Environmentalists sound alarm bells over ‘dangerous proposals’ pertaining to Knuckles Range

By Ifham Nizam

Environmentalists said yesterday that three dangerous proposals that could have a disastrous impact on the biodiversity of the Knuckles Range were to be presented to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the ‘Gama Samaga Pilisandara’ programme which would be held today (13) at Meemure.

Supun Lahiru Prakash, Convener – Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, said: “There is a proposal for constructing an eight-kilometre road from Meemure village to Laggala-Pallegama, which will fragment the Knuckles Forest. In addition there is a proposal to distribute 90 acres of densely forested land in an irrigation reservation among political henchmen for paddy cultivation. There is an attempt to grow cardamom in the area once again.”

The Knuckles forest range was added ti the 56,844 ha of Sri Lanka’s highlands UNESCO world heritage site declared in 2010. The property comprises the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest.

These mountain forests, where the land rises to 2,500 metres above sea-level, are home to a wide range of flora and fauna, including several endangered species such as the western-purple-faced Langur, the Horton Plains slender Loris and the Sri Lankan leopard. The region is considered a biodiversity hotspot. It also included Buffer zone of 72,645 ha. 64% of the amphibians and 51% of the reptiles in the Knuckles Conservation Forest are endemic. More than half of Sri Lanka’s endemic vertebrates, half of the country’s endemic flowering plants and more than 34% of its endemic trees, shrubs, and herbs are restricted to these diverse mountain rain forests and adjoining grassland areas.

Prakash said: “We strongly oppose all these three demands which will severely affect the biological diversity of the Knuckles range. The loss of land and fragmentation of the rest of the forest will push, further, the critically endangered wildlife to the edge of extinction. As we are aware these demands do not represent the genuine needs of the villages and these will only be benefited to a few politicians and administrative officers. Therefore, we kindly request the President to be mindful of this and support the conservation of natural habitat in Sri Lanka.”