Instead of the Lalkantha and Wijepala system, a system that protects wild animals, farmers, and cultivated lands is needed.
Sajeewa Chamikara
Land and Agricultural Reform Movement
With the illegal statement made in Parliament by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K. D. Lalkantha, asserting that there is no legal impediment to taking any action against wild animals that damage crops on private cultivated land, there has been a huge stir in society regarding wild animals damaging crops. Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala states that all the elephants in the Kurunegala district will be taken to the Wilpattu National Park in a military operation and quarantined. Plans for this are currently being prepared. Looking at all these facts, it is clear that the current government is working to provide unscientific and ignorant solutions to very sensitive issues that require scientific, comprehensive policy and sustainable, practical solutions.
We know that we need to find solutions not only to control crop damage caused by wild animals, but also to address the causes that led to the large number of wild animals entering cultivated lands. We also need solutions for the entire agricultural crisis. Therefore, we have continuously struggled with this issue throughout history. We, together with the farming community, stood up against the wrong development projects, wrong investment processes, and the wrong policies and laws implemented by past governments, which caused a lot of damage because we know very well that the end result of all this is that farming and farmers face a crisis. However, by issuing such statements in the legislature irresponsibly and without properly understanding the issues, and by misusing the power of ministers, it is evident that the ministers of the government are destroying the ideal of building a civilized citizenry, developed human resources, and a society that protects the rule of law, as stated in the policy statement of the current government, which was agreed upon with the people: “A Rich Country, a Beautiful Life.” The majority of the people gave the current government legislative power to defeat the previous corrupt and dictatorial governments and build a progressive government, not to create a government that would break the agreements made with the people in a short time but to build a governance structure that would discuss with the people and provide real sustainable solutions to the problems existing in the country on a scientific basis.
Reasons for Wild Animals Entering Cultivated Lands
We must accept that the situation in which wild animals damage crops was transformed due to our wrong actions. The destruction and fragmentation of natural ecosystems through the implementation of settlements, commercial plantations, and development projects, the establishment of forest plantations such as acacia, pine, eucalyptus, and teak (which are not habitats or food for wild animals), as well as the expansion of monoculture commercial plantations such as tea, rubber, coconut palm, sugarcane, and maize, and the spread of invasive plants such as giant sedge, gandapana, fireweed, thorny plants, kahadiyapara, and thorny plants (which are not habitats or food for wild animals), have led to the loss of habitats and prey for animals like skunks, wild boars, and peacocks, which enter cultivated lands and cause crop damage. In addition, the limitation and fragmentation of natural habitats has led to the growth of these animals’ populations due to the limitation of natural predators. Moreover, the dumping of garbage in the habitats of wild animals, as well as the provision of food to wild animals living in the natural environment during tourism and religious pilgrimages, have led to the increase in the entry of these animals into cultivated lands. All these factors have contributed to the emergence of wild animals that damage crops and the collapse of the productivity of agricultural lands. Therefore, solutions must be sought for all of these.
Increase in the Entry of Wild Animals into Cultivated Lands Due to Deforestation and Development Projects
According to written evidence, during the colonial era, the forest cover of the country was 84 percent of the total land area by 1881. By 1900, it had decreased to 70 percent. The reason for this was the rapid clearing of forests in the wet zone to expand coffee and tea plantations.
After Sri Lanka gained independence, a comprehensive forest survey was conducted between 1956 and 1961. In that survey, the forest cover was identified as 44.2 percent, or 28,98,842 hectares. According to the second forest survey conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) after independence in 1982-1985 for the preparation of the Forest Master Plan, the forest cover of Sri Lanka was 37.5 percent, or 24,58,250 hectares. According to the administrative records prepared by the Forest Department based on the maps prepared by Legg and Jewell, the forest cover of Sri Lanka was identified as 31.2 percent, or 20,46,599 hectares by 1992. According to the 1996 reports of the Department of Forest Conservation, the forest cover was 29.6 percent, or 19,42,219 hectares. According to the last study of the Department of Forest Conservation on forest cover in 2010, the forest cover of Sri Lanka was 29.7 percent, or 19,51,472 hectares. In the fifty years from 1960 to 2010, 9,47,370 hectares of forests in Sri Lanka were cleared.
