Cash-Starved Sri Lanka to Cut Teak Trees in National Parks

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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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

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.

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