Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2023-06-26 |
Project for partnership and innovative financing to mainstream biodiversity and sustainable land management in wet climatic zones of Sri Lanka - High demand for lands in the wet zone, forest fragmentation, deforestation and land degradation, rapid development processes, spread of invasive alien plants, unsustainable land use and agricultural patterns, changes in rainfall and temperature and drought have caused severe impacts on the bio diversity, catchment degradation, productive capacity of the soil as well as the productivity of annual and perennial crops in the wet zone. Therefore, attention has been focused in taking due measures for the conservation of small forest patches with higher biodiversity located adjacent to tea and rubber lands and sustainable land management. Accordingly, the United Nations Development Programme has agreed to provide a sum of US$ 04 million to implement the project for partnership and innovative financing to mainstream biodiversity and sustainable land management in wet climatic zones of Sri Lanka that has been prepared together with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Plantation Industries and other relevant parties. As such, the proposal made by the Minister of Environment to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme in order to obtain the relevant grant for the proposed project designed to be implemented under Public-Private Partnership within the six(06) districts of Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Kalutara, Galle and Matara, was approved by the Cabinet. |
