Summary Report Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme

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1 Summary Report Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme December, 2015

2 Citation Summary Report on Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Sri Lanka, 2015 Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme Disclaimer Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is allowed without prior written permission, provided the source is fully acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme or its collaborating partner organisations. Acknowledgements The Programme Management Unit of the Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme acknowledges the effort and contribution made by Science & Technology Cell, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo in developing the content of this report. Contact National Programme Manager Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme 419/1, Pannipitiya Road Pelawatte, Battaramulla Sri Lanka Tel: Web: 1

3 Background Deforestation and degradation of forests jointly contribute to climate change, leading to Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. To address this climate challenge, the UN has initiated an international mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation of forests (REDD+) which focuses on five activities: a. Reducing emissions from deforestation; (RED) b. Reducing emissions from forest degradation; (the second D ) c. Conservation of forest carbon stocks; (included in the + ) d. Sustainable management of forests; (included in the + ) e. Enhancement of forest carbon stocks; (included in the + ) To prepare a National REDD+ strategy for Sri Lanka, one of the earliest steps is to identify the major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the country. Such a study will also identify key policies and measures to control the major drivers and to further conserve, sustainably manage and increase forest carbon stocks. Definitions: Deforestation is the conversion of forest to another land use type which is mainly a result of human activities. In contrast, forest degradation leads to deterioration of the standing vegetation in density, structure and species composition due to human activities and natural causes. It may involve opening of the canopy, modification of the vertical structure, habitat parameters or change of other attributes. Forest degradation does not necessarily involve a reduction of the forest area, instead leads to the decline of the quality of forests. Together, deforestation and forest degradation reduce the area, quality and quantity of vegetation cover and alter the spatial structure of landscape through the process of fragmentation. Questions: This study was structured around finding answers to the following key questions: 1. What are the major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation? 2. What are the underlying socioeconomic and political factors that create and catalyze the drivers? 3. Which drivers are more destructive compared to others? 4. How the drivers are spatially distributed around the country? 5. How effective are the current laws and policies in controlling the drivers and the underlying factors? 6. Which drivers can we control and what are the policies and measures we could implement in the context of REDD+, to reduce emissions by (1) preserving forests to act as carbon sinks and (2) to avoid emissions produced by deforestation? 2

4 Conceptual model of the study: The study views deforestation and degradation as a result of a continuous process (deforestation/degradation process) that has driving forces (drivers and catalysts) and restraining forces (inhibitors). Drivers include underlying drivers and major (proximate) drivers. Catalysts are factors that accelerate impacts of drivers whereas preventive forces (inhibitors) decelerate the impacts of drivers. Deforestation and degradation of forests are outcomes result from interaction of these forces. The findings are described below. Three main historical drivers ( ) Pre-independence era : In the early 1800s, there was 70% forest cover in the country a two dominant drivers have been identified for this period. 1. Growth of export plantation economy: During the British colonial period the major driver was plantation agricultural crops, coffee, tea and rubber that cleared forests in the wet, intermediate, montane and sub-montane zone forests. Large swathes of land were acquired by British rulers through the Crown Lands Encroachment Ordinance (1840) denying the local populations traditional customary rights. This created heavy pressure of landlessness among upcountry peasant population. 2. Commercial timber extraction policy: Colonial rulers practiced selective felling of valuable timber species especially in the lowland dry zone that led to degradation of forests throughout the country. Post-independence era : 3. Land settlement and irrigation development in the dry zone: Increased landlessness among peasant population in the wet zone and negligence of food crops production by colonial rulers led to policies for providing lands to the growing peasant population and for achieving the goal of self-sufficiency in food production. This resulted in large-scale conversion of forested state lands in the dry zone under several land settlement and irrigation development schemes. The wave of deforestation associated with this process lasted the second half of the twentieth century. During the five decades period of , the process started with the restoration of ancient tank system by the Irrigation Department. Large-scale river diversion schemes such as Gal Oya, Uda Walawe and Mahaweli which had dual goals of irrigation and hydro-power generation were implemented later on. From 1970s onwards the 3

