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by Shanika Sriyananda Liyanage

Authoritative powers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) will be decentralized with an aim of making the functions of the Department more effective, and therefore four regional DWLC offices will be set up shortly.

The first regional DWLC office in Ratnapura was opened by the Environment and Natural Resources Minister Rukman Senanayake. The office will cover the areas in Southern and the Sabaragamuwa provinces. "Out of the country's timber requirement, over 40 percent is supplied now from the villages.

It is because our ancestors planted trees for us. We should also encourage the present generation to do the same", he said at the opening ceremony held in Ratnapura. According to Minister Senanayake over 18,000 hectares have been abandoned due to outdated chena cultivation methods.

"With foreign funds we will initiate a project to re-plant trees for the future timber requirement", he said.

Another three regional DWLC offices will be set up in Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura and Colombo, shortly. These three offices will cover Uva, Central, North Central, North Eastern and Wayamba and the Western provinces. According to Ministry officials under the Forest Resources Management Project, the Asian Development Bank will provide funds to establish the regional offices.

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