Sri Lankan authorities Wednesday 17 Feb 2021 agreed to save the world's only known wild specimen of a species of tree that was due to be chopped to clear the way for a four-lane expressway.
The Sri Lanka Legume (Crudia zeylanica) -- a flowering tree from the legume family whose pods are not known to be eaten by humans -- was first classified in 1868 and last found in 1911.
In 2012 it was declared extinct until the surprise discovery in 2019 of a lone tree near Colombo.
The Ministry of Highways has decided NOT to remove this Sri Lankan Legume tree in Daraluwa and go ahead with the construction of the Central Expressway, the Ministry of Forest Conservation said.
Thereby, the Central Expressway will be constructed without causing any damage to the Sri Lankan Legume or Crudia zeylanica tree, the Ministry of Wildlife & Forest Conservation told.
Bandula Harischandra, the Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife & Forest Conservation said, Secretary to the Ministry of Highways – Ranjith Premasiri informed him about the decision.
The Ministry of Wildlife & Forest Conservation earlier requested the Highways Ministry not to remove the Sri Lanka Legume Tree at the expressway site.
A Sri Lankan Legume Tree was was discovered near the Daraluwa Railway Station in Gampaha, leading to much controversy over the attempts to remove the endangered plant.
The rare species of Crudia zeylanica or Sri Lankan Legume was discovered and named a new species in 1868.
The IUCN Red List of 2006 categorized the species as extinct; so does the National Red List of 2012, prepared by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment