The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has expanded its commitment to sustainability with a pledge of support to a project to reforest a part of a nine-kilometre stretch of the banks of the Maskeli Oya, a major upstream tributary of the Kelani river.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Bank with Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd, or PLANT, an initiative of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), envisages that Commercial Bank fund the planting of 3,650 plants on land strips parallel to the Maskeli Oya waterway, contributing to environmental conservation, including carbon sequestration, forest corridor creation, soil erosion prevention, and the creation of a sustainable habitat for local fauna.
The forest corridor that is to be created will comprise several native tree species.
The Bank said the project addresses environmental and community impacts, making it a holistic approach to sustainability, considering not only the preservation of the environment but also the positive effects on local communities.
The Maskeli Oya reforestation project shares synergies with Commercial Bank’s on-going ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ initiative to plant 100,000 trees around the country, and a project to reforest a 100-hectare swath of degraded habitat belonging to the Kandegama forest in the Dimbulagala range of the Polonnaruwa district.
