Editing Sri Lanka (section)

=== Flora and fauna ===
{{Main|Environment of Sri Lanka|Wildlife of Sri Lanka}}
{{See also|List of mammals of Sri Lanka|List of birds of Sri Lanka}}
[[File:Elephas maximus maximus - 01.jpg|thumb|The [[Sri Lankan elephant]] is one of three recognised [[subspecies]] of the [[Asian elephant]]. The 2011 elephant census estimated a population of 5,879.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/sri-lanka-survey-finds-more-elephants-than-expected-129086673/167947.html |title=Sri Lanka Survey Finds More Elephants Than Expected |date=2 September 2011 |publisher=[[Voice of America]] | access-date=15 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129112134/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Sri-Lanka-Survey-Finds-More-Elephants-Than-Expected-129086673.html |archive-date=29 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The [[Western Ghats]] of India and Sri Lanka were included among the first 18 global [[biodiversity hotspot]]s due to high levels of species endemism. The number of biodiversity hotspots has now increased to 34.<ref name="Current Science">{{cite journal |last1=Gunawardene |first1=N. R. |last2=Daniels |first2=A. E. D. |last3=Gunatilleke |first3=I. A. U. N. |last4=Gunatilleke |first4=C. V. S. |last5=Karunakaran |first5=P. V. |last6=Nayak |first6=K. |last7=Prasad |first7=S. |last8=Puyravaud |first8=P. |last9=Ramesh |first9=B. R. |last10=Subramanian |first10=K. A |last11=Vasanthy |first11=G. |title=A brief overview of the Western Ghats—Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot |journal=Current Science |date=10 December 2007 |volume=93 |issue=11 |pages=1567–1572 |url=http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/sahyadri_enews/newsletter/issue53/bibliography/115-a-brief-overview-of-the-western-ghats.PDF |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118022902/http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/sahyadri_enews/newsletter/issue53/bibliography/115-a-brief-overview-of-the-western-ghats.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> Sri Lanka has the highest biodiversity per unit area among Asian countries for flowering plants and all vertebrate groups except birds.<ref name="mahindapala">{{cite book |last1=Mahindapala |first1=R. |editor1-last=Carew-Reid |editor1-first=J. |title=Biodiversity Planning in Asia |date=2002 |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=2-8317-0643-2 |page=451 |url=http://www.icem.com.au/documents/biodiversity/bioplan/sri_lanka.pdf |chapter=Sri Lanka |access-date=17 November 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407151019/http://www.icem.com.au/documents/biodiversity/bioplan/sri_lanka.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A remarkably high proportion of the species among its flora and fauna, 27% of the 3,210 flowering plants and 22% of the mammals, are [[Endemism|endemic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1106-interview_ranil.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723163108/http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1106-interview_ranil.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 July 2014 |title=An interview with Dr. Ranil Senanayake, chairman of Rainforest Rescue International |work=news.mongabay.com |access-date=15 July 2014 }}</ref> Sri Lanka supports a rich avifauna of that stands at 453 species and this include 240 species of birds that are known to breed in the country. [[List of endemic birds of Sri Lanka|33 species]] are accepted by some ornithologists as endemic while some ornithologists consider only 27 are endemic and the remaining six are considered as proposed endemics.<ref name="redlist2012">{{cite book |last1=Weerakoon |first1=D. K. |last2=Gunawardena |first2=K. |editor1-last=Weerakoon |editor1-first=D. K. |editor2-last=Wijesundara |editor2-first=S. |title=The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora |date=2012 |publisher=Ministry of Environment |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka |isbn=978-955-0-03355-3 |page=114 |url=http://www.cea.lk/web/images/pdf/redlist2012.pdf |chapter=The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Birds in Sri Lanka |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713202136/http://cea.lk/web/images/pdf/redlist2012.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Sri Lanka's protected areas are administrated by two government bodies; The [[Department of Forest Conservation (Sri Lanka)|Department of Forest Conservation]] and the [[Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka)|Department of Wildlife Conservation]]. Department of Wildlife Conservation administrates 61 wildlife sanctuaries, 22 national parks, four nature reserves, three strict nature reserves, and one jungle corridor while Department of Forest Conservation oversees 65 conservation forests and one national heritage wilderness area. 26.5% of the country's land area is legally protected. This is a higher percentage of protected areas when compared to the rest of Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Senevirathna |first1=H.M.M.C. |last2=Perera |first2=P.K.P. |title=Wildlife Viewing Preferences of Visitors to Sri Lanka's National Parks: Implications for Visitor Management and Sustainable Tourism Planning |journal=Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment |year=2013 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.31357/JTFE.V3I2.1838 |s2cid=58915438 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Sri Lanka contains four terrestrial ecoregions: [[Sri Lanka lowland rain forests]], [[Sri Lanka montane rain forests]], [[Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests]], and [[Deccan thorn scrub forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Flowering [[acacia]]s flourish on the arid [[Jaffna Peninsula]]. Among the trees of the dry-land forests are valuable species such as [[Chloroxylon|satinwood]], [[ebony]], [[Mesua ferrea|ironwood]], [[mahogany]] and [[teak]]. The wet zone is a tropical evergreen forest with tall trees, broad foliage, and a dense undergrowth of vines and creepers. Subtropical evergreen forests resembling those of temperate climates flourish in the higher altitudes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/for_cou_144.PDF |title=Forests, Grasslands, and Drylands – Sri Lanka |page=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027053304/http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/for_cou_144.pdf |archive-date=27 October 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Rainbirder - Leopard (1).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Sri Lankan leopard]] (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') is an [[endangered species|endangered]] subspecies of [[leopard]] native to Sri Lanka.]]
[[Yala National Park]] in the southeast protects herds of elephant, deer, and peacocks. The [[Wilpattu National Park]] in the northwest, the largest national park, preserves the habitats of many water birds such as storks, pelicans, ibis, and spoonbills. The island has four [[Nature reserve|biosphere reserves]]: [[Bundala National Park|Bundala]], [[Hurulu Forest Reserve]], the [[Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya]], and [[Sinharaja Forest Reserve|Sinharaja]].<ref name="unesco biosphere reserves">{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/contact.asp?code=SRL |title=Sri Lanka |date=1 September 2006 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=21 May 2009 |archive-date=4 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204011828/http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/contact.asp?code=SRL |url-status=live }}</ref> Sinharaja is home to 26 endemic birds and 20 rainforest species, including the elusive [[red-faced malkoha]], the [[green-billed coucal]] and the [[Sri Lanka blue magpie]]. The untapped genetic potential of Sinharaja flora is enormous. Of the 211 woody trees and lianas within the reserve, 139 (66%) are endemic. The total vegetation density, including trees, shrubs, herbs, and seedlings, has been estimated at 240,000 individuals per hectare. The Minneriya National Park borders the [[Minneriya Tank]], which is an important source of water for elephants inhabiting the surrounding forests. Dubbed "The Gathering", the congregation of elephants can be seen on the tank-bed in the late dry season (August to October) as the surrounding water sources steadily disappear. The park also encompasses a range of micro-habitats which include classic dry zone tropical monsoonal evergreen forest, thick stands of giant bamboo, hilly pastures (patanas), and grasslands (talawas).<ref name="Minneriya">{{cite web |url=http://trabanatours.com/locations/minneriya/ |title=Minneriya National Park |publisher=trabanatours.com |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-date=16 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516114439/http://trabanatours.com/locations/minneriya/ |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

