Understanding Why Conservation Matters for Sri Lanka – Part 3

Photo courtesy of Spencer Manuelpillai Deforestation and the human-animal conflict have become dangerously intertwined as natural habitats shrink. Wildlife is continuously forced closer to human settlements. The numbers indicate a sobering picture. In 2024, the world lost 16.6 million acres of tropical primary rainforest at an alarming rate of four to five cricket fields a minute. By the end of 2025, the main drivers of this destruction became crystal clear. Commercial agriculture particularly for the production of commodities like soy, palm oil and cattle leads the devastation. Indigenous communities sustainably manage 25 to 28 per cent of the world’s land.…

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