This chapter deals with forest regulations that affect state and growth of forest and allied natural resources. These regulation are important because they change the property right regimes and entitlements of good and services to people and thus directly affect the fabric of social institutions that in-turn provides sustenance to forest and natural resources.
The enforceability of rules and regulations for protection and conservation of forests is continuously declining in Sri Lanka, which is leading to deforestation and degradation of forest resources. However, efforts and investments for conservation of bio-diversity in selected areas is continuously increasing leading to a good network of well conserved forest resources. This chapter first presents laws other than on forest that directly or indirectly affect forest resources and then describes the laws relating to forest resources in Sri Lanka.
Three acts dealing with land allocation (Land Settlement Act of 1931, Land Development Act of 1935, and Crown Lands Act No 8 of 1947) deal with control and allocation of lands In Sri Lanka. These acts, particularly the first two, have made great impact on the allocation and management of forest land. Many land allocation decisions have been made under these acts without considering the ecological status of the forest and the land that supported them. This at places has led to irreversible erosion of the ecosystems and fragmentation of forest resources.
The Soil Conservation Act, No 25 of 1951 amended in 1953 and 1981, looks after the conservation of soil resources including protection of land against damage by floods and drought. Although the act is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture but is implemented by different agencies. At many locations, different agencies implementing the act have overlapping jurisdictions like in case of the Forest Department and the Mahaweli Authority. Such overlapping of jurisdictions coupled with ambiguous definitions of responsibilities and power between agencies has adversely affected the conditions of forest and soil resources.
The Timber Act (No. 2 of 1822) was the first forest related legislation enacted by the British. It mainly dealt with the harvesting of timber and prohibited the cutting of trees without a license on the then "crown" lands and of "jak" trees on private lands. Many amendments, repeals, and enactments of new acts have taken place since then to utilize, protect and conserve forest resources of Sri Lanka.
The Wastelands Act 1840 and its amendment in 1879 appropriated the common property resources from its holders such as "villages" and "families" and chena (shifting cultivation) holders and vested large tracts of appropriated forests and other land in the state. This acts paved the way for the management and control of forest resources by the state. Prior to the British colonial rule, the forest had belonged to the local king, but social tenures, access and local control of forest resources for grazing of animals, collection of firewood and doing chenas were recognized. This act ignored and eroded the local social institutions and the status of titles held according to ancient custom, or traditional tenures. However, inadequate capacity of the state to implement this act has led to confusion such that in many parts of the country there is still an assertion of tenurial rights in some forest reserves,
Forest Act No 10 of 1885 tightened the control on and access to forest resources and carved out reserved forests to allow very limited access to public. The primary emphasis of the act was to control exploitation of forest resources to ensure sustained yield of marketable goods. However, the act was also utilized for establishing two uninhabited forests, Yala and Wilpattu, as sanctuaries for the protection of wildlife.
This act was replaced with Forest Act, No 16 of 1907, and is the basis of the present law relating to forests and plant protection. The act has been amended many times to address specific problems but its initial structure has remained intact. The act facilitates maximization of the public revenue and cares more about the interests of the state at large than the needs and interest of local public and communities. The act does not address trees outside forests (TOF). The state implements the act through Forest Department and regulates the sale and transport of forest produce and timber.
The Forest Act has failed to meet the high expectations of Sri Lankan society to conserve natural heritage and wilderness including bio-diversity in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government enacted the National Heritage and Wilderness Areas Act No. 3 in 1988 to address this specific problem of the forest department. The Forest Department now administers this act that aims at the protection of state lands having unique ecosystems, genetic resources, or outstanding natural features.
The Fauna and Flora Protection Act No.2 of 1937, with subsequent amendments addresses the protection of wildlife and flora in national reserves of Sri Lanka. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) enforces this law within the areas under its. The act was originally developed for the protection of game, rather than for wildlife conservation that explains the large extent of protected areas in the dry zone.
The capacity of Forest department (FD) as well as DWLC to enforce the law is declining with time due to general fall in social values. Despite the severe penalties, the quality and extent of forest cover continues to decline. Forest protection rather than forest management has become the main objective of forest department. This has resulted in heavy cost of policing, inefficient use of forestry professional, increased corruption and abuse, and disincentives to private tree growers and markets.
Some of the important reasons for inefficiency of these acts are that (a) their boundaries are not well drawn, (b) the acts have not been implemented in a coordinated manner by FD and DWLC, and (c) the poor sensitivity and flexibility of these acts to adapt to quickly changing social and political conditions. For example, boundaries of forests and protected areas in Forest and Wildlife legislations are not very clear. The protection, conservation and development of forest resources are intimately related with other sectors but the forest planning and management process in Sri Lanka is not participative (with stakeholders), integrated within forestry sector and coordinated with other sectors of the economy. The process to make changes in the legislation is very slow and bureaucratic. Finally the system is not designed to not make optimal use of local knowledge.
Different legislations have been introduced over the years to meet various temporal needs to sustain forest and wildlife resources of Sri Lanka. Most of the past rationales on which these acts are based have lost full or part of their justification under present social and political environment. The past legislations support forest revenue collection by the state, while the conservation through people's participation is the current key word. The country needs new legislation conducive to participatory framework with clear definitions and boundaries of mandates, functions and accountability of various agencies and users.
