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| Sunday, 8 September 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Suffocating to death by Nihal Abyesinghe The Colombo Municipal Council, in its bid to beautify the city and keep the pavements tidy, has, tarred the roots and trunks of some huge trees lining Gregory Road in Colombo. These old giants have provided shade and have been of immense service to the city, in reducing environment pollution and releasing nutrients to the atmosphere. But environmentalists the fear these trees will soon die due to lack of growth nutrients. We explore the threat to the trees and the preventive measures required if they are to be preserved. A tree is a wondrous creation of nature. More so is a tree that has grown to its full capacity, matured and withstood the travails of time. The significance of its value is felt in all aspects of daily living, but never more so when you seek shelter from the scorching sun. Evidence is when you walk to the Department of Wildlife near Royal College and are assailed by dry air and excessive heat of the sun. Enter Gregory's Road from the SSC grounds, and you see a platoon of huge trees standing sentinel. Walk a few yards into the shade of the trees and the fatigue disappears. The trees, some as wide as 5-8 ft and some as high as 75-100 ft are indeed a wonderful sight. They include, Mal Mara, Wal Ehala, Pini Mara and Kaha Mara, and are about 200-years-old. The branches spread in a wide circumference, bearing bird nests and ferns. Although it is the shade you tend to appreciate at first, these trees have been providing an invaluable service to the city and its environment. According to H.P. Gunawardena, Deputy Director, Wildlife Conservation, the trees contribute towards reducing hot weather in urban areas. Environmental scientists however go several steps further in praising the value of trees and say that they are valuable in increasing environment humidity and point out that a dense-growth, can increase the evaporation rate by 11 per cent. Gunawardena adds that a well-grown tree adds about 88 gallons of water to the atmosphere daily and estimates that the cool temperature a tree can generate a day is equal to five regular room air-conditioners being operated for 20 hours. A German newspaper recently reported that the annual functions of a tree can be valued at Gr.marks 10,000. An average tree absorbs 6.5 tons of carbon dioxide from the environment annually and emits 4.6 tons of oxygen into the air. Dr. T.M. Das, Professor of Indian Plants and Environment Pollution estimates that a 50-year-old tree provides the world a service worth Rs2.7 million in the form of food and in preventing environment pollution. He also points out that by way of timber, raw material and soil activity, a tree provides an immeasurable service. The documented value notwithstanding, trees in urban Colombo are treated with scant respect, especially by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and the Highways Department, who the environmentalist accuse are killing the century old giants lining Gregory Road and Bauddhaloka Mawatha, through sheer ignorance. According to Professor Das, the trees at Gregory's Road are 200-years-old and worth about Rs.10 million. But most of these trees are threatened with premature death, as the roots and lower trunks have been tarred indiscriminately. Added to the torture is the fact that the trees have not been relieved of their dead branches in a long long time. A number of office workers at Gregory's Road, accused the 'maintenance unit' of the CMC of the indiscriminate tarring. They also accused neighbourhood organisations of using the pavements as office car parks, further exacerbating the plight of the giants. During a recent tour of tree-lined streets of Colombo, we found that the roots of almost all the trees at Gregory Road had been tarred at least 2 -3 inches above street level and vehicles were parked haphazardly on the roots which protrude on to lanes. Environmentalists view both forms of abuse as a major threat to the growth and maintenance of trees. A Deputy Directress of an Organisation at Gregory's Road, who did not wish to be named, claimed the trees were tarred by workers attached to the CMC, around two months ago. She said that although she and several others lodged a complaint with the CMC, but claimed that the officials of its maintenance unit had not paid any attention to their complaint. Several environmental-friendly people employed in offices at Gregory Road have repeatedly requested the authorities to remove the tar from the roots and cover them up with soil, to enable the trees to survive. Although the culprits have been identified as the CMC, the irony of the situation is the Department of Wildlife is located in close proximity to these endangered trees and no move was made to stop the tarring while the work was being carried out. Now of course Dayananda Kariyawasam, Director Wildlife Conservation, has become one of the staunchest supporters of the 'anti-tarring' protest. "There are about 50-75 trees on this road. Recently, they were tarred at the roots and we were told it was done by the CMC. It is extremely harmful to tar the roots of any tree, since it will cause the roots rot and suffocate the tree in the process, depriving it of air and water. This is a major threat to the trees," he said, assuring that he would inform Colombo Mayor Prasanana Gunawardena in writing, about this. "The tar layer on the roots should be removed immediately and must be covered with at least three inches of soil. Otherwise what happened near D.S.Senanayaka College, where an old giant toppled recently, will happen here too," he added. Prof.Hemanthi Ranasingha attached to the Wildlife and Environmental Science Unit of Kotte Sri Jayawardenapura University, said the tarring of roots prevents important growth functions. "The upper roots get crushed and will become decomposed. The environment below the soil will be thrown into imbalance. Absorption of essential nutrients to the tree will be paralysed," she warned She also pointed out that tarring prevents water absorption, since it covers up the tiny pores between the soil and the roots and said that resultant rotting of the entire root structure was a major environmental threat. According to Prof. Ranasingha, trees provide an excellent service in cleansing the urban environment as they absorb dust and toxic gases in the air. "Trees anywhere in the Colombo city should not be tarred in this manner. The tar should be removed from at least three feet beyond the tree," she urged. Environmental Lawyer, Jagath Gunawardena, recollected the plight of a Na tree, which died owing to tarring. The tree, a landmark on the Piliyandala-Colombo Road, had a soil layer stretching 3-4 ft. beyond. When the road was being expanded, the tree was tarred at its roots causing its subsequent demise. "If the tar from the trees down Gregory Road are not removed, they will suffer with the same fate," predicted Gunawardena. "Many trees in the Colombo city belong to the British era. The CMC is not interested in them or in developing an undergrowth in the event of their death. The authorities should understand the importance of these trees and make a special effort to conserve them," Gunawardena said. H.G. Gunawardena, Deputy Director-Environmental Management of Forest Conservation Dept said that trees, specially the broad-leaved variety, absorb poisonous gasses, such as carbon dioxide, sulphur, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and ozone emitted by motor vehicles in urban areas. "Roots and the earth emit poisonous gases, such as carbon dioxide, due to various soil reactions. When roots are tarred, these gasses can destroy the roots. As a solution, CMC should remove the tar layers from the roots," he said. Officials of the CMC Maintenance Unit were not available for comment. But Azaath Sally Deputy Mayor, Colombo Municipal Council ensured that necessary action will to taken to remove tar layers from the roots. While 'when' remains a question, thought should also be given to the fact that it is always better to prevent a disaster than mitigate one which has already been committed, not just in Colombo, but in any part of the country. A 50-year resource value of a tree Total value - Above Rs2.7 million Source: Dr. T.M. Das, Professor of Indian Plants and Environment Pollution. Invaluable functions of a tree: *Adds about 88 gallons of water and cools the environment. |
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