Since then, the amount of forests cleared in the 14 years that have passed since then has been very large. The main basis for this has been the preparation of the National Physical Plan. During the implementation of this plan, 15,000 acres of forests have been cleared for the Yan Oya Irrigation Project, 25,000 acres of forests for the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga Multipurpose Irrigation Projects, and more than 25,000 acres of forests have been cleared for physical development projects including the Magampura Port, Mattala Airport, Southern Expressway expansion, International Conference Hall, and International Cricket Stadium in the Hambantota District of the Southern Province. In addition, after the end of the North-East war in 2010, due to the failure to implement resettlement activities properly and the use of land used by the people for other development uses, tourism projects, and maintaining strict security zones, about 17,800 acres of forests were cleared for new settlements. In addition, 10,000 acres of forests are being cleared for the Lower Malwatta Oya Irrigation Project that is currently being implemented.
In addition, the transfer of forests controlled by the Mahaweli Authority and the Land Reforms Commission to large-scale companies and businessmen and their constant clearing has all had a major impact on the loss of habitat for wild animals, which have been displaced and entered cultivated lands.
Large-Scale Commercial Cultivations Causing Smallholder Farmers’ Farmlands to be Vulnerable to Wild Animals
The establishment of non-native commercial crops in our country began during the British colonial era. This first started with coffee cultivation. However, coffee was not first cultivated by the British but by the Dutch in 1740. Since then, the Dutch have experimented with the systematic cultivation of coffee in this country, and after the British brought the Colebrook-Cameron Reform Commission in 1833, this cultivation was established as a large-scale commercial cultivation. For this, the forests in the mountains were rapidly cleared and coffee cultivation was established. By 1860, Sri Lanka had become one of the major coffee-producing countries, and by 1870, coffee cultivation in this country had spread to 275,000 acres. Meanwhile, due to the spread of a fungal disease to coffee cultivation, these cultivation lands began to be rapidly destroyed.
Meanwhile, in 1867, James Taylor first started tea cultivation in an area of 8 hectares in the Lulkandura area of Kundala, Nuwara Eliya. After that, James Taylor, who established the first tea factory in 1872, first exported tea in 1873. The tea cultivation that began in this way has now spread over 221,969 hectares in the hills and lowland wet zones. Tea cultivation, which began with 8 hectares in 1867, has now completely cleared the hill forests and lowland wet zone forests that could not have been expanded to such an extent. Today, the main reason for the continuous expansion of tea cultivation by clearing hill forests and lowland wet forests is the existing market demand. Due to this, even reserved forests are being cleared illegally to expand tea cultivation.
Simultaneously with the expansion of tea cultivation in Sri Lanka, rubber cultivation was expanded by clearing forests in the wet and intermediate zones. Rubber cultivation, which began in 1876 with the planting of the first rubber tree in the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens, Gampaha, is now spread over 133,668 hectares. The increase and decrease in rubber prices in the international market led to the expansion of rubber cultivation and the use of rubber plantations for other purposes.
During the colonial period, the British, while conducting research on commercial crops that could be established in Sri Lanka, also paid attention to sugarcane cultivation. The first research on sugarcane cultivation was conducted in the Galle area. However, sugarcane cultivation had not been expanded as a commercial crop during that period. After independence in 1948, the expansion of sugarcane cultivation began commercially. By 1956, sugarcane cultivation had been expanded as a commercial crop in the dry zone. In 1973 and 1994, forests in the dry zone were cleared and sugarcane cultivation was expanded on a large scale. At present, 30,530 hectares of sugarcane cultivation land have been expanded in the areas of Pelwatte, Hingurana, Sewanagala, Kantale, Monaragala, and Ampara. In cases where the soil becomes barren within a few years of this expansion, companies try to establish new cultivation lands and increase productivity.
Today, maize cultivation lands are encroaching on the dry zone as a commercial crop. In the mixed cropping areas, only maize is cultivated today. The area of maize cultivation, which was 12,957 hectares in 1961, has increased to 72,390 hectares today. Maize is now grown as a monoculture crop as animal feed in the fields where the crops important for the daily consumption of humans and for the food of wild animals during the Yala season were grown. Due to the high demand and price for this, farmers are rapidly entering the cultivation of maize.