5 government directed its attention primarily to the Mahaweli Development Master Plan a mega project, subsequent accelerated Mahaweli development project (AMDP) where the original 30 year plan was collapsed into a six years. The plan envisaged providing irrigation facilities to 364,230 ha (including new lands) and installation of 507 MW of hydropower. Box 1 Current extent of forest lands and non-forest tree cover: The study established the following: 29.7% forest cover 1.95 million ha 21.88% dense forest 1.44 million ha 6.54% open and sparse forest 0.43 million ha 1.03% Savannah million ha 0.24% Mangroves million ha 13% tree crop home gardens 0.85 million ha 8% coconut and rubber 0.52 million ha Four major current drivers (1992 to date) This period coincided with the third and final stage of the deforestation associated with land settlement and irrigation development. The current drivers of deforestation and forest degradation differ from those of the past, in that it is a result of four major ongoing parallel processes. These are deforestation due to: 1. Encroachments 2. Infrastructure development projects 3. Private agriculture ventures Forest degradation due to: 4. Several localized drivers. Further analysis of these four current drivers is listed in Box 2. Underlying drivers The drivers are put in motion by several underlying forces. For instance: Encroachments are due to demand for residential lands, global demand for export crops (e.g. tea) and local demand for field crops. Land for infrastructure development is fuelled by the demand for modern services in the form of urban centers, energy, roads, highways etc. 4

6 Private agriculture ventures are the result of export and local demand for products such as cashew, banana and sugar cane. The last is a government policy to reduce import costs of sugar. A host of localized demands and reasons are responsible for forest degradation, among which the demand for timber and wood products for household, industrial and infrastructure needs has the biggest impact. Box 2: Current drivers of deforestation in Sri Lanka Encroachments due to: o Agriculture Commercial rainfed highland agriculture Small-holder plantations in the low country wet zone Maize cultivation has become the dominant activity in Chena in Anuradhapura Overall, traditional agricultural patterns are changing and high market prices were observed for maize, legumes and vegetables Encroachment of forest lands in wet zone districts of Kalutara and Ratnapura areas are connected mainly to tea cultivation and to rubber, cinnamon and cardamom to a limited degree. The encroachments have continued in response to high international market prices for tea, rubber, cinnamon and cardamom o Settlement o Gem mining Infrastructure development projects: Demand for land for the government initiated major overhauling of the country s infrastructure under the National Physical Planning Policy & Plan o Irrigation development projects o Re-settlement o Roads and highways o Harbors, airports o Tourism o Power generation Transmission lines Major hydro power generation projects Mini hydro power projects Commercial agriculture ventures o Large private agriculture ventures are responsible for significant deforestation. Among the major crops involved in such agriculture ventures are sugar cane, cashew and banana. Deforestation associated with a large-scale banana plantation has attracted strong protests from conservationists, few years Localized drivers of forest degradation: o Felling illicit or otherwise o Cardamom cultivation o Firewood collection o Non-timber forest product gathering o Cattle grazing o Forest fires o Gem mining and Quarrying 5

7 Seven catalysts Certain social and economic factors have accelerated the effect of ongoing drivers. These are: 1 Permissive government policies in land sector: e.g. regularization of encroachments 2 Weak enforcement and monitoring capability 3 Poor coordination among agencies 4 Political interference 5 Population growth 6 Technological modernization 7 Commercialization of rural economies Combinations of catalysts influence each driver. For instance all 7 have an effect on encroachments, while all drivers are affected by population growth and political interference. The major drivers the corresponding underlying forces and catalysts are summarized in Figure 1 and Table 2. Fig. 1. The four current drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Sri Lanka and the six- socio economic forces that catalyze the drivers Land policy Political interference Poor coordination Encroachments Infrastructure development projects Many Local drivers Agriculture ventures Population growth Agricultural mechanization Commercialization of rural 6

8 Spatial distribution of drivers The pattern of deforestation is spatially scattered around the country (Fig. 2). The main characteristics are as follows: The rate of deforestation (7,147 ha/year) has dropped significantly during the period compared with the earlier rate reported in the period (42,200 ha/year). Deforestation takes place at a relatively higher rate in dry zone than wet zone even though the rate has dropped significantly in all districts. Taken as a single district, in Anuradhapura where the forest cover change and the rate of deforestation is highest, deforestation is uniformly spread out over the district In other districts, there are some concentrated patches or hotspots of deforestation e.g. Moneragala district has the second highest deforestation rate and hot spots are located around joint borders with Badulla and Ampara districts and around the border with Hambantota district. Puttlam district on border of Matale and Anuradhapura districts Kalutara and Ratnapura district border is only hotspot in the wet zone and is relatively minor in scale. 1

9 Fig. 2. The difference in forest cover between 1992 and 2010 and the spatial distribution of deforestation showing that it is scattered throughout the country

