Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC joins hands with warriors in green to save Wilpattu

From left Chief Operating Officer/Director Non-Board Dhanushka Fonseka symbolically presenting a sapling to the Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake. Deposits Marketing, Sustainability and Service Quality AGM Roshini Induruwage and Deposits Assistant Manager and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee Secretary Udara Jayasundara look on

The destructive deforestation that has occurred at Wilpattu in the recent past has been a matter of great concern to many parties and has met with much public outcry. The repercussions of deforestation pose a severe threat to the environment, the wildlife and people.

On 18 May the Sri Lanka Army, together with Manusath Derana, launched a reforestation project titled ‘Thuruliya Wenuwen Api’ at Wilpattu. The aim of the project is to plant 2,100 acres’ worth of trees in an effort to rectify the destruction the region has suffered. The project also serves as a tribute to the national war heroes who contributed to the victory over terrorism 10 years ago.

The project soon came to the attention of leading financial organisation, Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC. On 11 June, at a meeting with Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake, Chief Operating Officer/Director Non-Board Dhanushka Fonseka, Deposits Marketing, Sustainability and Service Quality AGM Roshini Induruwage and Deposits Assistant Manager and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee Secretary Udara Jayasundara represented the company as they pledged the support of Mercantile Investments and Finance to the reforestation project by donating 2,000 saplings and a number of water tanks.

“We are very excited to be involved in the project and to work alongside the Army. The Army Commander was kind enough to give us an appointment in spite of his busy schedule. This was a great honour for us. The Commander spoke to us in length about the project. He is determined to ensure that the project is a success. We are confident that the Army will see that the project is a success,” stated Roshini Induruwage. In terms of maintenance, as it is vital to ensure that the plants receive the necessary care and sustenance in order to thrive, the Army plans to get the local communities actively involved in looking after the plants. Mercantile Investments and Finance intends to follow the progress of the project and aid the Army in ensuring that Wilpattu is soon transformed into the lush green paradise it once was.

Over the course of its 55-year long history, marked on 15 June this year, Mercantile Investments and Finance has embedded environmental sustainability into its core business strategy in order to better manage natural resources and meet corporate obligations towards protecting the natural environment and its habitats. 

The company has also been heavily involved in CSR activities related to wildlife conservation such as the construction nurseries at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Attidiya, the erection of electric fences at the Wilpattu National Park, the establishment of a rehabilitation enclosure dedicated to rehabilitating and releasing animals back to the wild at the Wilpattu National Park, providing a three-legged baby elephant with a prosthetic limb and many more.