Semnopithecus vetulus nestomr), and Northern purple- faced leaf langur (Semnopithecus vetulus philbricki). They are found on different regions of Sri Lanka and the Southern subspecies distribution is from Kalu Ganga to Ranna as per mammalian expert W.Philips.

From 2007 the primate research team of the WCSG has been studying the distribution, feeding ecology and behaviour of Southern Purple-faced Leaf Langur. Twenty six troops from rain forests and home gardens around Galle and Matara Districts have been observed so far.

Researchers were first tipped off about the ‘ghost like’ white monkeys by the villagers who go into the forest to extract the kitul sap. Trusting the locals, they decided to follow their paths into the forest and after a few weeks came upon the white monkeys that live in the treetops, rarely descending to the ground.

In the National Museum primate specimen collection is a pale-coloured specimen found by W.Philips from Matara District showing that there was colour diversity among the Southern Purple-faced Leaf Langur even in the early 1900s.

“These historical accounts also have inspired us to keep our eyes open in finding white monkeys from southern Sri Lanka through our primate research,” said Madura. Their research is funded by Nations Trust Bank.
Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110918/Plus/plus_08.html

Environmentalists worried over road construction in Sri Lanka

Colombo: Environmentalists yesterday expressed worry over a government road construction project which they said will destroy the Sinharaja rainforest, a World Heritage site.

On September 9, around 300 people were deployed to clear the jungle for three kilometers to build the road, they said.

The road is being built to Suriyakanda from Ilumbakanda in Kalawana. The environmentalists said that an alternative road can be used without building a new road.

They pointed out that the new road will damage the flora and fauna, risks the wildlife and unnecessarily exposes the World Heritage rainforest.

The hilly virgin rainforest of Sinharaja, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rainforests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. The reserve’s name translates as Kingdom of the Lion.

The reserve is only 21 kilometre from east to west, and a maximum of 7 kilometre from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of endemic species , including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are about 3 elephants and the 15 or so leopards are rarely seen. The commonest larger mammal is the endemic Purple-faced Langur.

An interesting phenomenon is that birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and the noisy Orange-billed Babbler. Of Sri Lanka’s 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Coucal and Sri Lanka Blue Magpie. Reptiles include the endemic Green pit viper and Hump-nosed vipers.

Source:http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/s.-asia/philippines/164783-environmentalists-worried-over-road-construction-in-sri-lanka.html