A move to release sections of the protected Thumbikulam Forest Reserve in the North Central Province for private commercial interests has drawn sharp protests from environmentalists, who warn the decision would devastate a critical elephant habitat and deepen Sri Lanka’s worsening human-elephant conflict.
Activist Sajeewa Chamikara described the proposed alienation as “an environmentally reckless and legally questionable exercise” that could inflict irreversible ecological damage on one of the region’s most sensitive forest ecosystems, The Island reported on Friday.
Chamikara said the Thumbikulam reserve is not an isolated forest patch but a vital ecological corridor sustaining elephant movement, watershed protection, biodiversity and rural agriculture. “The destruction or fragmentation of this reserve will inevitably intensify human-elephant conflict, threaten nearby farming communities and undermine the very purpose for which this forest was declared protected,” he said.
Environmental documents reviewed by conservation groups indicate approximately 50 acres within the reserve, located in the Palugaswewa Divisional Secretariat Division, are being considered for release from protected status, with a portion allegedly intended for tourism-related commercial activities.
The Thumbikulam Forest Reserve, gazetted as a protected forest in 2013, covers nearly 2,744 hectares and links several wildlife habitats in the North Central Province. Chamikara said the area protects water catchments and supports surrounding farming villages. “The law does not permit protected forests to be arbitrarily carved up for private ventures,” he stressed.
Sri Lanka records one of the world’s highest levels of human-elephant conflict. Wildlife authorities documented 108 elephant deaths in 2026 already, while incursions continue to claim civilian lives — including a father and daughter attacked in Wilgamuwa this week. The Court of Appeal has separately pressed the Department of Wildlife Conservation on electric-fence enforcement in connected litigation.
