Biodiversity Sri Lanka, American & Efird Lanka sign agreement for forest restoration in Kanneliya

BSL Chairman Dilhan C. Fernando and A&E MD Priyantha Aluthwatte 

Sri Lanka is one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots identified in the world and is home to a large number of unique plants and animal species. Most of these species are restricted to the wet zone of the country which has less than 3% of primary forests from the total land area. Therefore, conservation of the remaining wet zone forests is critical. 

Despite the unique diversity, some parts of these forests are degraded due to several anthropogenic activities. While some of the degraded forest areas naturally regenerate, most of them remain unproductive due to a combination of several factors. 

Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), under the guidance of the Forest Department, initiated the restoration of a degraded fern land in the Kanneliya Conservation Forest at Halgahawela, Opatha in 2018. Now in its fourth year of implementation, the project is financially supported by 10 BSL members. Significant progress has been achieved using scientific principles of ecosystem restoration. Several new and adaptive restoration techniques have been introduced to accelerate plant growth and to increase survival rates. 

American & Efird Lanka Ltd. (A&E), a recognised global apparel company, recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) to value add to this initiative by agreeing to support the restoration of a further two hectares facilitating connectivity of this fragmented forest patch with the Kanneliya Conservation Forest. 

The project will additionally support the development of a Biodiversity Credit Accrual System for Sri Lanka using the insights derived, with the aim of assigning a unit value for enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem services. The ultimate goal of the project will be to support the development of policies and tools to utilise the accrued credits in a sustainable manner in consultation with national agencies. A further benefit of the project is that it boosts the local economy by providing employment opportunities to adjacent communities. 

The MOU was signed by the Biodiversity Sri Lanka Board of Directors Chairman Dilhan C. Fernando and American & Efird Lanka Managing Director Priyantha Aluthwatte. It will allow both organisations to work in concert with the other and with state and private sector, partners in this unique restoration effort. 

It further showcases American & Efird Lanka’s commitment to the environment and creating a green future for the nation. This long-term arrangement will allow the company to support the restoration effort as well as work closely with partners to monitor its progress based on ecological and biological indicators. American & Efird Lanka (A&E Lanka), a Portfolio Company of Elevate Textiles.

Commenting on this latest partnership, Biodiversity Sri Lanka Chairman Dilhan C Fernando said: “The Importance of this collaboration, for me personally as a person representing the private sector and Biodiversity Sri Lanka, is that we have united science, government and business in doing something that will deliver the kind of change we need at a national level. Doing something great at a local level is fantastic but collaborating and scaling that up to a national level would be something groundbreaking. Therefore, I would like to particularly appreciate the involvement and support of our new partner, American & Efird Lanka, as it is symbolic of something far greater than the project itself.” 

Commenting on their involvement, A&E Lanka Managing Director Priyantha Aluthwatte said: “I’m grateful for the opportunity given to us by Biodiversity Sri Lanka to be a part of this project. We look forward to working closely with the BSL team on their future projects in developing this to a national level. We firmly believe that these initiatives help to instill a greater commitment towards protecting the planet and operating as a responsible corporate citizen internally which is in line with one of our core values; being socially responsible. I’m also excited to see how our employees could connect with nature through the Kanneliya Conservation Forest Restoration project as we move forward.”

Sharing his expertise on the project, University of Colombo Senior Professor in Zoology Devaka K. Weerakoon said: “We have made significant progress using scientific principles of ecosystem restoration. Several new and adaptive restoration techniques have also been introduced to accelerate plant growth and to increase survival rates. Upon completion our initiative will support the development of policies and tools to utilize the accrued biodiversity credits in a sustainable manner in consultation with national agencies. A further benefit of the project is that it boosts the local economy by providing employment opportunities to adjacent communities.”

American & Efird (A&E), a Portfolio Company of Elevate Textiles, is the largest U.S. manufacturer and the world’s foremost manufacturer and distributor of premium quality industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles. With a reputation of over 130 years, A&E’s global presence extends from Asia to Europe and the Americas. A&E Lanka has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 1991 supporting Sri Lankan Apparel Manufacturers to position Sri Lanka’s Apparel Industry as the ‘Preferred Ethical Apparel Sourcing Destination’ on the global sourcing map.

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