The opening of a new charcoal factory in Arambekema, Thanamalwila has been halted following outrage from villagers who claim that it is in violation of a few environment protection laws and the terms of its contracts with the state. The company claims everything is approved by the state.

The charcoal factory, a Board of Investment project with 20 clay furnaces, belongs to Reitech Trading Pvt Ltd. According to the site manager, it is a 60/40 Sri Lanka-China partnership that is planning on exporting charcoal to Japan, China, and Korea primarily. Each furnace produces 1 ton of charcoal for every 4.5 tons of wood burned.

Site manager ‘Sajith’ who refused to give another name told the Sunday Times last week that the wood they would burn for charcoal would come from discarded wood from neighbouring wooded areas and gardens. According to ‘Sajith’ the necessary Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) approvals had been obtained and the company also had an agreement with the DWC to use the waste wood from national parks near the charcoal factory, including Udawalawe National Park which is within eyesight from the factory site. This has also raised an issue of whether or not the charcoal factory was set up in the national park’s buffer zone, which the law stipulates is within a radius of 1 km from any park under the DWC.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation, however, has not granted any permission or made any agreements. Explaining their inaction thus far, top officials said a report on the matter is due this Monday. The factory was set up in January but has been inactive for 2.5 months following legal action from villagers and environmental groups – this coincides with the timing of the request that Reitech Trading filed at the DWC for the relevant permissions.

“We have asked our southern assistant director to send us a project report to assess whether their activities violate any of our laws and I know the same has been done with every state institution this relates to like the Central Environment Authority and the Forest Department,” noted Manjula Amararathna the director of protected area management who confirmed site visits had been done by the department as well. Should it turn out that the factory is within the buffer zone, all relevant Government departments would need evaluate project and come to a decision.

Despite the site manager’s claim that only waste wood would be used, ground investigations by the Sunday Times last week found Burutha, teak, kohomba, and mylar logs inside the now inactive furnaces. Two months ago, the Centre for Environmental Justice also found Burutha timber piled in the adjacent wooded areas.

According to data from the CEJ, the wood required would have to be hard timber that retains higher amounts of carbon – this means old trees with about 60-65% carbon retention capacity are essential for the factory to run. In a statement released to the press the CEJ noted that Reitech had claimed they were in contract with the Sri Lanka Timber Corporation to purchase wood – but villagers in the area claimed that they had been asked to bring wood to burn at the factory initially too.

This particular village, Arambekema, has not had water or rain in months and wells are dying up extensively. Houses share wells for water with their neighbors but crop damage has been severe. Added to this, wild animals, like elephants, have begun encroaching into households in search of what has dried up from multiple natural sources. According to the CEJ, the intensity of the heat of the furnaces seeps into groundwater and has worsened the drought that the people are experiencing.

Protests against the factory has been persistent.

“Over the last few years so much of the green in the area has disappeared, and now even our water is gone, because of irresponsible projects like this that don’t benefit people like us,” said one preschool teacher from the village who has been active with the youth organisation of the village that has been raising awareness against the project. People in Arambekema had initially welcomed the idea with open arms as jobs and income sources for young people are scarce but had swiftly turned against the project when trucks full of wood like burutha, teak, and kohomba began arriving.

“Our protest is the only thing that stands in the way because officials knew this was happening from the start but no one exercised their authority to ask the company for answers on the legality and the environmental ramifications of their activities,” she continued, adding that while it has been halted temporarily “we want it on record that we completely reject this operation and will continue our work until it is permanently shut down.”

The Sunday Times reached out to Reitech Trading and its office in Colombo but was informed that a response from management was still unavailable. Further attempts of communication received no response.

According to gazette 2264/18 of 27 January 2022, where more than 1 ton of charcoal is produced at a time, an Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) has to be obtained. Reitech does not have this license even though the factory has the capacity to produce 20 tons at a time. Permits in the area can usually only be obtained for agriculture in the area of the site – how Reitech came to be in possession of state-owned land that the Divisional Secretary had jurisdiction over is another point of contention over the issue. The divisional secretariat was not available for comment at the time as well.

Thus far, no assessment of the impact on the groundwater or the emissions from the factory’s activities has been conducted. With COP28 right around the corner, water management and greenhouse gas emission reduction is at the top of this year’s climate priority list. While the coal produced may not be for Sri Lankan consumption, adding to the world’s fossil fuel usage in a country that is striving for net zero soon could be problematic.