Lanka bans felling of coconut trees

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Monday announced a total ban on felling of coconut trees as the country was gripped by a severe shortage of the commodity which is a dietary staple.

Coconut Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara said the government was invoking provisions of a 1971 Act to slap a total ban on the cutting down of trees.

“Only trees affected by any disease can be cut down with our special permission,” the minister said, adding that the move was aimed at maintaining coconut production.

Sri Lanka last month ordered coconuts from India to meet a serious shortage in the local market. Coconut was one of main agricultural products that Lanka exports to other countries along with trade mark Ceylon tea and rubber. However, the prices of coconut has gone up recently in local markets as coconut lands were increasingly used for housing development.

Sri Lankan traditional meals are based on coconut milk and oil and the tree is considered to provide for multi- purpose products. Traditional coconut industry suffers heavily due to land sales and introduction of substitute oils to Sri Lanka over the last three decades. Thousands of coconut trees also destroyed by several diseases over the past few years.