10 Seven preventive forces (Inhibitors) While the factors that drive deforestation and forest degradation in Sri Lanka were described above, there are also factors that helped to reduce the rate of deforestation/degradation to some degree by acting as inhibitors. Among the factors that act as key inhibitors are: 1. Forest policy and protected area management Forest related regulations and the network of protected areas under the purview of the Forest Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation are the most potent inhibitors of deforestation/degradation of forests. The Sri Lanka s protected areas system is around 11.6% of the land area and is one of the most extensive in tropical Asian countries. Table 1 shows a summary of the key policies and laws. 2. Environmental laws and regulations The National Environment Act of 1980 is the core legislation exists for environmental protection in the country. It provides for the enactment of various regulations against development activities that are deemed to pose threats to the environment The EIA process deserves a special mention in its role as an inhibitor of deforestation and degradation 3. Home gardens Home gardens are multiple use systems and fulfill a variety of household needs including timber and wood requirements. According to FSMP, around 70 % of total supply of construction and industrial wood come from non-forest sources and home gardens play the major role here Due to their forest like structure they have been valued for their ecosystem services. As far as deforestation and degradation of forests are concerned they seem to act as a buffer zone located around the household a substitute forest that reduce the dependency on natural forests. 4. Community dependence and customary rights In Sri Lanka historical and recent evidence suggests that communities play a significant role as inhibitors when they depend on forest resources for their livelihoods.

11 5. Public pressure and awareness about environment and forests Rising public awareness about environment and forests has definite inhibitory effect on deforestation and degradation of forests. Environmental activism and advocacy is on the rise and this aided by more accessible modern communication. 6. Migration for employment Migration for employment, especially for foreign employment, has become a major driving force of the economy during the last 2-3 decades 7. Off-farm employment Expansion of commercial activities in rural areas increases off-farm employment opportunities for rural youth. Both these factors (5&6) reduce pressures on encroachments and localized drivers of degradation. Table 1: Key policies and laws related to forestry and wildlife Year Policy/Law Major provisions 1848 Timber ordinance No.24 Reservation of forests largely for timber production 1873 Adoption of climate Reserves Protection of forests above 5000 feet as climate reserves 1885 Forest ordinance No.10 Protection of forests and their products including wildlife 1907 Forest Ordinance No. 16 (Amended by Act No.13 of 1966) Protection of forests primarily for controlled timber production 1929 The first forest policy statement reservation of indigenous fauna and flora 1938 Addendum Clearing of forests above 5000 feet prohibited 1937 Fauna and flora protection ordinance No.2 Amended act No. 44 of 1964 Amended act No. 1 of 1970 protection of wild life in natural reserves and sanctuaries Nature reserves and jungle corridors incorporated into national reserves Removal of controlled hunting provision from the ordinance

12 1953 National forest policy Re-stated in 1972 and 1980 and updated in UNESCO Biological Programme and 1975UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme 1988 National heritage wilderness areas act No National policy for wild life conservation Emphasis on conserving forests to preserve and ameliorate environment and to protect flora and fauna for aesthetic, scientific, historical and socio-economic reasons Arboreta representative of the main bio-climatic zones established in forests Protection of state lands having unique ecosystems, genetic resources or outstanding natural features Objectives include the maintenance of ecological processes and preservation of genetic diversity, ex-situ conservation Fig.3. Forces that oppose deforestation and forest degradation in Sri Lanka and encourage conservation, sustainable management, increasing carbon stocks. Public pressure & Community dependence Environmental policy & laws Forest- policy and protected area management Home gardens Migration for employment Off-farm employment

13 Special case of forests in the north and east affected by the civil war The forests of the former conflict affected areas in northern and eastern provinces are a special case and the deforestation/degradation in that region cannot be fully accounted for by the drivers that have operated in the rest of the country from 1980s onwards. Clearing areas for security reasons during the conflict. Post conflict period since 2009 government sponsored efforts to normalize the area has caused deforestation Resettlement schemes of displaced people Accelerated infrastructure development activities Rehabilitation of roads, towns and the railway network have been launched at an accelerated pace. Forest degradation due to demands of infrastructure activities -extraction of sand, gravel and stones. Illegal felling of trees also has increased due to accessibility to forest areas. Large-scale forest clearing is taking place in some areas due to unplanned development activities (e.g. resettlement in Wilpattu forest) Some areas under dense forest in Kulamurippu, Chamalkulam and Nagacholai forest reserves have recently been cleared for development activities Encroachers have already settled in dense natural forests in either sides of Paranthan to Mankulam and Mankulam to Mullaithivu roads. Type of damage D e forestati on Table 2: Summary of current drivers of deforestation and inhibitors Major drivers Underlying forces Catalysts Preventive forces Encroachments Demand for residential lands Global demand for export crops (e.g. tea) Global demand for aquaculture products (e.g. shrimp) Local demand for other field crops (e.g. maize, vegetable Other purposes (e.g. gem mining) Permissive land laws and policies Political interference Limitations of monitoring capacity Poor coordination among agencies Population growth Commercialization of rural economies Mechanization of agricultural technologies Forest policies and protected area management Internal and external migration of rural labour force Home gardens Off-farm employment Community dependence and customary rights

