News
Arson burns out 25 acres of precious forest
Fires deliberately lit in the jungle caused one of several man-made fires that have burned out 25 acres of precious forest in the past fortnight.
The army yesterday joined fire-fighting efforts in Horombuwa, the latest of several recent blazes. People going into the jungle to collect tobacco leaves had reportedly set fire to the jungle.
“There have been several fires in the past two weeks, with five incidents being reported from the Badulla and two incidents being reported from the Moneragala area,” the Conservator-General of Forests, Anura Sathurusinghe, said yesterday.
“More than 25 acres of land were destroyed islandwide by these fires.”
The Assistant Director of the Disaster Management Unit, Ravindra Kumara, said the army, together with other officials were taking every measure to douse the latest fire.
He added, “Locals claim that the fire that broke out on Thursday last week (June 19) in Kodihela Monaragala, leaving behind a path of destruction, was caused by hunters who set these fires on purpose to obtain beedi leaves”.
A fire also broke out in the Uppuweli Gemunupura reserve on June 17 was put out after five hours by the Fire Brigade together with the help of the Police, Navy and the Air Force.
Mr Kumara said the fires were difficult to control because they were breaking out in remote areas and being aided by the dry weather.
He said the blazes were caused by various factors – one was that some villagers believed in superstitions that rain gods would be appeased if the forests were set ablaze.
Elsewhere, natural springs have dried up, hunters set fire to an area of a forest so that animals can be captured and killed when they flee to another area.
“Forest fires in Sri Lanka unlike other countries are primarily caused by human intervention,” the Chief Research officer for the Forestry Research Institute, Mrs. Deepali Alawathugoda said.
“Particularly during the dry season, people light fires for various purposes such as hunting, chena cultivation and also for cattle grazing.
“These fires are difficult to control and severely damage forest biodiversity.”
Mr. Sanjeewa Chamikara Director of the Environment Conservation Trust, Sri Lanka, said, “Forest fires severely damage the eco system – they affect the animals’ breathing, destroy plants and create soil erosion. Amphibians, reptiles and insects are directly affected.”
“Forest fires directly destroy the seed bank of a plant,” he added. “These contain seeds needed for the next generation of plants and as a result of these fires many native plants are destroyed.”