The Carbon Development Mechanism Centre of the University of Peradeniya estimates that Sri Lanka has the potential for emission reductions of about 6,232,468 tonnes per year. Accordingly, total revenue of US$ 74,786,616 (US$ 74.7 million) could be expected per year.

World over, nearly 1,500 projects have been registered by the CDM Executive Board as CDM projects. These projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 220 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.

Some experts claim that 20 percent of global warming is caused by deforestation and if it could be arrested, one fifth of the problem could be resolved. While some believe that carbon emitted by burning of fossil fuel could be neutralized by planting trees.

Needles to say, naturally forests are carbon storages and they act as carbon sinks. Carbon sequestration which is a geo-engineering technique for long term storages of carbon that could capture and store carbon from atmosphere has been proposed as a mitigating measure for the accumulation of carbon in atmosphere which causes climate change.

It has been estimated that 20 per cent of the carbon accumulation in atmosphere is caused due to deforestation - the figure may vary from 18 per cent to 23 per cent, various calculations based on distinct mathematical models. When trees are cut down or slashed and burnt, they release carbon which is stored and the carbon absorption power of the eco system may also be reduced. These twin effects create a vicious cycle which could help carbon to accumulate in the atmosphere.

It has been calculated that 54 per cent of the deforestation is due to slash and burn technique of agriculture, 22 per cent is due to palm oil cultivation, 19 per cent is due to logging and five per cent due to cattle ranching respectively.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), Brazil leads the process clearing 7,667,649 hectares (ha) per year in 2005. Indonesia second on list of clearing 4,623,322ha per year, Sudan and Myanmar were third and fourth slots clearing 1,455,445ha and 1,151,506ha.

It is estimated that 48 per cent of the world deforestation had come from Brazil, but the way Indonesians had cleared their forests and burn it, Indonesia is becoming the biggest carbon emitter due to deforestation. Nearly 13.7 million ha of forests are being cleared and that means for each one second, one acre of forest is being cleared.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka says landmass of Sri Lanka is 6.5 million which means for each year forest land twice the landmass here vanishes due to deforestation. But some countries have taken aggressive steps to reforest its land and an estimated 6.4 million ha being replanted globally, so that the net effect could be 7.3 million ha as far as landmass is concerned.

"I mentioned the twin impacts of deforestation which are the contained carbon is being released and the ability to absorb carbon is being reduced. The leaves of trees are much sophisticated than the modern day solar panel. They absorb carbon -form of carbon dioxide (CO2)- and water and the solar energy supplies necessary energy to produce starch and other chemicals releasing vital oxygen as by products," he added.

He says the process is called the photo synthesis and is very vital for humankind. Because we human beings absorb O2 (Oxygen) and our food reacts with the oxygen produces energy we need and after this digesting process CO2 is released. So, trees and human beings are complimented in exchanging vital O2 and CO2. Trees also produce our food, conserve water resources, create organic topsoil and generate energy we need. So, without plants and trees human beings cannot exist.

Although, we had identified the rate of deforestation and its ill effects on global warming the human beings could not be able stop it due to various reasons. Why is deforestation taking place? There are many reasons. The first is that human beings need land for their settlements. New generations needs land for their young families. The second thing is human beings need food and therefore they need land to cultivate and naturally virgin soil is searched for cultivation of crops. Not only food, oil palm, ethanol production, cattle ranching etc, need more and more lands.

The deforestation process continues unabated because our value system and the market place could not be able to value it. The ecological services rendered by forests such as carbon sequestration, water conservation, water and air filtration, conserving vital biodiversity etc, are not being valued. Because trees are not there in market place at present which only value those who supply and demand.

"Once I instructed our forest researchers to evaluate the ecological services rendered by the Sinharaja forest. They used 17 parameters and concluded that Sinharaja alone could generate USD 59 million worth of ecological services annually," he added.

He says there are methods to evaluate –partly- the real value. But the present day market place and capital circuit only value the logging price of the forest. Thus, deforestation continues. The other important reason is that there is no strong convention or global legal instrument to protect and value the forest.

UN and REDD+ program is now focusing on this but non implementation of Kyoto Protocol and Rio Convention on climate change may hamper any attempt to seriously implementing these programs, because, one cannot be able to absorb all the carbon by using forest and other plants.

It is wrong to assume that geological cycle of fossil fuel could not be fully absorbed by biological cycle of plants and trees. It is estimated that 84 per cent of the global forest cover is owned by public institutions or governments.

In Sri Lanka it is almost 100 per cent. We have 2,037,469ha of forests (31% of the total landmass) where 1,027,544ha (15.6%) is dry monsoon and 471,583ha is sparse or other forest (7.19%). Forest plantations covered 96,250ha and mangroves coved 9,530ha of land. Mountain (3,099), sub-mountain (65,792), lowland rain (124,340), moist monsoon (221,977) forest cover the other areas.

According to recent estimation, the annual carbon sink capacity of Sri Lanka’s forest annual carbon sequestration by natural forest alone contributed 13 million tons of carbon. And our total emission due to fossil fuel burning is 12 million tonnes in 2007. This is a clear indication that Sri Lanka is a carbon negative country.

Some countries are trying to achieve zero carbon emission status by 2020 or 2050 but due to our rich biodiversity, our rich forest system we had already achieved that target. However, unfortunately Sri Lanka has not yet been rewarded for this natural absorption process.

Ranawaka says: "We should be mindful of the fact that if we were to introduce more coal plants and destroy our valuable forest cover we would lose our prestigious position as a carbon negative country."

To stop the encroachment and deforestation, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources surveyed, mapped out and clearly demarcated the forest and conservation areas of the whole island excluding the Northern Province.

Boundaries were placed firmly so that all the forest areas could be identified and sealed. So no one can now say that publicly owned forest cover is declining at a rate of 1.6 per cent or more. It is quite an achievement for Environment Ministry and the Forest Department. Over 12,000km of bounders have already demarcated. Next year we will complete the Northern Province as well covering the whole island.

"We should be mindful that the total carbon stored globally in forest was more than the amount of carbon in the entire atmosphere," he said.

He says releasing carbon to the atmosphere by way of deforestation would have been a devastating effect on human kind on this earth. Biologists had estimated that the earth had undergone five grate extinctions so far -late Ordovician, late Devonian, late Permian, late Triassic and late cretacruos, and human beings are facing sixth grate mass extinction (Holocene).

Rain forests and eco systems are home to 90 per cent of the known species of the earth. If the so called man continues to destroy forests he would face the sixth grate extinction precipitated entirely by human beings and the humankind would be very much in the midst of its extinction.