Spotlight on Wandama Demaliya Reserve Plan to allocate forest land to farmers causes concerns (Sri Lanka)
Spotlight on Wandama Demaliya Reserve Plan to allocate forest land to
farmers causes concerns (Sri Lanka)
Daily Mirror
March 17, 2025
See link
https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/plus/Spotlight-on-Wandama-Demaliya-Reserve-Plan-to-allocate-forest-land-to-farmers-causes-concerns/352-304511
for photos.
According to the Soba Padanama Foundation, similar attempts were made
during the previous government when former ministers Jagath Pushpa Kumara
and Ananda Kumarasiri, along with other provincial and Pradesha Sabha MPs,
sought to distribute this forest land among farmers. However, these efforts
were blocked due to opposition from forest conservation and wildlife
authorities, as well as environmental organizations.
Following a request from a group of residents from Monaragala District, the
District Development Committee instructed Wellawaya Divisional Secretary to
submit a report about two weeks ago, assessing the feasibility of releasing
102 hectares from the proposed reserve to be distributed as paddy land.
Accordingly, Wellawaya Divisional Secretary, Buttala Divisional Secretary,
and several government officials recently visited the reserve to
investigate the matter. Officials from the Wildlife Conservation Department
joined the visit to assess the potential impact of the proposed land
distribution on wildlife, while the Forest Conservation Department, which
owns the land, was also present.
Deeply Concerning
The proposed Wandama Demaliya Reserve spans approximately 2,200 hectares.
Of this, 1,127.52 hectares were allocated for an industrial park under the
Hambantota Port Development Program by the previous government, despite
strong opposition from environmentalists. Additionally, 400 hectares have
been taken over—without the permission of the Forest Conservation
Department—by a foreign company and a local company for mango cultivation.
Furthermore, large portions of land have been occupied and cultivated by
various groups with the backing of politicians at the time. Despite that,
the proposal to redistribute 102 hectares of the remaining forest for paddy
cultivation is deeply concerning, according to representatives of local
civil society organizations.
“This isolated forest, known as Vandama-Demaliya, is home to the majority
of the area’s wild elephants. The elephant corridor connecting
Lunugamvehera National Park with Hadapanagala Lake also passes through this
forest. For this reason, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
conducted under the Kirindi Oya River Basin Development Programme of the
Uma Oya Multipurpose Project, along with Environmental Approval No. 2.1 (A)
issued by the Central Environmental Authority on 27.09.2013, recommended
declaring Wandama-Demaliya as a wild elephant management reserve or
sanctuary and taking measures for its conservation. Despite this, 1,127.52
acres of this forest were allocated to a Chinese company, as confirmed by a
letter sent by the Wellawaya Range Forest Officer to the Monaragala
District Forest Officer on 19.01.2018. It was not us, but a former Director
General of Forest Conservation who said that two companies had forcibly
occupied 400 hectares of land in this area. So if another 102 hectares are
given away to fulfill political interests, where will the wild elephants of
this forest go? If this reckless decision is made, the human-elephant
conflict around Handapanagala and Wellawaya could escalate several fold,”
according to Raja Vidanapathirana of the Monaragala Soba Padanama
Foundation.
The Kadawara Tank, situated in the middle of the Demaliya Forest within the
Pubuduwewa Grama Niladhari Division of the Wellawaya Divisional
Secretariat, was constructed in 2006 by the then Ministry of Land,
Agriculture, Irrigation, and Animal Production. While the tank is located
within the Buttala Divisional Secretariat, the lands designated for
development under it fall within the Wellawaya Divisional Secretariat.
Following the construction of the Kadawara Tank in 2006, 102.296 hectares
of land from the Demaliya Wandama Forest were released to the Wellawaya
Divisional Secretary for the development of paddy fields and reclaimed
lands. This was done at the request of the then Secretary of the Ministry
of Land, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Animal Production, based on a Cabinet
decision, as per letter No. PM/03/02/14/49 issued by the then Conservator
General of Forests on June 1, 2009. Accordingly, in 2006, the Survey
Department prepared the document bearing the number MO/WLL/2006/449 for the
released land, including a plot plan outlining paddy fields and reclaimed
lands. However, the then Divisional Secretary of Wellawaya didn’t take any
action to officially acquire these lands.
