Sinharaja's rich biodiversity

It is all about constructing a road through a land rich in amazing bio-diversity. It has stirred a controversy as it runs through the country’s precious lowland rain forest - Sinharaja. Undoubtedly road development is an integral part of a country’s development but such development projects need to be carried out after a careful study to prevent harm to the existing bio-diversity. The latest road construction, which designed to construct a road between Ilumbakanda and Suriyakanda and created a tug-of-war between officials and environmentalists, has been temporary halted until it gets the final nod by the committee appointed by the Minister of Environment Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

While state officials claim it was ‘just widening of a century-old foot path to facilitate the villages’, conservationists claim that this major project to connect Kalawana and Kolonne through Pothupitiya, Illuokanda to Rakwana via Deniyaya A17 road near Suriyakanda, will destroy a significant part of the forest patch adjoining to the Morning Side of Sinharaja, which is home for many identified and non-identified wealth of flora and fauna.If the authorities go ahead with road construction, conservationists claim that a large portion of Sinharaja which comes under the Land Reform Commission (LRC) would have a severe impact on the unique ecosystem of the Morning Side of Sinharaja, which is home to several threatened endemic species. Due to its uniqueness the Sinharaja was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve.

Here is an attempt to explore the unique ecological value of the said forest patch, which the authorities need to strike a balance between nature and development as these ‘eco- wonders’ are no disappearing. The Sunday Observer interviewed Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust on the importance of preserving the unique bio-diversity.

The Singharaja Forest is a unique ecosystem. A span of 11,187 hectares of the Sinharaja Forest was declared a National Heritage Wilderness Area under the National HeritageWilderness Area Act No. 04 of 1988. It comprises a canopy typical to the Tropical Wet Evergreen Rainforests and three unique climax vegetation types: Hora community, Na-Dun community, Milla-Diyapara-Hedawaka-Welipanna community. A unique plant community composed of the two endemic species Rath dun (Shorea gardneri) and Yakahalu (Shorea trapezifolla) exist in the Sinharaja Estate and Enasal Estate owned by the State Plantation Corporation.

Four hundred and ninety five (495) of the 926 endemic flowering plants of Sri Lanka as well as 13 of the 25 endemic plant Genera are recorded from the Sinharaja Forest. Fifteen point endemic species of flora occur in the forest while 340 woody plants are recorded, out of which 192 are endemic to the country.

According to the records, 42 species of ferns are found in the Singharaja forest. Ten of these species are endemic. Among the ferns are, Pathrakoku (Cyathea crinita), Gini hota (Cyathea walkeri), Walmeda (Angiopteris evecta), Barukoku (Blechnum orientale), Bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus) and Mahahedaya (Huperzia phlegmaria) in addition to the smallest fern species recorded from Sri Lanka, the epiphytic Microgonium motleyi. More than 80 of the 189 orchid species from Sri Lanka grow in the Singharaja forest. Some of the rare Endemic species of orchids are Vanaraja (Anoectochilus setaceus), Iruraja (Zeuxine regia), Mahapadma (Podochilus malabaricus), Kudapadma (Podochilus saxatilis), Jatamakuta (Flickingeria macraei) and Wesakmal (Dendrobium maccarthiae) Nine species of rattan are found while the total number of species known from Sri Lanka is ten. Thambotuwel (Calamus zeylanicus), Thudarena (Calamus ovoideus), Narawel (Calamus delicatulus), and Mawewel (Calamus thwaitesii) are among the rare and endemic Calamus species in the Sinharaja Forest.

The endangered Kukuluwel (Calamus pachystemonus) isanother calamus species endemic to Sri Lanka that is found in the Sinharaja. Meanwhile the streams in Singharaja are inhabited by eight rare and endemic aquatic plants. Among these areLagenandra praetermissa, Lagenandra lancifolia, Lagenandra koenigii, Lagenandra thwaitesii, Lagenandra bogneri and Water trumpet species Like Cryptocoryne beckettii, Cryptocoryne thwaitesii and Cryptocoryne bogneri. Also, Aponogeton rigidifolius, a rare and endemic Kekatiya species is alsorecorded from these streams. These species present only a shred of the total floral diversity presentwithin the forest.

