Environmentalists write to President raising concern on proposed apple farm in Pidurutalagala

A group of environmentalists have written to President Ranil Wickremesinghe to express their concerns on the proposal to set up an apple farm within the watershed of the Kurundu Oya in the Maha Kudugala Division of the Pidurutalagala Conservation Forest. 

“Any clearing of these lands, for whatever purpose, has detrimental consequences to the ecological balance of this region, and the services it gives to the local communities downstream of it,” the group said adding that the area has also never been used to grow apples previously.  The land area of the farm is expected to be 126 hectares consisting of three blocks.

“In terms of hydrological importance, the Pedro Reserve was ranked number three just behind the Peak Wilderness and the Knuckles Range, of all the natural forests in Sri Lanka, surveyed during the National Conservation Review (NCR 1996) conducted by the IUCN-The World Conservation Union. “The main reason for gaining such a high rank is the contribution of fog interception by the natural forests to feed the streams originating from them, thus ensuring year-round water security. According to the IUCN-sponsored NCR (1996), the total fog contribution foregone by converting forest into agricultural land use is about 860,000 cubic meters per annum,” the group said. 

 “This is why this land is so important and as a body of concerned conservation and environmental groups, scientists and researchers, we plead with you to use your high office to prevent the destruction of a vital mountain forest, and the upper watershed, for growing apples,” they said. The group also presented a series of suggestions for possible strategies that can be adopted to help preserve the forest.  The letter was signed by Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke, Prof. Siril Wijesundara, Rohan Pethiyagoda, Prof. Sevvandi Jayakody, Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage, Prof. Sampath Seneviratne, Dr. Sandun J. Perera, Dr. Suranjan Fernando, Hemantha Withanage and Jehan Canagaretna.