14 Development projects Demand for land in projects on following areas/sectors Irrigation development Urban development Energy (hydropower) Resettlement Tourism Livelihood development Roads and highways Airports, harbours High voltage transmission lines Population growth Poor coordination among agencies Political interference Environmental laws and regulation Forest policies and protected area management Public pressure and awareness Private agriculture ventures Export and local demand for horticultural products (e.g. cashew, banana) Policy objective of reducing import costs by substituting sugar imports Political interference Poor coordination among agencies Population growth Mechanization of agricultural technologies Environmental laws and regulation Forest policies and protected area management Public pressure and awareness Degrada tion of forests Illicit felling Local demand for timber and wood products in Household Industrial Infrastructure Limitations of monitoring capacity Political interference Population growth Forest policies and protected area management Home gardens Migration Community dependence and customary rights Predicting future scenarios To predict future scenarios for both deforestation and forest degradation and for controlling and possibly reversing them, the following government policies, plans and strategies were examined. Proposed strategy to increase the forest cover in the country The government envisions increasing forest cover to 35% by The Forest department based on the Forestry Sector Master Plan ( ) has formulated a

15 proposal to increase the forest cover to reach this target. proposed to achieve this task are: Protection and conservation of the remaining forest cover Expansion of forest cover in to new areas Two main strategies Protection and conservation of the remaining forest cover Actions proposed to achieve this objective include: Surveying and demarcation of boundaries of around 700,000 ha of forests under the jurisdiction of the department (only about 100,000 remains to be demarcated at this point) Prevention of encroachments: The following actions have been proposed to control encroachments ( forest and wild life protection laws are listed in Table 1) Strict enforcement of law Introduction of alternative livelihood development strategies for poor and low income farmers Strengthening the continuous monitoring of forest boundaries Reforestation of degraded lands. Implementation of an integrated plan for prevention of forests fires with the participation of all stake holders Introduction of improved cattle grazing practices in order to prevent free range cattle in forests with the collaboration of the Department of Animal Production and Health Integrated planning to avoid deforestation and degradation of forests due to future development projects Making arrangements to protect non-state forests vested with the Land Reforms Commission (LRC) and private individuals. Following measures have been proposed: LRC lands with forests to be vested with the Forest Department Incentives to private individuals to preserve forest in their lands Expansion of forests into new areas Reforestation of 80,000 ha by the FD through the facilitation of natural regeneration, direct seeding, scattered planting, and block planting with local species Providing degraded forest lands by the FD to facilitate the initiative by the Department of Rubber Development to plant 40,000 ha of rubber plantations by Convert 20,000 ha of underutilized private lands to forests by providing free technical advice and free seedlings

16 Encourage Estate Sector to raise 25,000 ha of forest plantations utilizing a part of 60,000 ha of marginal tea lands Establish urban forests of 10,000 ha in collaboration with the Urban Development Authority on road sides, stream banks, school premises, religious places and other government lands Proposed major policies and strategies which will increase deforestation Negative impacts are to be expected especially from policies for infrastructure development that will increase deforestation and will lead to conflicts with the existing protected area network. Some of the major plans are: National Physical Planning Policy and Policy ( ) Long-term (Power) Generation Expansion Plan ( ) Tourism Development Strategy ( ) National Road Master Plan ( ) Proposed major development projects in the irrigation sector and agriculture ventures. Over twenty projects and development activities that involve largescale appropriations of land over 36, 000 ha of which 47 percent (17, 273 ha) come under agriculture ventures. In summary, large scale private agriculture ventures can be identified as a potent driver of deforestation that leads to large pockets of deforestation in the future. Preliminary Policies and Measures (PAMs) that can reduce deforestation and degradation of forests Deforestation and degradation of forests are complex problems that call for complex solutions. Given the scattered nature of current drivers of deforestation and degradation of forests, it is not possible to develop a uniform set of PAMs which can address all drivers and catalysts with the same level of efficiency. Therefore a strategy with multiple interventions is required. The policy rationale used in the study to identify specific interventions includes the following logical steps. Removing or controlling drivers of deforestation Removing or de-linking catalysts from drivers Strengthening forces that oppose deforestation (inhibitors) Adding new inhibitors or transforming the existing ones to be more effective

