PLANT signed a multi-year Partnership MOU with the Climate and Conservation Consortium (CCC), with the objective of engaging their support to obtain specialist inputs in climate and conservation areas, which come due to the broad experience that CCC possess through a team of several in-house specialists, and partners who are sustainability consultants and industry experts.
They will also act as an Ambassador for PLANT by presenting the work being done by PLANT to third parties, and channelling efforts of international and local partners who seek credible sustainability initiatives to fund and endorse.
The CCC Board is chaired by 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace Desamanya Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, and has over a decade of global expertise in greenhouse gas reduction, reforestation and international carbon project development, in addition to its capabilities in biodiversity assessment and water footprinting among others.
In late 2020, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) established a Guarantee Not-for-Profit company, to acquire privately owned lands (outright or on a long-term lease) and to collect funds through the entity, and the WNPS, to purchase lands for the purpose of being held in trust for conservation.
The initiative has made great progress so far and PLANT coverage by September through direct ownership and MOU engagements with landowners extend to over 300 Acres in diverse locations and is helping protect many precious endemic plants and species.
Under PLANT, the Emerald Trails Initiative is an ambitious plan of envisioning an almost uninterrupted corridor of protected natural spaces and forest ecosystems in the high endemism south-western part of Sri Lanka, to ensure continued movement and linkage for animals with different larger geographies of Conserved Land blocks.
PLANT hopes to bring several new lands and engage new Partners along this journey in the near future.
A strong regional structure is now in place and the teams are hard at work on many aspects, with the solid backing of the WNPS and its entire strength.
PLANT’s work has been funded by WNPS and by international agencies such as Rainforest Trust and The Quick Response Fund for Nature from the USA and is engaged with several local partners as well.
In 2011 CCC achieved an international landmark with the establishment of the Hiniduma Bio-Link forest corridor, the first of its kind community-based reforestation programme registered in Asia under the global Plan Vivo standard.
This project is carried out using ecosystem restoration methods such as Analog forestry through supporting home garden reforestation and agroforestry using a farmer-based participatory approach.
“PLANT is on a constant search to gather like-minded partners to enhance the quality and impact of our conservation outreach.
With the rapid strides being made on Emerald Trails, we need insightful expertise on Reforesting, our impacts on the Climate, Carbon footprints and community interaction.
We are excited with the prospect of working with CCC and leveraging their global exposure and world-class knowledge and networks into our project work” said Shevon Gooneratne, Director of PLANT.
"Our newly rebranded corporate name clearly defines our commitment to long-term conservation efforts and to the development of a collaborative consortium of like-minded institutions and individuals to act together in concert” says Director and CEO of CCC, Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne.
“Over the past 12 years, CCC has developed a strong background of forestry, carbon and environmental conservation disciplines, and has facilitated the support of global giants such as Patagonia, Ansell and Marks & Spencer as well as local conglomerates such as the Hirdaramani Group, Eswaran Brothers & EFL for its forrest based conservation projects.
CCC intends to use its network of corporate clients, and global brands to further the objectives of PLANT and to support their vision of protecting and preserving on biodiversity and forests for the generation to come. “ he went on to say.
Photo Caption CCC Director/Chief Executive Officer Sanith de Silva Wijeyeratne exchanging the agreement with PLANT Director Shevon Gooneratne recently, with Directors Dilshan Hettiaratchi and Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne in attendance.