Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-02-01

Implementation of the Project on Integrated Management of Forestry, Agriculture and Tourism sectors through Community based Ecosystem-approaches

- Non-eco friendly land use plans have resulted in the breakdown of ecological balance thereby causing a number of social, environmental, economic and health problems at present. In order to control this situation, the Government has initiated various programmes and the need of having a programme with long term plans which is jointly implemented in the sectors of Agriculture, Tourism and Forestry has been identified. Accordingly, the “Project on Integrated Management of Forestry, Agriculture and Tourism sectors through Community based ecosystem approaches” has been designed to be implemented in the Malwathu Oya basin in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Puttlam districts as a pilot project. It has been agreed to grant a credit facility of US$ 3.34 million under the Global Environment Facility of the United Nations Development Programme for this project. As such, the proposal made by the Minister of Environment to implement the said project during the period from 2021-2024, utilizing the said grant, was approved by the Cabinet.