PLANT (Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd), the country’s largest privately funded land conservation initiative, signed a multi-year MoU with the Climate and Conservation Consortium (CCC), to obtain specialist inputs in climate and conservation areas, due to the broad experience that CCC possess through a team of several in-house specialists, and partners who are sustainability consultants and industry experts.
They will also act as an Ambassador for PLANT by presenting the work being done by PLANT to third parties, and channelling efforts of international and local partners who seek credible sustainability initiatives to fund and endorse.
The CCC Board is chaired by Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, and has over a decade of global expertise in greenhouse gas reduction, reforestation and international carbon project development, in addition to its capabilities in biodiversity assessment and water footprinting among others.
In late 2020, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) established a Guarantee Not-for-Profit company, to acquire privately owned lands (outright or on a long-term lease) and to collect funds through the entity, and the WNPS, to purchase lands to be held in trust for conservation. The initiative has made great progress so far and PLANT coverage by September through direct ownership and MOU engagements with landowners extend to over 300 acres in diverse locations and is helping protect many precious endemic plants and species.
Under PLANT, the Emerald Trails Initiative is an ambitious plan of envisioning an almost uninterrupted corridor of protected natural spaces and forest ecosystems in the high endemism south-western part of Sri Lanka, to ensure continued movement and links for animals with different larger geographies of Conserved Land blocks. PLANT hopes to bring several new lands and engage new partners along this journey in the near future.
A strong regional structure is now in place and the teams are hard at work on many aspects, with the solid backing of the WNPS and its entire strength. PLANT’s work has been funded by WNPS and by international agencies such as Rainforest Trust and The Quick Response Fund for Nature from the USA and is engaged with several local partners as well.
In 2011, CCC achieved an international landmark with the establishment of the Hiniduma Bio-Link forest corridor, the first of its kind community-based reforestation programme registered in Asia under the global Plan Vivo standard. This project is carried out using ecosystem restoration methods such as Analog forestry through supporting home garden reforestation and agroforestry using a farmer-based participatory approach. Director of PLANT, Shevon Gooneratne said, “PLANT is on a constant search to gather like-minded partners to enhance the quality and impact of our conservation outreach. With the rapid strides being made on Emerald Trails, we need insightful expertise on Reforesting, our impacts on the climate, carbon footprints and community interaction.”
Director and CEO of CCC, Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne said, «Our newly rebranded corporate name clearly defines our commitment to long-term conservation efforts and to the development of a collaborative consortium of like-minded institutions and individuals to act together in concert.
“Over the past 12 years, CCC has developed a strong background of forestry, carbon and environmental conservation disciplines. CCC plans to use its network of corporate clients, and global brands to further the objectives of PLANT and to support their vision of protecting and preserving on biodiversity and forests for the generation to come,” he said.