As a result, in 2015, the Forest Conservation Department placed survey
stones and designated the land, including the area allocated for paddy
cultivation, as part of the proposed Wandama-Demaliya Reserve.
Legal Action Taken
“The situation in this area is not the same as it was in 2006. We allocated
these lands for paddy cultivation 19 years ago, but circumstances have
changed. 1,127.52 hectares of forest land had to be allocated for an
industrial zone under the port development programme. Additionally, two
companies have taken over about 400 hectares, and we have already initiated
legal action to evict them. Beyond this, another group has encroached on a
significant portion of the forest through political connections, while some
individuals have occupied land and sold it. Given these conditions,
releasing another 102 hectares of forest land is a serious concern.
However, when land is requested for government development projects, we are
often unable to refuse—we have to take that into account as well,” said an
official from the Forest Conservation Department FCD), who wished to remain
anonymous.
Officials from the Wellawaya Wildlife Control Unit of the Department of
Wildlife Conservation stated that approximately 200 to 250 wild elephants
living in isolated reserves in Wellawaya inhabit the Wandama-Demaliya
Forest.
“It was not us, but a former Director General of Forest Conservation who
said that two companies had forcibly occupied 400 hectares of land in this
area. So if another 102 hectares are given away to fulfill political
interests, where will the wild elephants of this forest go? If this
reckless decision is made, the human-elephant conflict around Hadapanagala
and Wellawaya could escalate several fold”
- Raja Vidanapathirana, Monaragala Soba Padanama Foundation
“We have observed herds of 40 to 50 wild elephants in this forest.
Additionally, the migration route of elephants traveling from the
Lunugamvehera National Park to surrounding forest areas passes through
here. If this forest is fragmented, controlling the escalation of
human-elephant conflict in the area will be unthinkable,” wildlife
officials warned.
For years, more than thirty villages in Wellawaya, Handapanagala, Wandama,
Demaliya, and Aluthwela have suffered due to the human-elephant conflict.
This has resulted in the loss of both human and elephant lives, with
extensive damage to property. However, villagers in the Wellawaya area said
that no government has taken meaningful steps to address the issue.
“It’s no surprise that elephants come to villages when they lose their
forests”
- Handapanagala Wellassa Women Farmers’ Organization Secretary
“We have lived on this land since birth. We never had problems with wild
elephants until the Pelwatte Sugar Company cleared about 54,000 acres in
the area. But now, in addition to Pelwatte, two other multinational
companies have seized land in this forest and are fencing it off with
electric barriers. The government is preparing to give another 5,000 acres
of this forest to a Chinese company. At present, people in villages from
Wellawaya to Thanamalwila are living in fear for their lives. Some young
men are even afraid to get married when women mention they are from
Hadapanagala, Wellawaya, or Thelulla. Because of this wild elephant
problem, people go to work and children attend school engage in their
activities in fear. If the Wandama-Demaliya forest is cleared for further
development, we will have no choice, but to abandon our homes. It’s no
surprise that elephants come to villages when they lose their forests,”
said K. G. Somalatha, Secretary of the Handapanagala Wellassa Women
Farmers’ Organization.
“We haven’t made any decision to release the lands for paddy fields”
- Wellawaya Divisional Secretary
“The District Development Committee has requested a report from us based on
a request by a group of farmers to release these lands under the Kadawara
Tank. However, we haven’t made any decision to release the lands for paddy
fields just because a report was requested. We recently visited the area to
gather information for the report. Buttala Divisional Secretary, officials
from the Forest Conservation Department, Wildlife Department, Grama
Niladhari officers, and officers from other relevant departments
participated in this field investigation. We will submit a report to the
Monaragala District Development Committee,” said K. K. Ravindra Malani,
Wellawaya Divisional Secretary.