Deep in Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged Northeast, the art of sustainable forestry thrives – and the initiative comes from the very top. 

After almost two decades of war, displacement, poverty and strife, Sri Lanka’s Northeast is one of the last places one might expect environmental consciousness to be alive and well. What’s perhaps more surprising is that this consciousness is being promoted by the leader of one of the most feared rebel groups in the world.  

Often in civil wars of this kind, natural resources are depleted, destroyed or polluted – by the combatants themselves or by those forced to exploit nature for their survival. Indeed, recent analysis has shown that many conflicts, such as those in Angola, Sierra Leone and Cambodia, have been funded by the exploitation of natural resources.  

In the case of Sri Lanka, where the Northeast has been a theatre of war for the better part of twenty years, one would expect widespread environmental disaster. Indeed, there can be no denying that war has led to much destruction but, perhaps surprisingly, there have also been efforts to protect the environment – by the most unlikely of groups and for the most unlikely reasons.

Jungle green 

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (also known as the ‘Tamil Tigers’), one of the most efficient and daring rebel groups in the world, has rarely fitted into any one category. The Liberation Tigers are, at once, a guerrilla force, a conventional standing army, a de-facto government, a political movement and, it now emerges, protectors of the environment. 

For almost a decade now, even at the height of ferocious battles with the Sri Lankan armed forces, one section of the LTTE has been busy planting trees, managing existing tracts of forests and controlling logging in areas under LTTE control. The Tamil Eelam Forest Protection Division is a small but important part of the LTTE apparatus that operates alongside other administrative divisions.  

What’s special about the Forestry Protection Division is the particular interest the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhkaran, takes in its operations. Rather than harvesting forest resources for short-term profit, say to pay for arms as in other conflicts, Prabhakaran has insisted on their protection.  

Just why Prabhakaran would plant, and not cut, forests is more complex than it would seem. Strategic reasons – forests provide excellent cover for covert operations and ambush – come to mind but they don’t explain just how serious the LTTE seems to take forests. Indeed, it could be argued that the LTTE was just as successful, if not more, when fighting in urban or rural terrains. 

Under fire 

Much of the Northeast lies in the heart of Sri Lanka’s dry zone and is thus devoid of the luscious vegetation found in other parts of the island. Already sparsely vegetated, years of war have not helped. Prabhakaran, it seems, took the decision to establish the Forest Protection Division in order to stop and fix some of the disastrous effects of war. 

During the war, the Sri Lankan armed forces set about systematically cleared wide strips of forest alongside roads (to reduce the risk of ambush) and used hundreds of thousands of logs to build bunkers and fortifications. Worse still, they are said to have collaborated with illegal loggers, sometimes felling trees for export to the South of the island.  

As a result, the forest cover is currently estimated to be about 18.2 per cent of the total land in the Northeast. Though relatively high by global standards, this figure is only half of the pre-war estimate. What is also of concern is that the Northeast’s forests contain considerable natural wealth including several endemic species. In addition, these forests are home to some 23 species of mangroves, provide a temporary home to several species of migratory birds, and are the abode of many animal species, including leopards and elephants.  

Forest cover 

Something had to be done and Prabhakaran took the initiative to establish the LTTE’s Forest Protection Division. The Division’s head, a shy man in his thirties called Sakthi, gets particularly animated when he speaks of the leader’s devotion to nature and the establishment of the Division. “Our leader sees the saving of our natural heritage as an integral part of our movement’s struggle. After all,” he explains, “what would be the point of fighting for our land if we destroy our environment in the process.”  

Sakthi would best be described as a self-made forester. Assigned to the job by Prabhakaran, he had no formal education in forestry or experience in the field. Coming from a rural background, what he did have was knowledge of the local environment and special instructions from Prabhakaran to protect and preserve the region’s forests.  

Since then Sakthi has overseen the planting of hundreds of thousands of teak, mahogany, and neem seedlings. The latter, used widely for a variety of medicinal purposes, was carried out on the special request of the LTTE leader. The division also tries to plant or protect local species such as Muthirai (Satin) and Paalai.  

Forestry, if carried out correctly, makes sense in this region for several reasons. “Not only can forests be used as a regular supply of firewood and other wood products,” says Shakti, “timber plantations can also yield considerable returns over the long term. Forests also ensure the protection of biodiversity, prevent soil erosion, and provide a natural habitat.”  

The Forestry Division also plans to embark on a pilot community forestry programme in which local people will be assigned plots of land to plant trees. Ownership of the trees will be shared between the division and the planter, but the latter will also be allowed to grow crops on the land.  

Under the canopy 

That these projects are being considered shows just how far Sri Lanka’s peace process has come. The ceasefire has provided a perfect opportunity for Sakthi and the Division to go about their important business unhindered by the fear of attack.   

The peace process has also allowed the rest of the world to get a glimpse of life behind the palmyrah curtain – the “uncleared” areas in which the LTTE has been operating a de facto state for several years now. It is certainly clear that the LTTE has been performing many of the functions of government, including areas with long-term objectives such as forestry.  

What’s more, they seem to have been performing those functions very well. Despite very meagre resources, the LTTE’s Forest Protection Division has managed to plant hundreds of hectares of new plantations, and rehabilitate vast sections of the Northeast’s dwindling forests.  

Now, as efforts are under way to rehabilitate and reconstruct the war-torn Northeast, it is imperative that these efforts to protect the region’s natural heritage are continued. If it is a question of not losing sight of the forest for the trees, even at times of extreme hardship, then the world has a lot to learn from the dedication of the foresters of Tamil Eelam.

by a recent visitor to the North