17 The underlying drivers of the deforestation process are broad socio-economic factors such as demand for food products, demand for export products etc. which are not possible to remove or manipulate through PAMs. The PAMs therefore focus on removing and controlling the major drivers only. Yet other underlying drivers, catalysts and inhibitors such as political interference, commercialization of rural economies, agricultural mechanization, population growth (catalysts) and migration for employment (inhibitor) are out of the practical range of applicability of PAMS considered here. Strengthening inhibitors which are already in operation is the most cost effective approach. The final PAMS recommended are based on the four major drivers, three catalysts and four inhibitors. Table 3: Identification of preliminary PAMs Desired direction of change Harmonize the objectives of development projects with their environmental impacts, vis-à-vis deforestation and degradation of forests Control and reduce deforestation and degradation takes place through Control the effect of localized drivers of deforestation Policies and measures (PAMs) Enhance the land use planning process by: improving the current system through necessary capacity building measures integrating land use planning into all levels of development planning by means of policy strengthening the coordination between existing LUP agencies Identify and implement appropriate market-based instruments to mitigate harmful effects of development projects on forest resources Forest certification Payment for ecosystem services Strengthen the existing procedures of EIA by; Developing the monitoring capacity Introduce SEA as a mandatory process for large development projects Develop a consistence policy towards encroachments by; discontinuing the current practice of regularization of encroachments introducing measures for discouraging the practice Introduce procedures and laws (if necessary) for speedy enforcement against encroachments Demarcate all existing forest lands and make necessary measures to survey and lay the boundary demarcations Strengthen the monitoring and enforcement capacity of relevant agencies, i.e. FD and DWC Increase the public awareness Orchestrate the community support through participatory programmes

18 Improving the coordination among agencies Strengthen the forest policy and protected area management Improve the effectiveness of home gardens as inhibitor of deforestation/degradation Managing deforestation hot spots Identification of all key agencies that have stakes in the deforestation and degradation of in the country at the levels of national, provincial, district and divisional levels Establish a coordinating body on deforestation and degradation of forests at the national level with participation of key national agencies (e.g. FD, DWC, LUPPD) Appoint district level cells of the coordinating body with the participation of local level officers of national agencies and (e.g. DFOs and RFOS, LUPOs) and relevant provincial and local government officers Develop an efficient communication channels between the national body and district level cells for speedy resolution of deforestation/degradation issues Review the existing forest policies and protected area management tools with respect to the handling of: infrastructure development projects encroachments localized drivers of forest degradation Identify the areas that needs improvements and weaknesses/loopholes that need to covered Introduce essential amendments improve the situation Update existing institutional arrangements to handle the proposed improvements Develop home garden models suitable for deforestation hotspots and take necessary measures to promote them through: community participation programmes coordination with existing livelihood development programmes (e.g. Divi Neguma) A mixed bundle of strategies : Declaration for special area management Surveying and demarcating boundaries of critical and sensitive areas (SEA): E.g. critical watershed areas (tank catchments) Participatory resource governance : co-management Participatory land use planning and zoning Strengthening the capacity of local communities Alternative livelihoods Models of conservation oriented land uses Home (forest) garden models Conservation farming models The study also undertook few carbon stocks assessments on lands outside the forestry sector. These land use classes have been considered as positive towards reducing the impacts on the standing forests and also absorb carbon. The three categories that have been identified and studied were listed below:

19 (a) Formers wood lots (b) Forest Plantations (c) Home gardens The Box 3 provides the data of the findings of the assessment carried out. Box 3. Estimation of Carbon stocks: Home gardens, Farmer s Woodlots and Forest plantations Inhibitory measure Farmers Woodlots Co management Forest Plantations Home gardens: conservation oriented land use; has more continuous biomass removal Forest Carbon Intermediate and Dry Zone Stocks Wet Zone 2.38 tonnes C ha -1 year tonnes C ha -1 year tonnes C ha -1 year tonnes C ha -1 year tonnes C ha -1 year tonnes C ha -1 year -1 Carbon stocks = Live biomass (difference between carbon gain in annual growth and carbon loss in biomass removal) + Soil carbon sequestration All three measures show carbon stock increase. Both home gardens and farmers woodlots could have an impact on decentralization of the forest management activities to provincial levels and encourage better participation of communities. Forest plantations could facilitate the involvement of the private sector. Reference: Drivers of Deforestation and forest degradation in Sri Lanka: Identification of key policies and measures, Study report compiled by the Science and Technology Cell of the University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Contacts: Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme Project Management Unit 419/1, Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatta, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. Tel: , , Fax: