Cash-Starved Sri Lanka to Cut Teak Trees in National Parks
9/4/99
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE
Sri Lanka seems intent upon ecocide. Their plan is to log teak
forests in National Parks to stabilize the economy. This is
reminiscent of cutting off the head to save the patient. It is very
short-sighted to further diminish the country's natural heritage for
a few months of foreign exchange. The well being of most countries
in decades to come will be strongly correlated with the degree to
which the stabilized the use of their natural forests and gave them
the opportunity to regenerate.
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Cash-starved Sri Lanka to cut teak trees in national
parks
Source: Associated press
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: September 1, 1999
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Cash-starved Sri Lanka wants to cut down
valuable teak trees in its national parks, raising a cry of outrage
from environmentalists.
A committee appointed by the President Chandrika Kumaratunge early
this year suggested the government could earn 2.5 billion rupees
(U.S.$35 million) by cutting and selling the teak. That is enough to
pay one-fourth of the country's annual education budget.
The committee recommended that laws be changed to allow the felling
of 70 percent of the teak trees in national parks, said forest
conservator W. Wickramasinghe.
The plan to log the teak -- a hard, highly prized wood used in some
of the world's finest furniture -- reflects the government's economic
desperation. Sri Lanka is experiencing a 10-year low in economic
growth and has a defense budget that has swollen to 45 billion rupees
(U.S.$635 million) to fight a protracted civil war against Tamil
separatists.
The legislature would have to approve the change in the law to allow
the plan to go forward. In the meantime, the government has been
trying other means to balance the budget, including selling shares in
the national airlines and telecommunication networks.
The latest estimates by the central bank point to a further slide in
the economy, with gross domestic product growth in the first quarter
at 2.7 percent, compared to 5.7 percent in the same period last year.
"We've been expecting a weak year, but the numbers are much worse
than anticipated," said Rajiv Casie Chitty, director of research at
CT Smith Stockbrokers.
Environmentalists say that if the government needs money, hacking at
the thick trunks of the elegant, costly trees is not the way to go
about it.
The conservationists were tipped off about the plan when the
government proposed amending legislation that forbids logging in
national parks.
The government argues the trees are not part of a naturally occurring
forest, but were planted three decades ago by the Forest Department
with the intention of harvesting them.
"We expect natural regeneration of local species of trees to take
place after the felling. If this does not take place, we will replant
in these areas," Wickramasinghe said.
Environmentalists say the issue is not that simple. "No proper study
has been done about the ecosystem and replanting with local species,"
said Hemantha Withanage of the Environmental Foundation of Sri Lanka.
He warned that the felling of teak could be a prelude to commercial
logging.
Logging is highly regulated in Sri Lanka, a tropical island off
India's southern coast. Its forests cover 1.76 million hectares (4.34
million acres), or 27 percent of the land area, according to
government statistics.
The law requires an environmental assessment before the government
can fell trees, and individuals must get permission to cut a tree.
An official in the Wildlife Department, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the department's view is that teak is not crucial in
maintaining the ecosystem, and is not as good as other trees for
retaining ground moisture.
"Teak trees are not much use for either the animals or as forest
cover," the official said.
But Jagath Gunawardene, a member of the Society for Environmental
Education, said teak provides food for the parks' wild elephants and
prevents soil erosion.