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Conservator General of Forests refutes reports on SL forest cover

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The Conservator General of Forests Mr. K.M.A Bandara said that the media reports implying that Sri Lanka’s forest cover has decreased to 16% are false.

The President’s Media Division says that Mr. Bandara has said this in response to a query made over the media reports on the instructions of President’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake and that the Presidential Secretariat had focused its attention regarding these media reports.

The PMD statement issued in this regard further says :

The assessment of forest cover is carried out every five years and the census conducted in 2020 is scheduled to be completed in June this year. According to the census conducted in 2015, the natural forests of Sri Lanka stood at 29.15% (1,912,970 hectares) of the total land extent.

The Conservator General of Forests also said that although there has been some reduction in the amount of forests due to various development activities and other human activities in the country, there has definitely been no decrease in the amount of forests up to 16%  as stated in the media reports.

 According to media reports, if the forest area in Sri Lanka is 16% of the total land extent, then the existing forest area in the country should be 1,040,000 hectares. This means that 872,970 hectares of forests should have been destroyed during the seven years from 2015, which is 124,710 hectares per year and  341 hectares of forest destruction per day.

He also said that the method used to assess the forests should have been described in the presentation of data on forests. Basic points such as the definition of forests, the method of estimating forest size, and the estimation of forest size should have been mentioned in the report. However, there is no source from which the relevant data was obtained in the media reports suggesting that the forest cover had decreased.

The Conservator General further stated that if there is widespread forest destruction, as reported in the media, it should have been observed by the Department of Forest, the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Sri Lanka Police, and the Sri Lanka Air Force, which monitors forests from the air. However, such extensive forest destruction has not been reported to any of these institutions. He also stated that the Forest Department is updating forest maps and that no such forest destruction was observed during those activities.

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Nishantha Wickremesinghe remanded (Update)

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Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Nishantha Wickremesinghe has been  remanded until July 01.

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(Previous News : June 27, 2025 4.41pm)

2 ex-heads of govt. institutions, arrested

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has arrested two former Chairmen on corruption charges.

Former Chairman of the Fisheries Corporation – Upali Liyanage and former SriLankan Airlines Chairman – Nishantha Wickremesinghe have been arrested in this manner.

However, Liyanage, who was produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali Jayathunga, was released on three sureties amounting to Rs. 5 million.

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Body of undergrad who went missing at Port City beach, found (Update)

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The body of the undergraduate who had gone missing at the Port City beach, has been found.

The body was found during a search by divers.


(Previous News on 27th June 2025 at 10.06 am)

Undergrad goes missing at Port City beach while snorkeling

A 24-year-old university student from Asgiriya, Gampaha, has gone missing yesterday morning (June 26) while swimming in the sea off the Colombo Port City beach.

According to the police, the student, a resident of Gampaha, was part of a group of students from the Universities of Colombo and Moratuwa who had visited the artificial beach and engaged in snorkelling.

The student failed to resurface, prompting a complaint to the Colombo Port Police.

Lifeguards later recovered the snorkeling gear believed to be belonging to the missing student.

A joint search operation involving Navy divers from the Colombo Port and Rangala Navy Division is currently underway. Further investigations are underway by the Colombo Port Police.

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Missing NPP members of Weligama PS, resurface (Update)

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The 2 NPP members of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha, who had gone missing earlier today (June 27), have been found at the Unawatuna beach in Galle.

According to police, they are unharmed.


(Previous News on 27th June 2025 at 12:15 pm)

2 NPP members at Weligama PS go missing (Video)

Tensions erupted at the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha today (June 27) after 02 National Peoples’ Power (NPP) members were reportedly abducted.

The incident had occurred just before a scheduled vote to elect a new chairman.

The members, who were en route to attend the session, have reportedly gone missing, prompting the suspension of proceedings.

It has been proposed to proceed the council session if the missing members arrive.

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