Website, www.plantsl.org was launched recently in the presence of Senior Consultants from Wharton Business School, through the Penn International Impact Consulting (PIIL), and the President of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS). Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd (PLANT), is a game changing initiative that WNPS launched to bring private conservation to the fore in Sri Lanka.
President Jehan Canaga Retna began the launch during the WNPS February monthly lectures at the BMICH. He highlighted the need for initiatives such as PLANT in partnering with private landowners, DWC and government partners, and corporations, to create meaningful change. In 2020, the WNPS set up a Not-for-Profit company called PLANT, to raise funds, to acquire and/or set aside privately owned lands, directly or through partners, for conservation and holding land in trust on behalf of future generations.
Emerald Trails is the main PLANT initiative, which seeks to build linking foliage corridors to connect key protected forested areas in the South-Western part of Sri Lanka, which is where Sri Lanka’s highest biodiversity exists.
Jehan stressed the importance of protecting what we have as the primary priority. He said that so far, PLANT has acquired some lands and also created land partnerships to cover over 2,500 acres under a conservation footprint, which is well beyond the initial aspirations.
PLANT is able to own some lands thanks largely to support from international donors and some of these locations are home to 150 endemic species. He shared a list of partners whom he thanked while also appreciating PLANT Chairman Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne for his passion and commitment towards spearheading the initiative, along with the PLANT and WNPS teams.
The PLANT website was developed in partnership with PIIC (Penn International Impact Consulting), a student led consultancy group at the University of Pennsylvania.
Suhitha Kotala, who led the project from PIIC, along with her colleague Aarthi Katakam, joined the launch through zoom and spoke with the audience.
At the launch, Aarthi outlined the background of their consultancy, and how they were thrilled to be working with WNPS and PLANT over the past few months and were impressed with the speed of growth.
She walked people through the website which provides an overview of the mission of PLANT and showcases some of their incredible properties with some amazing biodiversity.
The site also features the partners who have provided many forms of support and engagement on this, and she directed the audience to the interactive map which features all the locations that PLANT has operating presence in. – WNPS