Rotary to shoulder 20% of President Maithripala Sirisena’s COFA promise

Thursday, 27 September 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Maithripala Sirisena at the 24th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO 24) tweeted to the world: “Arrived in the beautiful city of Rome to attend the COFO 24. Looking forward to talk about Sri Lanka’s progress as we are well set to increase our forest cover to 32 percent.” This would mean around five million trees have to be planted in our country and Rotary will shoulder 20% of that target, said Rotary District Governor Dushan Soza.

The founder of the project, the first female Governor of Rotary Sri Lanka, Gowri Rajan, who has just been appointed to the global seven-member team for shaping the future of Rotary worldwide, commented: “I am happy state that we have selected one of best good agricultural practicing companies in Sri Lanka, Hayleys Plantations, which will do the seedling selection, nursery development, planting and then maintaining the tree for 25 years. We will immediately start the program to get 125,000 plants on the ground within four to six months as we have already collected the funding.”

Hayleys Plantations CEO Roshan Rajadurai commented: “The green footprint of the Hayleys Plantations sector is a benchmark for best practices with certification from Rainforest Alliance (RA), Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), Forest Steward Council (FSCTM), Chain of Custody (COC), Global G.A.P, Ethical Tea Partnership (ETC) and HACCP/ISO 220. The signature of our business is to grow in harmony with the environment, moving from fossil fuel to clean energy, developing hydro power and protecting our biodiversity… a commitment to environmental protection underlined by the global G.A.P. standards conformity of our tea plantations.”

“All tea estates have been accredited as GLOBAL G.A.P compliant by SGS – New Zealand. Hayleys is also a signatory to the UNGC CEO Water Mandate and Caring for Climate and we are honoured to partner a global organisation like Rotary for this noble cause that the President has pledged to the global community,” said Rajadurai. Rotary PR Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala commented: “This is another strong challenge shouldered by Rotary Sri Lanka. Initially the brand partnered the Sri Lankan Government to be polio free and that objective was achieved. Currently it is being monitored closely. Now, with the severe climate change issues facing Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector, Rotary has once again come forward to shoulder a tough task for Sri Lanka. I am sure with passion and continued performance Rotary will do this task for Sri Lanka once again.”