Greening the East

Batticaloa, situated in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, has been subject to major reductions in forest cover over the last century due to unsustainable deforestation practices and consequential natural disasters in the recent past. With the aim of restoring this forest cover and improving the sustainability of the ecosystem, as well as improving the climatic conditions of the region, Dilmah Conservation has taken the initiative to plant 50,000 cashew crops in Batticaloa per year. Cashew plants are cash crops and thus will also help improve the livelihoods and income of the local communities. Dilmah Conservation has so far planted 350,000 plants in Batticaloa, and aims to bring this value to 500,000 by the end of 2016.