The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), together with Mr.Hemantha Withanage, filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka seeking relief to protect the Sinharaja Forest Reserve and its buffer zone. The petition challenges ongoing and proposed development projects, including road widening, reservoir construction, and land clearing, which have been carried out or planned without legal authority and threaten the ecological integrity of the Reserve. Sinharaja, located in the south-west lowland wet zone across the Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces, is Sri Lanka’s last viable primary tropical rainforest. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve, legally protected under the National Heritage Wilderness Areas Act, the Forest Conservation Ordinance, the Soil Conservation Act, and the National Environmental Act. Gazette notifications expanded their area to 36,474.93 hectares. The forest supports over 60% of Sri Lanka’s endemic tree species, 95% of endemic bird species, and numerous rare mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and butterflies, with wildlife corridors including critical elephant migration routes.

The petitioners allege that despite these protections, unlawful human activity and unregulated development threaten the forest. Construction began around August 2020 to expand an 18 km gravel road from Neluwa to Deniyaya, with approximately 1,320 meters intruding into the Sinharaja Forest Reserve and across tributaries of the Gin Ganga. The project involved widening an existing road from eight to fifteen feet, employing heavy machinery, felling large trees, soil excavation and dumping, resulting in deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, water pollution and landscape degradation. The road, initially attempted in 2013 without approval, was temporarily halted due to protests and UNESCO intervention but resumed in 2020. The petition also highlights the proposed Gin Ganga–Nilwala Ganga Diversion Project, illegal agricultural encroachments such as tea cultivation and cardamom planting, logging, sand mining, solar energy projects and the Southern Expressway extension, all of which contribute to habitat fragmentation and ecological degradation.

The petitioners contend that the construction violates Sections 3 and 4 of the National Heritage Wilderness Areas Act, which restrict entry and prohibit activities such as tree cutting, forest stripping, pollution and road construction, as well as statutory obligations under the Forest Conservation Ordinance and National Environmental Act, including the requirement to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments. The petition also invokes constitutional protections under Articles 12(1), 27(14) and 28(f), emphasizing the State’s duty to protect the environment and the public’s right to live free from arbitrary environmental harm. International obligations cited include the World Heritage Convention, Ramsar Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Rio Declaration, UNESCO Declaration on Responsibilities of Present Generations Towards Future Generations and the Johannesburg Declaration.

The Court of Appeal granted permission for issuing notices to the respondents, which include the Conservator General of Forests, the Central Environmental Authority and its Director General and former Ministers of Wildlife, Environment and Irrigation. The petitioners filed the writ application under Article 140 of the Constitution seeking a writ of mandamus to compel respondents to fulfil their constitutional and statutory duties. They argue that ongoing and proposed works constitute violations of statutory, constitutional and international obligations, with serious ecological consequences including increased vehicle-wildlife collisions, disruption of animal reproduction, stream blockage, flooding, soil erosion, greater accessibility for illegal activities and forest fragmentation. Global studies on tropical forest road expansion corroborate these impacts.

The petitioners seek orders to halt all unauthorized construction and clearing within Sinharaja and its buffer zones, enforce compliance with national laws and international obligations, update and implement a comprehensive management plan with stakeholder consultation, demarcate forest and buffer boundaries, suspend destructive projects such as road widening and reservoirs and recognize Sinharaja as a living legal entity with standing to protect its rights. Interim relief is sought to prevent further irreparable harm to biodiversity, water resources and ecosystem services, along with costs and any further relief deemed just and equitable.