THE REAL NATURE OF LANKA

The legendary Sinharaja World Heritage Site is the last remaining extensive primary Lowland Tropical Rainforest in Sri Lanka. It covers an area of about 11,187 ha, spread over an elevation range of 200-1150m above sea level. Sinharaja is located in the Southwest Lowland Wet Zone of the island, between latitudes 6°21'- 6°26'N, and longitudes 80°21'- 80°34'E. It lies between the tributaries of the Kalu Ganga (in the North) and the Gin Ganga (in the South) and extends over the administrative districts of Galle, Matara and Ratnapura, within the Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. In general, the area consists of a rolling terrain with a series of ridges and valleys, whilst some parts of the eastern section of the forest consist of flat plains. About nine prominent peaks ranging from 575m to 1,170m are located within the forest, of which the Northeastern peak of Hinipitigala is the highest.

The mean annual rainfall in Sinharaja varies between 3,600 - 5,000 mm without a dry spell, and the mean annual temperature ranges between 19°C and 27°C. The Sinharaja forest is one of the most important watersheds on the island, with several streams draining into the 'Kalu Ganga' and 'Gin Ganga'rivers.

The Sinharaja forest is rich in biodiversity and contributes greatly towards Sri Lanka being recognized as one of the world's biodiversity 'hot spots', as identified by Conservation International. The vegetation of Sinharaja consists mainly of primary and secondary Tropical Lowland Wet Evergreen forest, with a few patches of Lower-Montane forests and grasslands in the higher altitudes. This diverse vegetation provides shelter to a rich composition of fauna, including a variety of vertebrate animals and countless numbers of lesser-known invertebrate animals. The vertebrate animals documented so far from Sinharaja represents about 50% of the native inland vertebrate animals, of which 35% are endemic to Sri Lanka, whilst about 35% are considered Nationally Threatened. The landscape in the periphery of Sinharaja shows marked human influence as it consists of tea and rubber plantations, rice fields, cinnamon cultivations and homesteads. About 40 villages are located around the forest reserve, and since historical times most villagers have been dependent on a variety of forest products for their daily subsistence. Between 1971 and 1977 the Western part of Sinharaja was subject to selective logging, where timber species were extracted for the production of plywood. Continuous protests from nature conservationists against the logging operations, resulted in a complete ban on logging in this forest in 1978, and an area of 8500 ha was declared an International Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve. In 1985 the Forest Department established a live boundary for the MAB reserve by planting Finns trees. An additional 2,687 ha of Sub-Montane Forest located on the Eastern side was included in the Sinharaja Reserve, expanding the total area to 11,187 ha. This entire area was declared a National Heritage Wilderness Area in 1988 and subsequently, UNESCO recognized it as the first Natural World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka. The administration and management of the Sinharaja World Heritage Site is vested with the Forest Department of Sri Lanka. At present, Sinharaja is the largest block of lowland rainforest left in Sri Lanka, occupying approximately 0.2% of the total land area of the island.