The overwhelming fauna diversity of the Sinharaja forest encompasses 448 species that belong to Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals and Butterflies. Out of these, 137 species (31percent) are endemic. Sinharaja forest accounts only for 0.17 percent of the total land area of Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding fens it shelters 43 percent of the terrestrial animals of six animal groups as mentioned above, recorded from Sri Lanka. Forty one percent the endemic fauna of Sri Lanka are found hare.

The significance of the Sinharaja Forest is mirrored by the fact that it accommodates 14 & 101 species listed in the IUCN Red List (2007) as Critically Endangered and Endangered. But, we wouldn’t be able to protect this treasure trove of biodiversity as long as we take no effort to comprehend the importance of it.

It is the only area where all 33 endemic bird species of Sri Lanka are recorded from apart from the Sri Pada Area. Among the 20 recorded point endemic species of animals are 11 amphibians, 5reptiles, 1 mammal (kunuhik meeya- Crocidura hikmiya), 2 fresh water crabs (Ceylonthelphusa savitriae and Perbrinckia rosae ) and one spider species (Onomustus nigricauds). These provide ampleevidence to the invaluable biodiversity significance of the forest.

41Five of the 11 point endemic Amphibians are Critically Endangered according to the IUCN red list (2007); Sinharaja shrub frog (Philautus simba), Cheeky shrub frog (Philautus procax), Papillated shrub frog (Philautus papillosus), Handapan Ella shrub frog (Philautus lunatus) and Morning side tree frog (Polypedates fastigo). As per the IUCN red list (2007), the rest of the point endemic amphibians,

The golden shrub frog (Philautus auratus), Sharp-snouted shrub frog (Philautus cuspis), Elegantshrub frog (Philautus decoris ), Golden-eyed shrub frog (Philautus ocularis), Poppy’s shrubs frog (Philautus poppiae) and Forest shrub frog (Philautus silvaticus) are Endangered.According to the veteran Zoologist Mr.P.B Karunarathne, Deraniyagala’s shield tail (Rhinophis tricoloratus), a point endemic fossorial snake, is a common inhabitant of the forest. The four tetrapod reptiles endemic to the Sinharaja forest; Erdelen’s horned lizard (Ceratophora erdeleni), Karunaratne’s horned lizard (Ceratophora karu), Desilva’s lizard (Calotes desilvai) and Rakwana bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus subsolanus) are Critically Endangered according to the IUCN red list (2007).

Most of the point endemic amphibian, reptile and crab species are precariously confined to the unprotected areas of Morningside and Handapan Ella (Rakwana Mountain Range).

The latest eco-wonder discovered after 330-years in this green cathedral is the endemic White monkeys - Purple-faced Leaf Monkey- which are found in the area, where the proposed road is to be constructed.

According to conservationists, the list of fauna and flora already identified would be a small portion of the wealth of Sinharaja, which is situated in the south west lowland wet zone of the country in the districts of Ratnapura, Galle and Matara but it could be a home for many if it is explored inch by inch.

Turning green can be kicked off from your home. For a start say ‘No’ to appliances that harm the environment. It sounds a bit unrealistic in this modern era but if one can gradually skip the stuff that harm the air that we breathe... water that we drink... nature that make us live... it may not help you to save a rain forest but will give you a start to re-adjust your lifestyle to go green.

Climate change migration warning

Governments and aid agencies should help the world’s poorest to move away from areas likely to be hit by flooding and drought, a UK report says. The government-commissioned report warns of potential humanitarian disasters because of climate change.

It says the cost of acting now would be much less than the cost of the conflicts and huge loss of life that would otherwise ensue. “It is essential that we do all we can to both address environmental change and make sure that people are as resilient as possible” - Professor Sir John Beddington UK Chief Scientific Adviser.

One of the reasons the report was commissioned was to examine concerns that the environmental degradation caused by climate change would lead to millions of so-called climate refugees abandoning sterile farmland and migrating to countries less affected by the problem.

Detailed analysis commissioned specifically for the study found that this was unlikely to be the case. Three-quarters of the migration, it says would be within national borders - predominantly from rural to urban areas.

- BBC