Protecting headwaters of the Kelani and Mahaweli

Hemas Holdings PLC is leading one of the largest private-sector-supported forest corridor restoration efforts in Sri Lanka’s hill country, strengthening ecological connectivity across some of the nation’s most fragile landscapes. Through its partnership with WNPS PLANT- Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Limited, Hemas is supporting restoration at the headwaters of both the Kelani and Mahaweli rivers, marking a decisive expansion of corridor-based conservation in the central highlands.

The new collaboration focuses on the Hatton Oya landscape, managed by Hatton Plantations PLC, who joined hands with PLANT as the crucial land partner for this restoration journey. In this landscape, degraded riparian forests intersect with urgent reforestation needs and national water security priorities. By restoring native forest buffers along streams and reconnecting fragmented habitats across plantation-managed terrain, the initiative targets the active rebuilding of forest structure and function- restoring canopy, soil health, and waterway integrity, for the benefit of millions who depend on these river systems downstream.

Why Headwater Corridors Matter  

Community members during the planting activities

In Sri Lanka’s hill country, forest loss does not stop at degradation; it fragments landscapes, exposes rivers, and destabilizes slopes, putting downstream communities at risk. PLANT’s Rapid Biodiversity Assessments across the central highlands show a clear pattern: where riparian cover is intact, waterways stay buffered and forests regenerate naturally; where it is lost, streams warm, banks erode, and recovery stalls. Hatton is especially critical, sitting at the headwaters of two of Sri Lanka’s most vital rivers- Mahaweli and Kelani, meaning forest loss here threatens thousands of livelihoods far beyond estate boundaries. By restoring along watercourses and natural recovery gradients, corridor restoration protects entire downstream ecosystems from erosion, flash floods, and further forest loss.

Scaling What Works

Abbotsleigh Corridor

The Hatton initiative builds on a foundation of corridor restoration already underway by PLANT in Maskeliya and Talawakelle. Hemas has already supported key restoration segments, including on Dessford in Talawakelle and on Alton along the Maskeliya Oya, and now extends its commitment through restoration at Abbotsleigh in the Hatton Oya corridor. Hatton represents a strategic escalation, to restoring forests where national river systems are born. Over 12,500 native plants will help line over five kilometers of waterway, with around 15 acres of entirely new forest being created. With this expansion, Hemas is now supporting corridor restoration across three major hill-country landscapes, covering critical headwater systems that feed some of Sri Lanka’s most important rivers.

Envisioning and Acting Before Collapse

WNPS PLANT created a totally new thinking by engaging private sector partners and pioneering the building of new forest corridors in a scalable manner in the hill country.  Already working on the largest network of corridor development through a range of partners and nurseries, its corridor creation approach was conceived well before the recent climate-related crises in the hills. The Ditwah flood and landslide impacts served as a stark national reminder of what happens when headwater riparian systems are stripped of forest cover. Had these habitats remained intact, the severity of damage would have been significantly lower.

“Hill-country forests are resilient, but only where the conditions for recovery exist,” notes, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Chairman of WNPS PLANT. “When riparian shade and forest connections are broken, regeneration stops. Creating entirely new forest corridors from scratch- replanting native species, restoring canopy, and reconnecting fragmented landscapes, is how we rebuild those conditions within working landscapes, without compromising productive land use.”

A LandscapeScale Commitment

Through its partnership with PLANT, Hemas is advancing its commitment to landscape-scale forest restoration and reforestation. The work aligns with PLANT’s Emerald Trails vision, which focuses on reconnecting fragmented privately owned spaces across Sri Lanka’s biodiversity-rich southwestern and central regions.

“Meaningful restoration means looking beyond isolated planting sites,” Ishani Ranasinghe Head of Sustainability and Corporate Communications from Hemas Holdings PLC said. “By supporting forest corridors at the origins of major river systems, we are contributing to forest recovery, water security, and climate resilience. We also believe lasting environmental impact can only be achieved when local communities are actively engaged, which is why community participation and shared stewardship are integral to this initiative.”

In Sri Lanka’s hill country, restoration is no longer just about protection. It is about active rebuilding. By replanting native forests at the sources of the nation’s major rivers, Hemas and WNPS PLANT, with the support of Hatton Plantations, are ensuring that degraded landscapes are not left to further decline, but are given the native forest cover, canopy structure, and ecological connectivity they need to recover and regenerate. In landscapes where Sri Lanka’s rivers are born, these reforestation corridors are no longer optional interventions. They are living lifelines, rebuilding forest cover, sustaining water systems, and strengthening the resilience of the hill country for generations to come. As a nation, Sri Lanka cannot remain exposed to more Ditwah-scale impacts. Proactive reforestation initiatives will be critical in future against these changing climatic conditions. Time is not on our side.