Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
NASA satellite view of Sri Lanka revealing sparser areas of forest to the north and east of the island. Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's current forest cover as of 2017 was 29.7%. [1] In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26 percent.
9.0% [5] of Sri Lanka's forests are classified as primary forest (the most biodiverse form of forest and the biggest carbon sinks on Earth). Sri Lanka's forests contain 61 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass (in 2010 [5]). Between 1990 and 2005 alone, Sri Lanka lost 17.7% of its forest cover. [2]
The Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation [2] (Sinhala: වනජීවී හා වන සම්සත් සංරක්ෂණ අමාත් ...
Its mission is to protect and expand Sri Lanka's forests and woodlands. [2] The head of the department is the Conservator General, Dr. K.M.A.Bandara. It comes under the purview of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resource Conservation.
It is the government department responsible for maintaining national parks, nature reserves and wildlife in wilderness areas in Sri Lanka. [3] Forest reserves and wilderness areas are maintained by the Department of Forest Conservation. [4] The head of the department is the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, formally known as Warden.
Sustainable forest management has evolved to include multifunctional management, like close to nature forestry does. Nevertheless there is a distinction between them since the first seeks a compromise between competing interests, while close to nature forestry uses biodiversity improvement as a tool to improve forestry itself.
Sri Lanka's central and southern parts are home to montane forests, sub-montane forests and to lowland rainforests. In contrast, sparse forests, mangroves, riverine dry forests and monsoon forests are located in the dry zone. These forest covers in Sri Lanka have been greatly reduced by legal and illegal forest clearing. [3]
The protected areas that fall under supervision of the Department of Forest Conservation include forests defined in National Heritage Wilderness Area Act in 1988, forest reservations, and forests managed for sustainability. [2] Sinharaja Forest Reserve is an example for a National Heritage forest (it is also a World Heritage Site). There are 32 ...