Paradise re-discovered

Bio-diversity at Bangamukanda Estate

by Shanika Sriyananda

Nature conservation was not his passion. Trained in marine communication engineering, he was abroad for more than a decade. Though hailing from a family which knew the art of balancing life with nature, he never thought that the property given by his father would become a land full of rare bio-diversity and a model for restoring rainforests.

He, like many other planters, who changed crops with the price fluctuations, switched to mahogany from tea in 1973 because of the government subsidiary offered for uneconomic tea land.

The five acre mahogany plantation was not looked after properly and was allowed to grow naturally. Meantime, another 11 acres of land full of cinnamon trees too was kept to grow without human intervention.

When the owner, Sunil Wimalasuriya, visited this land after several years, he was amazed to see his own 'Garden of Eden' - Bangamukanda Estate (BKE) full of rich bio-diversity.

Situated in Pitigala in the Galle district, planting of indigenous forest species together with mahogany and selective weeding to allow natural regeneration were done at BKE. The fast growing trees had made a tree canopy at a height of 25 to 30 feet within 12-years and leaf debris and the spreading root systems have prevented exotic varieties of weeds from invading these fields minimising fire hazards.

The presence of birds and arboreal mammals have increased the natural regeneration process by their seed dispersal activities.

"Growing fast for the last 19 years, the canopy is now over 50 feet in height and it is more orless similar to a wet zone secondary rainforest", says Wimalasuriya, who has devoted his life to increasing the fast dwindling tree covers of the country.

Until he stepped into the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) to lodge a complaint, he was not aware of the ecological value of the flora and fauna on BKE. Till then Wimalasuriya had merely enjoyed the serene bio-diversity of the estate, where eight small streams feed the Arambe Dola, a branch tributary of the Bentota River.

BKE already nestled in an area with some environmental protection has many diverse habitats due to bedrock pools, ponds, marshes, caves and rocky outcrops and part of the eastern boundary joins the Heycock Mountain range.

The other protected forests in close proximity to BKE are Singharaja forest- World Heritage site to the north, Beraliya Mukalana to the southwest, Malambure and Polgaskande Mukalana to the south.

"A family of pangolins was killed by the villagers for meat and the efforts to bring them to book was futile. I went to the DWLC to do justice to the innocent victims but never thought that it would be a journey to give value to the hidden bio-diversity in my own land", Wimalasuriya recalls.

There, instead of granting justice to the dead animals, the DWLC officials who patiently listened to him went through the documents on the findings of the flora and fauna of BKE and introduced him to a group of scientists who agreed to carry out long term research projects to evaluate the bio-diversity of the estate.

The long term scientific data gathering of the bio-diversity of the regeneration forest by a team comprising of post graduates of the Ruhuna University and the 'Nocturnal Primate Research Group' of the Oxford Brooks University, commenced in September 2002.

"The outcome was amazing. The survey data collected so far revealed an unimaginable prolification of bio-diversity on this limited land area. Regeneration happened in a short period of time", adds Wimalasuriya.

This is a safe heaven for many resident fauna and a temporary refuge for many other terrestrial mammals and birds, which move from one forest patch to another. There is a vast diversity of butterflies in BKE and leopards and Sambhar on the land and in its vicinity, recorded after a lapse of 35-years. A new sub-species of Red Slender Loris too has been discovered at BKE.

The report 'Portfolio of Strategic Conversation Sites, Protected Area Gap Analysis in Sri Lanka' recommended BKE as a model for private lands within the corridors of the wet zone. It states that Wimalasuriya is confident that the secondary forest corridor concept can be promoted among the private land owners if proper incentives and directions are offered to them.

With the restoration of fragile nature in the former abandoned estate into a unique forest with highly rich bio-diversity, BKE today provides a service to the entire area. The research facilities at the estate is a great facility for local and foreign researches who come in search of unique places for new discoveries.

Wimalasuriya says that BKE would be a fine model for the Carbon Seqeuation under Kyoto Protocol which targets to cut down the deadly carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The efforts of Wimalasuriya in regenerating a rainforest has not been limited to action alone. He has recorded all his work in writing too. 'Resurrecting Razed Rainforests' written by him about BKE and its unique findings is not only a good read but a hand book to many who want to follow his footsteps and also an eye opener for the responsible authorities to take this concept forward as a model.

'The ancient Sinhalese considered, the earth, trees and all living things therein including humans as a part of nature. Hence 'Resurrecting our Razed Rainforests' should be considered as part of nature by the post colonial people of this country' states Wimalasuriya in the conclusion of his greatly informative book.

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