The cultivation of coconut, a commercial crop, was first started in the country by a European planter, Jerry Wallace. In 1968, the first plantation was started by planting 68 coconut trees on an area of 0.5 hectares in the Nakiadeniya Estate belonging to the Watawala Plantation Company. At present, about 8,781 hectares of coconut plantations have been established.
Currently, the Cavendish banana variety has been cultivated in many areas of the dry zone for export by the Dole Company as a commercial crop. About 7,000 acres have been used for Cavendish banana cultivation in many areas such as Kantale, Kuda Oya, Demodara, and Buttala. All these commercial plantations are the habitats of the animals that have been lost to wild animals.
The Real Challenges of Farming are to Avoid Wild Animals
In the past, attempts have been made to carefully remove small-scale farmers from their cultivated lands and establish large-scale commercial plantations. As a result, farmers have had to face a number of major challenges in their farming activities. We know that these challenges include being captured by agrochemical and seed companies, water crises, implementing policies that remove farmers from their farmlands, giving farmland to companies and large-scale businessmen for large-scale monoculture commercial cultivation, using farmland for other investment and development projects, giving farmland to companies and large-scale businessmen that are irrigated by irrigation projects including the Mahaweli Project, post-harvest destruction, challenges in marketing the harvest, falling victim to market mafia in determining the price of the harvest, creating market competition among farmers by importing unnecessary food, and crop damage caused by wild animals. If all this is not understood, many will believe that instead of finding solutions to all the real challenges to agriculture as a whole, solutions to the challenges of agriculture can be found only by controlling wild animals. This will lead to many things being missed. Therefore, we accept that the first thing that needs to be done to build agriculture, secure the existence of the farmer, and ensure the safety of cultivated lands and harvested crops is not to destroy the wild animals that damage the crops. Moreover, we must also understand that these wild animals make many contributions to maintaining the existence of the ecosystem. Therefore, we should look at agriculture not from an anthropocentric perspective but from a biocentric perspective.
Violation of the Wildlife Ordinance
While all these realities on the ground exist, laws have been made for the protection of farmers and wild animals. According to Section 53A of the Wildlife and Flora Protection Ordinance No. 02 of 1937, as last amended by Act No. 07 of 2022, it is illegal to use poison or explosives or intoxicants to kill or intoxicate a wild animal. According to Section 52 of the Act, it is also illegal to use artificial light to deceive the vision of a wild animal or to cause it to be attracted or to facilitate its capture. Moreover, according to Section 52B of the Act, it is also illegal to use food, scents, colors, or any other substance or device to entice and attract an animal to capture. It is also prohibited to possess an animal that has been killed or captured by means of poison, explosives, or intoxicants under Section 53B of the Act. A person who is guilty of such an illegal act is liable to a fine of between Rs. 15,000 and 30,000 or to imprisonment for a term of between 1 and 2 years or to both. In addition, it is a special matter that under Section 59 of the Act, any person who attempts to commit such an illegal act or abets the commission of an offence commits the same offence and is liable to the same punishment.
Accordingly, as Minister Lalkantha and Minister Wijepala are aware, it is clear that it is illegal to take any action that violates the Wildlife Ordinance for the so-called purpose of dealing with wild animals. If the ministers are going to take any action to harm wild animals, it will lead to the collapse of wildlife conservation efforts in Sri Lanka.
A System That Protects Both Farmers and Wild Animals is the Solution
What is needed here is not the elimination of wild animals. What we need is to take serious steps to ensure a system that prevents wild animals from damaging crops while ensuring the protection of the country’s valuable wildlife. Therefore, instead of causing harm to wild animals, all efforts should be focused on improving the living conditions of the farmers. This includes implementing a truly comprehensive program that protects farmers, cultivates sustainable crops, improves their financial situation, and develops agricultural practices that protect nature.
In this context, the policy framework for the 21st century should be based on comprehensive ecological, agro-ecological, and scientific principles. To achieve this, we need to empower farmers with knowledge, resources, and technologies for sustainable farming that coexist with wildlife. Sustainable, organic farming practices must be implemented, and crop diversification should be promoted to reduce the likelihood of significant damage from wild animals.
