Biomass - Energy Toolbox

Land Issues

Coconut Paddy Sugarcane Protected

In this Section we look in more detail at the question of land and in particular ask the question of how much land is available for the development of the establishment of energy plantations.

The Conference Paper (Colombo 2005) prepared by Dr Ridgway (NRI) in association with P.Silva formerly with the Department of Lands on Land Availability and Land Tenure examines this issue in detail for Sri Lanka.

There is no shortage of land in Sri Lanka that is suitable and could be used for growing fuelwood trees. There is however uncertainty about what land is available now, with sufficient security of land use rights to encourage this land use. There are a number of reasons for this uncertainty about the land. First, it is a constant challenge to revise land legislation to keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in land use. By default what is happening is that existing legislation is being updated in piecemeal fashion, bypassing the need for its systematic overhaul and rationalisation. Secondly, there is a multiplicity of government and parastatal institutions in the country authorised to implement the land legislation but, with overlapping and sometimes ill-defined missions, they often have inadequate means for its enforcement. Thirdly, there is the lack of good and modern record keeping, with maps, on the land tenure and administration of each parcel of used land in the country. Such records must form the objective basis for sustainable land tenure and land use. Fourthly, there is an unknown number of people and agencies willing to be involved in growing fuelwood trees, but they need to be identified and given the necessary support. Fifthly, with nearly 80 percent of the country still under some form of state control, Sri Lanka’s land, its management and its uses remain subject to significant government intervention.

Read the full paper [PDF 691Kb]

A supporting presentation has been prepared by B.A. Jayananda and colleagues of the Land Use Policy Planning Division of the Lands Department which provides further information on the breakdown of land in the country. The most suitable land for extensive planting of energy plantations will come from the following three management classes of land: -

Category – 1 Un –utilized State owned Lands (114,000 ha)
Category – 2 Alienated State owned Lands (54,200 ha)
Category – 3 Forests with Sparsely Vegetated (471,600 ha)

View the presentation [Powerpoint 318Kb]