Project on Karawita Ecological Network of the Sinharaja Forest Range Landscape
SFA: Sri Lanka: Sinharaja Forest Range Landscape, Karawita Ecological Network Project
Implemented by the Public Interest Law Foundation in Partnership with the Forest Conservation Department with Funding and Technical Support of the Rainforest Trust
The Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) in partnership with the Forest Conservation Department (FCD), is implementing this project focusing on three fragmented forests within the Sinharaja Forest Range Landscape (SFRL). These three forests, namely, Viharakanda, Malwala/Aludeniya and Karawita forests, belong to the Karawita Ecological Network (KEN). The KEN is one of the six Ecological Networks in the Sinharaja Forest Range Landscape — a globally significant biodiversity hotspot with high species diversity, including many point endemics, as recognised in the SFRL Management Plan, 2022. The KEN also consists of the Magurugoda forest which has already been declared as a Conservation Forest under the Forest Conservation Ordinance. The objective of this project is to declare Viharakanda, Malwala/Aludeniya and Karawita forests as Reserved Forests under the Forest Conservation Ordinance; and thereafter prepare a Management Plan for the KEN.
By securing and managing these forests as a connected Ecological Network, the project will enhance biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience in line with national and global goals, while offering a replicable model for managing other fragmented wet-zone forests in Sri Lanka.
The project is implemented with the financial and technical support of the Rainforest Trust www.rainforesttrust.org
