Tree resources in Sri Lanka

Natural forests

In 1956, at the time of the first forest inventory, 44 percent of Sri Lanka was covered by forests. In 1992, the closed canopy forest cover had declined to about 24 percent. The total forest cover today, including sparse forests, is around 30.9 percent. Deforestation has been caused mainly by conversion to other land uses and shifting cultivation. The remaining forest cover of about two million ha consists mostly of dry monsoon, sparse and fragments of tropical rain forests (Table 1).

Table 1. Natural forest types in Sri Lanka (hectares)

District	Land area	Montane forest	Submontane Forest	Lowland rain forest	Moist monsoon forest	Dry monsoon forest	Riverine dry forest	Mangrove	Sparse forest	Total
Ampara	450 031				45 190	69 265	10 160	292	41 760	166 667
Anuradhapura	722 178					180 083	0	0	116 693	296 776
Badulla	285 673	93	3 888	1 577	17 517	3 353	0	0	27 843	54 271
Batticaloa	263 983				13 302	21 770	0	1 421	16 325	52 818
Colombo	68 469			1 832	0	0	0	0	36	1 868
Galle	161 256			18 903	0	0	0	187	1 699	20 789
Gampaha	141 890			273	0	0	122	20	429
Hambantota	262 307			220	739	19 169	3 710	539	55 077	79 454
Jaffna	107 848					822	0	260	298	1 380
Kalutara	164 391			20 240	0	0	0	70	1 266	21 576
Kandy	192 808	935	8 504	14 258	3 545	0	0	0	5 980	33 222
Kegalle	168 328		3 655	11 791	0	0	0	0	492	15 938
Kilinochchi	132 499					32 373	0	312	6 042	38 727
Kurunegala	489 787				1 827	8 153	0	0	14 766	24 746
Mannar	200 148					111 389	795	1 261	11 762	125 207
Matale	206 050	89	5 314	12 831	41 337	15 237	0	0	9 207	84 015
Matara	130 829		519	16 686	2 174	516	0	6	2 076	21 977
Moneragala	576 763		65	768	63 558	113 627	4 584	0	52 569	235 171
Millaittivu	260 946					153 769	0	463	17 987	172 219
Nuwara Eliya	174 109	1 943	31 078	3 977	2649	0	0	0	3 273	42 920
Polonnaruwa	344 988				47 266	68 093	523	0	22 949	138 831
Puttalam	315 485					79 452	814	2 264	17 104	99 634
Ratnapura	327 034	48	15 816	38 194	4 755	3 545	0	0	4 491	66 849
Trincomalee	267 991				4	110 491	1 826	1 491	17 629	131 441
Vavuniya	200 836					103 182	0	0	16 504	119 686
Total (ha)	6 616 627	3 108	68 839	141 550	243 877	1 094 289	22 412	8 688	463 848	2,046,611

Source: Legg and Jewell, 1995

Forest plantations

Forest plantation establishment commenced in the 1870s. Over the past 100 years the Forest Department has established nearly 93 000 ha of forest plantations mainly with teak, eucalyptus, pine and mahogany. The initial plantation establishment activities (from 1890 to 1950) focused on replacing the natural forest areas that had been lost owing to shifting cultivation. Most teak and mahogany plantations were established during this period under the Cooperative Reforestation System (modified Taungya system). The planting of pines and eucalypts in the wet zone and up-country was started in 1939 in line with the policy of planting patana grasslands, which are composed mainly of Cymbopogon confertiflorius, Themeda tremula, Chrysopogon, Pollinia and Arundinelia grasses.

This trend was continued until the policy change in 1953. The new policy emphasized the production of fuelwood and timber as the main role of forest plantations to alleviate the pressure on natural forests. As a result, large-scale plantations of teak and eucalyptus in the dry zone and pines in the wet zone were established until the 1980s.

Environmental and social aspects of plantation development were discussed widely and the importance of the participation of local people in tree growing was recognized during the mid-1980s. When the Community Forestry Project (CFP) started in 1982, the approach to tree growing changed somewhat. This project was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented in five administrative districts (Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Matale and Batticaloa). The main objectives of the six-year project were to establish fuelwood plantations and community woodlots with the participation of local people. The project was followed by the Participatory Forestry Project (PFP), which was also funded by the ADB and implemented throughout the country between 1992 and 1999. The main components of the PFP were similar to those of the CFP but the earlier block fuelwood plantation component was not included. All the components were implemented with more participation by local communities. Both the CFP and PFP were implemented by the Forest Department.

