Sri Lanka to balance biodiversity and agricultural economy with UNDP support

Sri Lanka, recognised globally as a biodiversity hotspot, hosts a diverse array of flora and fauna. Approximately 60 per cent of the nation’s endemic flora thrive in the lowland wet ecosystems, while 34 per cent are found in the highland montane regions, both of which also support the majority of Sri Lanka’s animal species, the UNDP said. Additionally, tea and rubber plantations cover 25 per cent of the land in these areas, underscoring their critical importance for both biodiversity conservation and the agricultural economy.   

Faced with the competing choice between economic benefits and conservation interests, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded ‘Partnerships and Innovative Financing to Mainstream Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Management in the Wet Climatic Zone of Sri Lanka’ project with the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture & Plantation Industries and the State Ministry of Plantation Reforms together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka seeks to align these two objectives, providing technical guidance to promote alternate business models for tea and rubber plantations through collaborations between the public sector, private sector, smallholder groups and local communities, including estate labourers.   

Introducing the project, Mr. P.B.K. Chandrakeerthi, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment stated, “This project aims to conserve globally significant biodiversity by increasing sustainable land management practices in the tea and rubber plantations of the Wet Zone, which includes the Districts of Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Matara and Kalutara. 25% of the total land use of the wet zone is under tea and rubber plantations, and 20% of these plantation lands are under natural vegetation or plantation forestry which needs to be conserved through innovative financing mechanisms and public-private-community partnerships to secure the significant biodiversity and ecosystem services.”   

Speaking about the launch of the project, Ms. Tharangani Wickremasinghe, Additional Secretary, Tea Development & Plantation Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture & Plantation Industries shared, “The ministry is committed to promoting sustainable practices that protect our natural resources while ensuring the growth and prosperity of our plantation and agriculture sector. Mainstreaming biodiversity into our agricultural or plantation practices requires a paradigm shift in how we perceive and interact with our environment. It is imperative that we integrate biodiversity considerations into our planning and decision-making processes at all levels. This includes promoting agroforestry, conserving soil health, and enhancing the resilience of our agricultural systems to climate change and other challenges”.   

Dr. Sugath Yalegama, Secretary of the Ministry of State Plantation Enterprise Reforms noted, “I hope this project improves the plantation sector productivity and quality of life of the plantation community while maintaining ecological balance and conserving biodiversity. Achieving the twin goals of conservation and development simultaneously poses challenges. Through this project, we aim to create a model for plantation management that supports both environmental sustainability and economic prosperity by supporting increased crop production, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management, and a plantation crop value chain.”   
Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP in Sri Lanka highlighted the importance of public-private-community partnerships, “We are very pleased that this project addresses the intersection of people’s vulnerabilities and their interactions with nature. The engagement with downstream communities and their livelihoods exemplify the development modelling UNDP seeks to promote—an integrated, comprehensive approach that encompasses the planet, people, and their prosperity. UNDP firmly believes that this project’s innovative partnership and financing model, particularly with GEF as a financing instrument, will be a foundation for a new development paradigm that should be scaled up for exponential impact.”   

This initiative sets a promising precedent for integrating environmental stewardship with agricultural development. As we move forward, the success of this project will serve as a model for future efforts to balance ecological integrity with economic growth, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for Sri Lanka.