Private Sector Participation in Commercial Forest Plantation Development

Pabasara Gunawardane

Contents• Introduction

• History

• Private tree growers

• Statistics

• Advantages

• Issues

• Challenges

• Recommendations

Introduction• The man-made forests occupy a significant place in the national forest

estate

• Generally these forest type falls into the category of multiple use reserved forests as defined in the Forestry sector master plan 1995

• At present, most forest plantations consist of even-aged monocultures

• Forest Department(FD) of Sri Lanka was started in 1887

• Forest plantation establishment was started in 1890s

• Teak, Eucalyptus, Mahogany and Pines were used

• Mainly focused on replanting in abandoned lands until 1950s

• Due to the policy change in 1953 large scale forest planting was taken place to reduce the pressure for timber on natural forests

History

• During 1980s FD invited private sector to participate in forest plantations

• Due to the lack of knowledge and capital investment the project was unsuccessful

• Private sector was again encouraged in 2000s

• The response was extraordinary high

• After evaluating the proposals and verifying the financial stability of the applicants FD has leased 4000ha for the private sector

• Private sector was also encouraged to establish forest plantations in private lands also

• Exotic species were used in forest planting due to their faster growth rates over the indigenous species

• Teak • Eucalyptus• Mahogany • Acacia • Pines

• Primary aim is to address timber and fuel wood demand

Private Tree Growers• Private individuals

• Regional Plantation Companies

• Private companies offering small plots of lands stocked with Teak or Mahogany seedlings to the public on long-term leases

2% 3%6%

9%

11%

15%22%

2%1%

7%

22%

Forest lands in relation to agricultural and other land uses

Rubber

Tea

Coconut

Paddy

Other perennial crops

Home gardens

Other Land Uses

Other non - perennial crops

Forest Plantations

Sparse Forests

Natural Forests(Closed Canopy)

Source: Statistical Abstracts of the Department of Census and Statistics-2010.

18%

11%

42%

10%

11% 8%

Rubber Coconut

Home gardens Imports

Forest Plantations Other

Contribution of wood sources as a percentage of total supply

Advantages of private sector participation• Popularizing the concept ‘Forestry as a business’ among

the general public

• Providing required intensive management for the plantations (In order to gain profits)

• Technical knowledge is applied intensively

• Introduction of novel species to the trade (Sandalwood, Aquillaria, Vanilla)

• Improvement in the research and development aspect

Issues of private sector participation

• Most of the time the land deeds are not legal

• Due to financial instability, some planting companies can be bankrupted and the investors will be affected

• Social and environmental impacts and risks – some private owners are not obligated to consider regional ecological concerns

• In order to attract more investors the future projections of growth and related statistics may be over estimated and publish

Challenges• Availability of land

• Environmental and social issues

• Unpredictable catastrophes

• Being a long term investment most investors discouraged to involve

Estimated population growth in Sri Lanka (1970-2020)

Suggestions• Use of forest plantation as an Eco tourism venture

• Carbon trading ( UN – REDD)

Recommendations• Establishment of a planning and monitoring body for the private sector institutes

• Providing insurance and tax benefits for the investors

• Much coordination will be needed with other sectors such as wildlife conservation, land use planning, water management, environmental management, the timber industry, paper manufacturing and disaster management etc.

• Raising the productivity of forest plantations using new technology

• Within the sector itself, much collaboration will be needed among all stakeholders in planning and implementation.

References• Forest department, Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka forestry outlook study, Food and agriculture

organization of United Nations, (2009)• Dr. Subasinghe S.M.C.U.P, Plantation Forestry in Sri Lanka: Challenges and Constraints, Presidential

Address at the AGM of Institute of Biology Sri Lanka, (2007)Importance And Uses Of Forest Plantations, srilankaforestry.blogspot.com

• Department of census and statistics, National accounts of Sri Lanka, (2012)• Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera, Weak response by Central Bank to regulate forestry firms, The Sunday

times 15 June 2014• The UN REDD programme, http://www.un-redd.org/aboutredd (as at 0416 on 14th June 2015)• Dr. Yogarathnam N, Forestry in plantations will compensate for deforestation, The bottom-line, 25 July 2010• Dr. Ruwanpathirana N, Timber Utilization in Sri Lanka, Available at www.timber.lk (as at 0421 on 14th June

2015)• De Zoysa, Mangala, Private Forest Plantation Development in Sri Lanka: Issues and Challenges, available at

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/237254206• Ram Alagan, Sri Lanka’s Forest Cover: What We Know and What we Don’t, earth day 2009