The total area under productive forest plantations is around 93 000 ha to date (Table 2).

Table 2. Forest plantations by species (hectares)

Species	Extent
Conifers (Pinus)	16 440
Eucalyptus and acacias	27 500
Teak	31 713
Mahogany	2 800
Miscellaneous	14 547
Total	93 000

Trees outside forest areas

There are different types of tree resources outside the traditional forest areas. Home gardens, coconut plantations, rubber plantations, shade trees in tea plantations, roadside plantations, trees on farmlands and other perennial plantations provide more than 70 percent of the industrial timber and more than 80 percent of the biofuel demand.

Home gardens

Home gardens are perhaps the best-developed agroforestry system in Sri Lanka. This system of perennial cropping has been practised for centuries. It is essentially mixed cropping with a variety of tree species that provide food, fruits, timber, medicine and spices. Home gardens are widespread and vary in species composition and tree density. According to FSMP estimates, home gardens covered about 858 000 ha in 1992. Their extent is increasing by about one percent annually.

Table 3 shows the distribution of home gardens by district based on Landsat TM data (Jewell 1995). The districts of the north (Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulativu, Mannar, and Vavunia) were not included in the study.

Home gardens in Sri Lanka produce 41 percent of national sawlogs and 26 percent of the biofuel demand (FSMP 1995) (Figures 3 and 4). The National Forest Policy of 1995 has recognized their important role by stating that “Trees growing on homesteads, and other agroforestry, will be promoted as a main strategy to supply wood and other forest products for meeting household and market needs”. According to the FSMP estimates, home gardens produce 0.95 m² of sawlogs and 0.5 m² of poles per hectare per year.

Table 3. Distribution of home gardens in 1992 (hectares)

District	Land area (ha)	Area of home gardens	Home gardens as % of districts
Ampara	450 031	16 245	3.6
Anuradhapura	722 178	56 143	7.8
Badulla	285 673	50 764	17.8
Batticaloa	263 983	14 359	5.4
Colombo	68 469	8 577	12.5
Galle and Matara	292 085	99 000	33.9
Gampaha	141 890	56 884	40.1
Hambantota	262 307	44 922	17.1
Kalutara	164 391	33 156	20.2
Kandy	192 808	61 029	31.7
Kegalle	168 328	46 782	27.8
Kurunegula	489 787	72 892	14.9
Matale	206 050	20 258	9.8
Moneragala	576 763	56 739	9.8
Nuwara Eliya	174 109	9 172	5.3
Polonnaruwa	344 988	36 180	10.5
Puttalam	315 848	64 747	20.5
Ratnapura	327 034	56 462	17.3
Trincomalee	267 991	14 083	5.3
TOTAL	5 714 713	818 394	14.3

Figure 3. Sawlog supply sources (1993)

Figure 4. Sources of bio-energy in 1994

Rubber, coconut and tea

Rubber and coconut plantations supply 13 percent and 10 percent of the national sawlog demand respectively. There are about 158 000 ha of rubber plantations and 439 000 ha of coconut plantations. Nearly 30 percent of the rubber plantations are mature and could be used for timber. About 35 percent of the coconut stock is more than 50 years old and suitable for timber production. There are about 180 000 ha of tea plantations and shade trees in these plantations are often used for timber production.

Wood production from non-forest tree resources is highly significant in the Sri Lankan context. Table 4 shows the projected wood production from home gardens and other non-forest tree resources.

Table 4. Projected wood production from home gardens and other non-forest tree resources (‘000 m³)

Source/year	2000	2005	2010	2015	2020
Peeler logs (rubber)	7.9	8.3	8.4	8.2	8.2
*Sawlogs* Home gardens Rubber Coconut and palmyra Trees on tea lands Other perennials Roadside planting	582.7 256.3 202.4 75.9 68.6 4.8	631.3 269.9 220.0 75.9 71.7 5.0	681.4 270.0 210.9 75.9 74.9 5.1	731.7 263.3 166.4 75.9 78.3 5.2	769.2 265.8 154.3 75.9 81.9 5.2
*Poles* Home gardens Other perennials	831.4 47.7	853.7 49.9	873.4 52.1	889.5 54.5	910.8 57.0

Source: FSMP (1995)