Abstract:
Road expansion is one of the post-war development activities in the northern and eastern
provinces of Sri Lanka. A survey was carried out to find out loss of trees along the A I 5 road
(5-6 km) from Pillayarady to Kallady Bridge, due to road expansion. Initially the said road
was about 10 m wide and had r4dny trees on either side. It further widened into double. All
trees were cut down within the limits. The age of the lost trees was between I - more than
100 years. Among them Samania saman (Vaakai), Nauclea orientalis (Vammi), Sterculia
foetida (Kaatu thengai) and Tamarindus (Puli) were historically important.
About 40 tree species and 400 individual trees were lost The majority of lost species were
Borassus flabellifer (palmyrah), Cocus nucifere (coconut), Albizzia, Azadirecta indica
(neem), Mangifera indica (mango), Terminalia catappa and. Thespesia populnea. Among
them,72% of individual trees were privately owned and 28% were in road sides. Higher
percentage of palmyrah (22%) and coconut (l7%)were lost in the process of road
Trees provide a base for biodiversity of the region including nesting for endemics and
indigenous species, beyond providing a shady environment. It is argued that more public
consultation could have altered some of the plans and save many trees. Lack of participatory
planning and involvement of public has been seen as a negative aspect of Post war development.
How do we engage us in future expansion activities? Are defined development approaches
appropriate in reality? Should we pay a huge price for unjustifiable development future
and for being silent?
