Deforestation in Sri Lanka

NASA satellite view of Sri Lanka revealing sparser areas of forest to the north and east of the island

Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's current forest cover as of 2017 was 29.7%.[1] In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26 percent. (29.46% in 2018)[2] or 24-35%.[3] Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 ha of forests per year.[4] This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14%.[4] Between 2000 and 2005 the rate accelerated to 1.43% per annum. However, with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased 35% since the end of the 1990s thanks to a strong history of conservation measures.[4] The problem of deforestation in Sri Lanka is not as significant in the southern mountainous regions as it is in northern and lowland southern Sri Lanka, largely due to the nature of environmental protection.[5]

  1. ^ Sri Lanka UN-REDD (2017). Sri Lanka's Forest Reference Level submission to the UNFCCC.
  2. ^ "Sri Lanka". MSN Encarta Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  3. ^ InAsia Blog and Podcast (16 March 2016). "Deforestation Now Urgent Concern in Post-War Sri Lanka". The Asia Foundation.
  4. ^ a b c "Sri Lanka". www.mongabay.com. Mongabay. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  5. ^ "Estimating Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Sri Lanka" (PDF). University of Gothenburg. 25–28 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2009.