Since the early days, forestry training has been given major emphasis, for example, the first training for staff of the Forest Department was conducted in 1949 by the school of agriculture at Peradeniya. From 1958 to 1983, two-year courses were developed for Range Forest Officers and one-year courses for Beat Forest Officers at the Ceylon Forest College at China Bay, Trincomalee. In 1985, this college was closed due to security risks and later the Sri Lanka Forestry Institute was opened at Nuwara Eliya in 1990.
Until 1993, the Sri Lanka Forestry Institute offered training as a one-year course for Range Forest Officers and a 6-month course for Beat Forest Officers. A six-hectare forest plantation, within which the Institute is located, provides practical training ground in forest surveying, forest management, forest mensuration, etc. A nursery with the capacity to produce 50 000 seedlings per year is being developed to provide practical training in nursery activities. In addition to the field staff of the Forest Department, Coupe Officers of the State Timber Corporation also obtained their training from the Institute at that time.
After 1993, with the revision of the curricula of the Forestry Institute, the Range Forest Officers’ course was developed into a two-year Diploma Course while Beat Forest Officer's Course was developed into a one-year Certificate course. In addition, the Sri Lanka Forestry Institute conducts in-service training programmes for the departmental officers and short–term training courses for offices of other government organizations.
Another important national institution that conducts forestry education is the University of Sri Jayawardhanapura with an MSc degree programme on Environmental Forestry. The Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture (PGI) in Peradeniya University also offers MSc degree programmes in Environmental Forestry, under which courses on FGR are included.
Research and development have an important role to play in solving the problems connected with conservation, utilization and promotion of forest and tree genetic resources. Answers to many of the existing problems can be obtained only by carrying out long-term research.
During the recent past, the Forest Department based the Departmental Research Programme on five priority areas: tree improvement, plantation conversion, fire prevention, site/species matching and bamboos and rattans. However, a limited amount of work could be completed in these fields due to constraints such as continuous changes in the senior staff and the lack of research officers and technical assistants. In addition to the FD, universities, various research institutes and projects are also involved in forestry research. Among Universities, Peradeniya University conducts a considerable amount of research on natural forest ecology and management, hydrology and agroforestry while the University of Sri Jayawardenapura does a lot of research in the form of projects conducted by MSc degree students. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya undertakes research on flora, including especially medicinal forest plants, and the conservation of genetic resources. A Research and Education division in the FD implements forestry research and education programme of the Department.
There are several agencies involved in forestry development activities. The major government Institutions that are directly involved in forestry activities are the Forest Department (FD), Wildlife Conservation Department (DWLC) and State Timber Corporation (STC). The FD deals with conservation, management, regulation of utilization, research and extension of forestry activities, the DWLC deals with conservation while the STC, which is a statutory body, deals with harvesting, processing and marketing of timber. The mission of the FD is to conserve and develop the forest resources in Sri Lanka to ensure the prosperity of the nation. All these three institutions are under the purview of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The Ministry is headed by the Minister who is a political appointee. The responsibility of the Secretary to the Ministry is to advise the Minister on policy formulation and implementation. In addition to the above three line agencies that are directly involved in forestry, there are several other line agencies that come under the same Ministry, such as the Central Environmental Authority and Geological Survey and Mining Bureau. There is a Planning Division operating within the Ministry to ensure that the plans produced in the Ministry are in line with the national and ministerial policies and to identify source of funds.
In addition to the FD, DWLC and STC, the other state agencies that play minor role in forestry are Mahaweli Authority, which is the body controlling activities of the largest national irrigation scheme in the country, the Plantation Ministry and Agriculture Department.
Adoption of the new National Forest Policy in 1995 required changes in the organizational structure of the forestry sector and prioritizing its various functions. As a result, the FD was subjected to restructuring in 2000, bringing about major changes in its administrative structure. Central organizational structure has been de-centralized to a great extent to the regional level. Furthermore, as a measure of re-organization of forestry sector, the FD and the Wildlife Conservation Department were brought under one Ministry.
The long terms goals, envisaged with bringing about institutional reform under the new National Forest Policy could be summarized as follows (Sri Lanka Forestry Sector Master Plan 1995):
• Policy and legislation, as well as both state and other institutions will be made effective instruments for forestry development.
• The organizational structure of forestry and related agencies will be developed to enable them to implement the partnership approach to forestry development.
• Commercial forestry and forest industry operations of the state are separated from other operations and made financially self-sustaining and efficient, with an increasingly important role reserved for the non-state sector.
• Policy evaluation, legal and institutional reform will be institutionalized and become routine government activities.