[[File:Rhododendron arboreum zeylanicum flower.jpg|thumb|Maha rath mala (''Rhododendron arboreum'' ssp. ''zeylanicum'') is a rare sub-species of ''[[Rhododendron arboreum]]'' found in [[Central Highlands of Sri Lanka]].]]

During the Mahaweli Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totalling {{convert|1900|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} as national parks. Statistics of Sri Lanka's forest cover show rapid deforestation from 1956 to 2010. In 1956, 44.2 percent of the country's land area had forest cover. Forest cover depleted rapidly in recent decades; 29.6 percent in 1999, 28.7 percent in 2010.<ref name="forests">{{cite journal |last1=Ranagalage |first1=M. |last2=Gunarathna |first2=M. H. J. P. |last3=Surasinghe |first3=T. D. |last4=Dissanayake |first4=D. M. S. L. G. |last5=Simwanda |first5=M. |last6=Murayama |first6=Y. |last7=Morimoto |first7=T. |last8=Phiri |first8=D. |last9=Nyirenda |first9=V. R. |last10=Premakantha |first10=K. T. |last11=Sathurusinghe |first11=A. |title=Multi-Decadal Forest-Cover Dynamics in the Tropical Realm: Past Trends and Policy Insights for Forest Conservation in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka |journal=Forests |date=1 August 2020 |volume=11 |issue=8 |pages=836 |doi=10.3390/f11080836 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/8/836/pdf |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Fore...11..836R |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106110416/https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/forests/forests-11-00836/article_deploy/forests-11-00836-v2.pdf?version=1596439027 |url-status=live }}</ref>