Sinharaja Rain Forest

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is considered one of the most important natural habitats in Sri Lanka. This majestic rainforest was deemed an International Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and deservedly designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. The forest offers a huge diversity of species both flora and fauna with a large proportion of those being indigenous to the country and some more specifically endemic to Sinharaja itself.

Many indigenous birds such as Layard's parakeet (Psittacula calthripae), the Jungle fowl (Gallus lafayetii ), the Spur fowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata), the Ceylon Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtonii), the Ceylon Hanging Parrot (Loriculus beryllinus), the Ceylon Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis), the Ashy-headed Laughing Thrush (Garrulax cinereifrons), the Brown- capped Babbler (Pellorneum fuscocapillum), the Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus) and the Ceylon Blue Magpie (Urocissa ornate) among others, are prominent in this area.

For countless generations the local people of the Sinharaja have been living sustainably from what the forest provided and today many of the local villagers are continuing to use the forest resources. One of the main resources provided by the forest is jaggery, a crude local sugar product from the Kitul Palm (Caryota urens). Used as a source of income for the local people it has been a traditional ingredient to Sri Lankan people for many years. The production of the sugar is for trading at the local weekly markets.
Another historic village tradition and source of income is the use of rattan and bamboo to manufacture baskets and other woven products. Similarly these products can be sold at local markets.

Annual precipitation for the reserve, recorded over 60 years, has a range of between 3600mm – 5000mm approximately, whereas annual temperatures range from 19°C - 35°C. South westerly seasonal monsoons greatly contribute to the annual rains, particularly through May – July, whereas from November - January seasonal monsoons approach from the north east

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 Geologically, Sri Lanka is divided into three main groups of rock types, viz. the highland group, the South-western group and the Vijayan Complex, all consisting of Precambrian crystalline rocks. The Sinharaja lies in the transition zone between the Highland group The rock types found in the Khondalites of metamorphosed sediments and charnkite of the Highland group as well as the metasediments, charnokites and scapolite bearing calc-granulites of the south-western group.

The most significant geological feature of the forest is a distinctive zone of basic rocks which are referred to as the "Sinharaja basic zone", and which consist of horneblende, pyriclasts, basic charnokites, pyroxene amphiobolites inter-banded with minor accurrences of quartzites, garnetbiotite gneisses and intermediate chrnokites. The basic chrnokites and pyroxene amphibolites indicate an igneous origin prior to metamorphism, created by a low pressure. It is thought that this basic rock formation has led to the desilication processes in the surrounding areas of Ratnapura and Deniyaya which have gem-fields of cordierite-bearing rocks.

                The basic zone also coincides with an aeromagnetic anomaly stretching from Nawalakande through Pitakele and ending at the Denuwankanda-Beverly Estate area.

The soils of Sri Lanka have been classified into 14 great groups. The soils of the Sinharaja belong to the Red-Yellow Podzolic group, with newly formed alluvial soils along river valleys. The origin of these soils is mostly residual while weathering of parent material into laterites and lateritic soils is increased by high rainfull and temperature. The soils are also impermeble due to the presence of ferrogenous and kaolinitic soil material rich in alumina. Traces of magnesia and lime prevalent in the original rock can be detected wherever leaching has not been excessive. Variation in soil depth is considerable and can range from a few centimeters in very rocks areas to 4 or 5 meters on lateritic soil on slopes.

In a non-industrialised country like Sri Lanka, wilderness areas have long been subject to the activities of man, and Sinharaja is no exception. The long history of human habitation in and around today's MAB Reserve in fact compounds the problems of managing and conserving the forest. Scattered about the borders of the reserve are some 39 or so villages. Most of the ancient hamlets are to be found along the southern boundary of the Reserve, on the banks of the Gin Ganga with a few located on the north-western side. Only two, viz.

 

A village scene in Sinharaja

 Kolonthotuwa and Warukadeniya are lovated within the Reserve itself. The topography of the region seems to have influenced the pattern of human settlement, and those around the Reserve are mainly along the valleys and river basins. Numerous ancient footpaths exist on the periphery of the Reserve while there are three which cut across the interior of the forest, one along the western boundary (Neluwa - Pitakele - Kudawa - Weddagala) a second along the eastern boundary past Beverley Estate and Denuwakanda and the third traverses the centre of the forest (Watugala - Kumburugoda - Panapola)