Save 10 acres of biodiverse forest in Sri Lanka

Ayubowan,

We have some big updates from the jungle to bring you this quarter and, by complete fluke, have timed it well with the International Day of Forests on Sunday! Read on to hear about seven acres of forest being taken off the market, our rescue of a new plot of degraded forest and exciting plans looking forwards.

1. Mudalali Land

Our original goal to save a seven-acre plot of biodiverse forest called Mudalali Land had to be halted last month. The owner sadly passed away and our thoughts are with his family at this time. The land now passes to his son who has no wish to sell it so the forest is safe for the time being.

What does this mean for your donations? As you may be aware from our updates, the COVID-19 period has been tough for the rural communities surrounding us and we have seen a significant increase in land being put up for sale and trees being cut and sold for timber. We are very aware that we must take action quickly to both protect forests and support communities in need.

We are putting the funds raised towards protecting the large areas of surrounding forest that have come under threat since we launched the Mudalali Land campaign in March last year. The challenge faced is sadly bigger, not smaller, than it was a year ago so we are continuing to raise funds and work with the community to protect as much forest as possible. You will see some updates to the project page reflecting this shortly.

2. Forest plot rescued!

Our first step towards protecting more forest was securing a 0.7-acre plot of degraded forest located close to where our Foundation office is this week. The owner was looking to sell quickly and the land already has both water and electricity supply running nearby (a rarity!), which would make it a prime spot for development. Some of the larger trees on the plot have already been cut and sold for income, so our plan is to work with local schools to engage our community in the replanting process. By planting a mixture of fruit, spice and native trees we can also help provide additional income for people to collect the forest product whilst also supporting biodiversity.

We are absolutely thrilled to be able to protect this forest and are very grateful for your generous support. The area has been named Mee Hill after its steep gradient and the mee trees we are planting to help secure the soils.

3. Next steps

There are lots of new models emerging for helping communities make conservation work financially. We are currently recruiting a team of remote researchers to help us investigate these models and design trials to be carried out in our area. We are excited to share the findings with you in the coming months.

As always, thank you so much for your ongoing support. If you have any questions about the updates above, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@foresthealingsrilanka.org. We hope to be in touch with more forest protection news soon!

Best regards,

Nihal, Remon, Emma and the FHF Community

Links:

• Forest Healing Foundation website