Buffer zone restoration and development in Knuckles conservation area, Sri Lanka An overview of Darwin Initiative Project

Abstract

The Knuckles Conservation Area, which extends to an area about 17, 500 ha of central uplands of SriLanka, is famous for its highly diverse species of flora and fauna, endemism and many unique habitats.Over few decades, much of the forest in the area was cleared for the cultivation of coffee, tea andthen cardamom. The buffer zone, therefore, consists of a mosaic of anthropogenically derived vegetationtypes that vary in habitat quality, including degraded grasslands and natural forest fragments underplantedwith Cardamom. In this context, a project primarily focussed on research, training andknowledge dissemination, funded by Darwin Initiative of the government of UK is jointly launched inKnuckles region by University of Aberdeen, UK and University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka along withother partner organisations for three years. It has already passed the first sixth months of itsimplementation. The project aims to enhance the sustainable conservation of biological diversity andecosystem services in the Knuckles by addressing the main threats to environmental protection throughthe development of options for buffer zone management that improve the livelihoods of localcommunities. This paper is, therefore, supported with ideas and information gathered from preliminaryproject workshop and field observation at Knuckles, assess the relevancy of this project in the contextand explore the conservation related issues in Knuckles. Beyond that, in addition to the experiencewith the project so far, this paper examines the approach adopted for the restoration and developmentof Knuckles and its surrounding buffer zone.