The Government is taking steps to declare the Diyagama forest area in Homagama, Colombo District, a forest reserve, Deputy Environment Minister Anton Jayakody told Parliament on Friday, the Daily Mirror reported.

Jayakody said the land was once abandoned and had naturally regenerated over the past two decades into an ecologically sensitive habitat with rainforest characteristics. Several wildlife species displaced by rapid urbanisation across the Colombo District have migrated there, he said, making the site an important refuge.

What the research found

Citing field research by a University of Colombo team including Professors S.W. Ranwala, Ileperuma and Abeykoon, the Deputy Minister said nearly 120 species of flora and fauna had been identified in the area. These include species endemic to Sri Lanka and rare wildlife such as the red slender loris. The presence of pregnant animals close to giving birth, he added, underlines the habitat’s importance.

The forest sits near the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium and the Japan–Sri Lanka Friendship Baseball Ground. Jayakody said it helps absorb carbon dioxide, serves as a catchment for the Bolgoda water basin, and contributes to Sri Lanka’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 under the Paris Agreement.

Next step: a Cabinet paper

Following approval by the Colombo District Coordinating Committee — with the participation of the Divisional Secretary, government officials and environmentalists — steps will be taken to submit a Cabinet paper to formally declare the area a forest reserve, Jayakody said. No timetable was given.

Context

The announcement marks a shift from opposition demand to government action. In May, SJB Colombo District MP Dr. Harsha de Silva submitted a Parliament motion urging that Diyagama be gazetted as a protected zone under the Fauna and Flora Protection Act and brought under the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The route the Deputy Minister described on Friday is a forest reserve declaration rather than the wildlife-department route that motion sought.

The two accounts also differ on scale. Dr. de Silva’s motion put the site’s biodiversity at more than 220 species of flora and fauna; the University of Colombo research cited in Parliament gives nearly 120. Neither filing explains the gap, which may reflect different survey boundaries or methods.

The move follows the gazetting in September of 20 forests across six districts as reserves under the Government’s Vanaspathi programme, which Jayakody also oversees. The Sunday Times has reported that plans earlier this year to build a cricket pitch and hostel on the Diyagama site drew a conservationist backlash.

Not reported

The Daily Mirror filing does not state the forest’s extent in hectares or acres, when the Cabinet paper will be submitted, whether the Coordinating Committee has already approved the move, or what becomes of any existing development proposals for the land. No other verified newsroom had filed on the statement at the time of writing.

Source: Daily Mirror.