Tree planting events held in Ududumbara and Minipe Mahaweli catchment areas
The Tokyo Cement Group recently joined forces with the Sri Lanka Police Department to host two
successful tree-planting events in Handaganawa in Minipe and Meedumgama in Ududumbara.
Over 600 participants, including state and local government employees, farming communities and
school children, came together to plant 7,000 saplings of diverse local plant species such as
Kumbuk, Jackfruit, Damba, Ingini, Laolu (Egg Fruit), Mango, Tamarind, Mee, and Bulu (Bedda
Nut), in the Mahaweli catchment areas.
The events were sponsored by Tokyo Cement Group with the objective of restoring the region’s
natural ecosystem, whilst fostering environmental stewardship among local communities. The
Company envisions creating a forest belt comprising of native flower and fruit-bearing trees that
benefit local farming culture and boost natural biodiversity, whilst preventing soil erosion in the
riverbanks. Through this long-term engagement Tokyo Cement anticipates the participating
community groups and school children to become patrons of the trees, until such time they
become an intrinsic part of the Mahaweli catchment areas.
Officers and staff of the Sri Lanka Police Department attached to the Hasalaka and Ududumbara
Police Divisions, under the aegis of the Central Province DIG Office were instrumental in
organizing these tree planting programs, ensuring the participation of all state institutions and
schools in each area. This collaboration between the Sri Lanka Police Department and Tokyo
Cement Group strengthens the collective efforts to create a greener, healthier environment for
our future generations.
The first of the two collaborative tree-planting events was held in the Hadaganawa region of the
Mahaweli catchment area and was organized by the Hasalaka Police Division. 6,100 native tree
saplings were planted along the river reserve with the
participation of over 100 police officers and
representatives from the Department of Forest
Conservation, Department of Wildlife Conservation,
Department of Irrigation, Minipe Divisional
Secretariat, Minipe Pradeshiya Sabha, and over 200
students from Hadaganawa Maha Vidyalaya and
Morayaya Maha Vidyalaya.
The second event was held in Meedumgama, in the
Ududumbara region of the Mahaweli river catchment
area and was organized in association with the
Ududumbara Police Division. The event brought
together over 200 participants, including officers from the Hunnasgiriya Range Office of the
Department of Forest Conservation, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ududumbara Divisional
Secretariat, and Ududumbara Pradesiya Sabha. Additionally, over a hundred students from the
Ududumbara National School also participated in the tree planting program helping to enhance its
impact.
The Tokyo Cement Company launched this keystone sustainability initiative to replenish Sri
Lanka’s declining forest cover in 2017, by establishing two native forest tree nurseries: one at the
Trincomalee Factory and the other at the Mahiyangana Power Plant premises. Each nursery has
the capacity to produce 10,000 native forest tree seedlings annually, that gets distributed for
island-wide reforestation campaigns carried out by various state and independent conservationist
groups.
In addition to forest tree propagation, Tokyo Cement Group leads several scientific knowledge-
based conservation efforts as part of its sustainability drive. Among the most impactful
conservation programs spearheaded by The Company, Mangrove and Coral Reef Conservation
take center stage. Tokyo Cement Group started its Mangrove Conservation Project in 2012 by
setting up a mangrove nursery that can nurture 10,000 seedlings within its factory premises. The
initiative has so far planted more than 77,000 mangrove saplings belonging to 7 native species
along Trincomalee, Jaffna and Mannar coastal belts in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Navy,
supported by local fishing communities and likeminded conservation groups. Next, Tokyo
Cement Group is deeply involved in Coral Reef Conservation for over a decade, leading a
consortium of partners comprised of renowned marine biologists and conservation experts,
actively involved in restoring the severely threatened reef barrier around Sri Lanka.
The company’s promise on sustainability breathes life through these far-reaching initiatives that
successfully integrate social welfare and environmental conservation within its corporate mission
that aims to enrich our country, its people, and the environment.