COLOMBO, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A new project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been launched to conserve biodiversity and enhance sustainable land management practices in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka, a statement from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on Friday.
Sri Lanka, recognized globally as a biodiversity hotspot, hosts a diverse array of flora and fauna. Approximately 60 percent of the country's endemic flora thrive in the lowland wet ecosystems, while 34 percent are found in the highland montane regions, the UNDP said.
Tea and rubber plantations cover 25 percent of the land in these areas, underscoring their critical importance for both biodiversity conservation and the agricultural economy, the UNDP said.
Faced with the competing choice between economic benefits and conservation interests, the GEF funded "Partnerships and Innovative Financing to Mainstream Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Management in the Wet Climatic Zone of Sri Lanka" project with local authorities and the UNDP in the country.
The project seeks to align these two objectives, providing technical guidance to promote alternate business models for tea and rubber plantations through collaborations between the public sector, private sector, smallholder groups and local communities, the UNDP said.
Environment Ministry Secretary B.K.P. Chandrakeerthi said the project aims to conserve globally significant biodiversity by increasing sustainable land management practices in the tea and rubber plantations of the wet zone. ■