Partners with University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s reforestation project in Kalutara District
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced a partnership with the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura to support the restoration and conservation of the Yagirala rainforest in the Kalutara District.
This latest sustainability commitment of the Bank entails funding the restoration of 15 acres of this ecologically important lowland tropical wet evergreen forest with the planting of 10,500 trees, and efforts to engage local communities in the protection and maintenance of the ecosystem.
The Yagirala rainforest in Walallawita comprises of 152 species of flora, 45% of which are endemic to Sri Lanka, and is the natural habitat of 103 species of birds, 36 species of mammals, 22 species of freshwater fish, 19 species of reptiles and 10 species of amphibians. The Department of Forestry and Environmental Science of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura has been managing a 100-acre block of this reserve since 1984, predominantly for research and education purposes.
The forest reserve and its biodiversity are threatened by encroachment by villages in the vicinity, illegal logging, poaching of wild animals, and the spread of invasive species.
The University’s restoration and biodiversity conservation project supported by Commercial Bank encompasses restoration of degraded forest patches and exotic pine-dominated patches with native species of flora, the eradication of invasive plant species, raising public awareness on biodiversity conservation in the Yagirala forest using the Indian Pangolin as a flagship species, and fostering community awareness and engagement in conservation efforts.
The trees to be planted include Wal del, Godapara, Wallapatta, Pelen, Ruk, Kata kaela, Goraka, Atamba, Nadun, Dawata, Gammalu, Beraliya, Hora, Na and Wal rambutan.
The Commercial Bank recently embarked on a series of similar sustainability initiatives in partnership with likeminded organisations, accelerating the pace of its commitments to the environment. These include a project to plant 10,000 trees in the Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts, a project to conserve the Kayankerni marine sanctuary located between Panichankerni and Kalkuda in the Batticaloa District, and a project to reforest a nine-kilometer stretch of the banks of the Maskeli Oya.
These projects share synergies with the Bank’s on-going ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ initiative to plant 100,000 trees around the country, a project to reforest a 100-hectare swath of degraded habitat belonging to the Kandegama forest in the Dimbulagala range of the Polonnaruwa District, and a project to clean-up and maintain a coastal stretch within the Kalutara Beach Park area.
Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, Commercial Bank is the largest private sector bank in Sri Lanka and the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World. The Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector, and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. Commercial Bank operates a strategically-located network of branches and 974 automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan Banks, with 20 outlets in Bangladesh, a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, and a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives.