Environmental Foundation gets Interim Order against Govt. move to handover Other State Forests to District and Divisional Secretaries

The Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) Ltd., (EFL) has obtained an Interim Order from the Supreme Court to protect the Other State Forests (OSF) in a Fundamental Rights application supported by President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris and Charith Galhena Attorney at Law.

The EFL together with Rukshan Jayawardene, an environmentalist and a former Director of EFL on behalf of the citizens of Sri Lanka filed a Fundamental Rights Application in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka bearing No. SC/FR 01/2021 to quash the cabinet decision which gives effect to the Cabinet Memorandum dated 12/10/2020 and Circular No. MWFC/1/2020 dated 04/11/2020 issued by the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation and other Circulars issued following the said Cabinet Decision which handed over Other State Forests to the District and Divisional Secretaries.

Following the said Cabinet Decision, the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation issued the 

Circular No. MWFC/1/2020 to revoke Circular No. 05/2001 (amended by Circular No. 02/2006) 

that had hitherto vested the management, development and protection of all Other State Forests 

with the Department of Forests. 

According to the mechanism provided in Circular No. 05/2001, Other State Forests can be released for development purposes only upon such proposal being examined by the Inter-Ministerial Committee and after carrying out an Environment  Assessment in terms of the National Environmental Act. Amendment by circular No. 02/2006 released state land that was identified as land without any kind of forest cover from the purview and control of the Forest Department and thus the regime of two circulars ensured the protection and safety of important forest land as well as utilisation of unutilised state land for development purposes.

However, Circular No. MWFC/1/2020 empowers the District and Divisional Secretaries to alienate Other State Forests simply following the general procedure on alienating state lands and does not provide for an effective and adequate mechanism to review the environmental impacts of projects 

that would be carried out when the land is alienated. Such alienations of lands decrease the forest 

cover and cause irremediable loss and irreparable damage to the environment and biodiversity of 

Sri Lanka thus violates the National Forest Policy and the laws of the country. 

The Case was supported on 14 March 2023 by President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris with Charith Galhena before Justice Murdu Fernando PC and Justice Yasantha Kodagoda PC.  The Supreme Court granted Leave to Proceed against the Respondents for violation of Article 12(1) of the Constitution and issued an interim order suspending the operation of circulars which seeks to give effect to paragraphs 4.1 (III), (IV) and (V) of the Cabinet Memorandum dated 12.10.2020.

Cabinet Memorandum dated 12.10.2020 

• Clause 4.1 (iii)- allows decisions to be made at the level of the Divisional Secretary regarding the lands so identified to be used for chena cultivation and other economic activities. 
• Clause 4.1 (iv)- If there are any doubts or any guidance is required to make a decision at the level of the Divisional Secretary, any advice or assistance that is required to make decisions by the District Secretary is to be given by considering it as administrative and management matters. 
• Clause 4.1(v)-If there is difficulty to make a decision as stated in Clause 4.1 (iii) and (iv) the decision  should be made by a committee

Therefore, provisions issued under Circular No. MWFC/1/2020 and subsequent Circulars 

issued by the Land Commissioner and other institutions, to the District and Divisional Secretaries 

to alienate Other State Forests will be under suspension till the end of hearing the FR application.

The Petitioners by this application have brought to the notice of the Supreme Court the importance 

of having environmental safeguards in the remaining peripheral forests outside the Protected areas 

which otherwise will not have strong legal protection. Wildlife and Forests Resources Minister, 

The Land Ministry and Environment Minister together with secretaries of said Ministries and 

the Forest Conservator, Department of Wildlife Conservation Director General, Land Commissioner, CEA and all the Cabinet Ministers and the Attorney-General are Respondents in this matter.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, about 80% of Sri Lanka was covered by primary forests, following which this cover was reduced to 44% in 1956 and 30% in 1996. In 2010 Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN estimated the forest cover to be 26.6% of the country's land area. However, in 2018, the primary forest coverage has reduced to 17% of the total land area. Many Dry Monsoon forests, Forests Plantations, Lowland Rain Forests, Mangrove Forests, Marshes, Moist Monsoon Forests, Montane Forests, Monetane Grasslands, Open and Sparce Forests, Savannah, Shrub, Sub Montane Forests and Throne Forests located diversely across the country fall under the definition of OSF.