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| Sunday, 12 June 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Conservation of Sinharaja rainforest The Sinharaja rainforest holds the distinction of being the only South Asian rainforest. It was first recognised as far back as 1936 as being the only considerable patch of virgin tropical rainforest left in the island. Declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1989, it was also declared a Man and Biosphere Reserve (MAB) in 1978 and a national wilderness area in 1988. Valuable - yet vulnerable Current tea cultivation practices in the Sinharaja buffer zone threaten both the forest and the future of agricultural production in the area. The clearing of steep and fragile slopes for expanding tea lands has led to topsoil exposure, heavy erosion, and a loss of soil fertility. Erosion on the lower slopes destabilises the soil in the upper regions and prevents regeneration of forest cover. There are already signs that the change in vegetation patterns is affecting rainfall patterns and water flow. Many tea producers in the Sinharaja buffer zone are using several times the amount of chemical fertilizers recommended by Sri Lanka's Tea Research Institute (TRI). The use of herbicide is also extensive. Overuse of agro-chemicals affects long-term soil fertility and contaminates the water supply. Village streams are milky brown with eroded topsoil and the herbicides and fertilizers washed off the surrounding slopes. These streams feed two major rivers - the Gin Ganga and the Kalu Ganga - and the water quality of these rivers impacts the biodiversity of ecological systems throughout the southwest region of the country. A systemised biological resource assessment and monitoring programme is critical to ensuring the environmental sustainability of economic activities in the buffer zone. As workable models from other countries such as India and the United States of America have demonstrated, a monitoring programme can be effectively implemented through the development of a hands-on school science programme, where local schoolchildren can collect samples, monitor vegetation growth, conduct population surveys and record and analyse data. Such programmes allow schoolchildren the opportunity to become more aware of their environmental resources and more active and enthusiastic in conservation activities, in addition to acquiring the basic mathematical and language skills and knowledge in biology, chemistry and geology which are all part of a school's fundamental curriculum. It is against this backdrop and with the relevant issues in mind that HSBC has now joined Sewalanka Foundation to revitalise and preserve this rich natural heritage through the Sinharaja Forest Youth Bio-monitoring Programme. The programme launched on May 30 works closely in consultation with Kalawana and Deniyaya Forest Department. Sewalanka Foundation (SLF) is widely regarded as the leading national development non-governmental organisation in Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1993, its efforts have been focused on a wide variety of areas and activities, ranging from the environment to psychosocial support. The Sinharaja Forest Youth Bio-monitoring Programme comprises a creative and integrated agenda that will ensure a cost-effective, replicable system of monitoring soil and water quality, the use of resources, and biodiversity, while simultaneously providing a unique educational opportunity to the schools in the resource-strapped buffer zone. Sewalanka Foundation will facilitate curriculum design, provide teacher training and basic equipment, co-ordinate the analysis of soil and water samples and support community exhibitions and information fairs where the students will be able to present their work. This phase of the programme will be initiated in four schools near the Kalawana entrance to the forest. The Youth Bio-monitoring Programme will also complement on-going conservation activities in the Sinharaja buffer zone. The program will also be connected with a youth art programme where art students can participate in the creation and design of the community exhibitions and information fairs. It will also support the sustainable tea cultivation programme and the numerous reforestation projects that have been implemented in the area. Furthermore, students and HSBC staff will be able to measure the impact of soil conservation methods on soil quality, erosion and water quality and assess the growth and survival rates of seedlings in the reforestation plots. The results will be shared with the community at large and practical solutions will be developed and introduced over a period of time through the community. In and through these activities, the programme will focus on increasing education, awareness, importance and appreciation of the buffer zone in the Sinharaja Forest among the local community.The HSBC Group's community activities with an environmental theme are focused on sustainable development - connecting the needs of the bank's business with those of the planet as a whole. The linchpin of HSBC's worldwide support for the environment is a fifty million US dollar, five-year 'Investing in Nature' programme, launched in 2002 and involving three partners: WWF, Earthwatch and Botanic Gardens Conversation International (BGCI). In keeping with the Group policy, HSBC's environmental programme in Sri Lanka has thus far focused on the Horton Plains. The bank collaborates with the Department for Wildlife Conservation on this project which aims to keep the plains free from littering. Awareness is a major part of this campaign and the hoardings placed at strategic points around the Horton Plains bear witness to this strategy. HSBC staff have also participated in clean up programmes at the plains.
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