NATURAL RESOURCES OF SRI LANKA

urban population over its present urban component.
Most of this increase will occur in the urban fringes,
where public services are already under stress.
The spoken language of the large majority of the
people in Sri Lanka is Sinhala, while Tamil is the dominant
language in the north and to some extent in the
eastern and central regions. Use of English is most
widespread among urban and educated classes, while
it serves as a link language between different linguistic
groups. Nearly 70 percent of the people are Buddhists,
15 percent are Hindus, and the balance is equally divided
between Muslims and Christians.
Civil disturbances since 1983 in the north and east,
and from 1987-1989 in other parts of the country, have
affected natural resources and their management in
many ways. One consequence has been an inability to
carry out essential data gathering and field studies,
including analyses of coastal, wildlife, forestry, and
water resources. Other impacts include significant restrictions
on resource management and enforcement.
Profile chapters allude to many of these constraints.
The Economy
Since Independence Sri Lanka has achieved a high
level of literacy (85 percent), a low rate of infant mortality
and a high level of life expectancy at birth. Sri
Lanka's economic performance until recently has been
characterized by low output and poor employment
growth in contrast to other countries that have grown
rapidly; in 1960 Sri Lanka was more prosperous than
South Korea and in 1970 more prosperous than Taiwan.
As described in the chapter on the economy, real Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 2.9 percent per year
from 1971-1977. From 1978-1986, however, it grew at
5.6 percent per year under a more liberalized economy
and with substantial new foreign assistance and investment,
including support for the Accelerated Mahaweli
Development Project. Civil disturbances brought
sharp declines from 1987-1989, when GDP grew at 2.2
percent per year.
In spite of changes since the late 1970s Sri Lanka
remains primarily an agricultural country. Agriculture
accounts for over 25 percent of the total GDP, nearly
half the total employment and. export earnings, and
about 40 percent of government revenues. Over 90
Introduction
percent of the rural population directly or indirectly
depends on agriculture. Traditionally agriculture has
consisted of the export-oriented plantation sector --
primarily tea, rubber and coconut ~ and the household
fanner sector, growing mainly paddy and subsidiary
food crops for domestic consumption. Many varieties
of fruits, vegetables and potatoes are grown in the hill
country areas. A highly productive home garden sys-
tem based on traditional land use patterns remains
important and can be replicable in many parts of the
island.
Available information indicates that 27 percent of
rural households are landless, 42 percent of the hold-
ings are less than half a hectare. These statistics paint
a distressing picture of the rural scene, and indicate
some of the pressures that are exerted on the natural
resource base.
Plantation crops spread over about 800,000 hect-
ares, particularly in the hill country and the wet and
intermediate climatic zones. Although areas under all
plantation crops, particularly rubber, have declined
significantly over the last three decades, they remain
important, sources of export earnings. Several other
perennial crops such as cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, car-
damom, pepper, nutmeg and cloves, often referred to
as "minor export crops," have recently become signifi-
cant exports.
The industrial base is narrow. Major manufactur-
ing industries, still primarily operated by the govern-
ment, include cement, steel, paper, tires and ceramics.
With the launching of the Free Trade Zone, the gar-
ment industry has gained prominence through private
investment Although foreign investment and external
collaboration have given Sri Lanka access to important
export markets, particularly for garments, other indus-
tries have not yet expanded sufficiently to provide solu-
tions to the twin problems of poverty and
unemployment Yet, as the chapters on population and
the economy make clear, Sri Lanka needs to create two
million new jobs over the next decade to match popu-
lation increases and relieve pressures on the land.
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