Yala-Lunugamvehera
More actions
| Yala-Lunugamvehera | |
|---|---|
| ActiveCannabis last recorded here in 2026 | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Gene Pool | South Asian Gene Pool |
| Regional Complex | Sri Lanka |
| Growing Region | Southern Sri Lanka |
| Geography | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province/State | Uva Province |
| District | Monaragala District |
| Coordinates | 6.540, 81.305 |
| Landscape | |
| Elevation | 98–101 m |
| Terrain | Gently rolling dry-zone lowland with rock outcrops, under scrub and dry forest |
| Climate | |
| Climate Type | Tropical, dry zone |
| Seasons | South-west monsoon (May–Sep), north-east monsoon (Dec–Feb), inter-monsoons (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov) |
| Growing history | |
| Dated accessions | 2024–2026 |
| Dated news reports | 2015–2026 |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 1 |
| Accessions | 4 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | 1 documented Field grade: 1 Data deficient 1 not yet assessed |
| Holdings | Holdings: 1 Urgent |
| In a population | 4 of 4 accessions |
| Seed lots | 4 (4 Urgent) |
| Priorities | Grow-out priorities |
Yala-Lunugamvehera is a landrace cannabis growing area in the dry south-east of Sri Lanka, in the Southern Sri Lanka growing region. It takes in Yala National Park and the Lunugamvehera reserve to its west, on both sides of the boundary between Monaragala District in Uva Province and Hambantota District in the Southern Province. Police, the Special Task Force and the army have destroyed plantations inside the reserves since at least 2015, among them more than 200,000 plants found in Zone 04 of the Yala reserve in a single night in February 2025.[1] Its accessions come from Galge, on the area's northern edge in Monaragala District.
Geography
The Lunugamvehera reserve, now renamed Block VI of Yala, covers about 23,500 ha across Monaragala and Hambantota districts. The Kirindi Oya forms its western boundary and flows into the Lunugamvehera Reservoir inside the park; the Menik Ganga borders it to the north-east. The land slopes gently southward, rolling ground broken by large rock outcrops, with the twin peaks of Sittarama Kanda its only hill.[2] Chena cultivation in the mid-20th century and the growth of forest plantations reduced its dense forest to 15 per cent of the park, and scrub forest of several stages of regrowth now covers 53 per cent.[2]
The cannabis destroyed in the area has been found inside the reserves: in the Lunugamwehera Forest Reserve in 2015,[3] in Zone 04 of the Yala reserve in 2025,[1] at Wandama in Yala National Park in 2026,[4] and around Hambegamuwa and Unakanda on the western side.[5] In 2024 an environmental activist from Tissamaharama said that illegal activity was common in Blocks 4, 5 and 6 of Yala, which are closed to safari tours.[6]
Climate
The area lies in Sri Lanka's dry zone, where mean annual rainfall is below 1,750 mm and a dry period of about five months brings less than 50 mm a month. The south-eastern lowlands are among the driest parts of the island, with 950 mm a year at Hambantota on the coast.[7]: 16, 19 The island's rain comes with the south-west monsoon from May to September and the north-east monsoon from December to February, and in the convectional storms of the inter-monsoon months of March and April and October and November.[7]: 17 The farming year divides into the Yala season, from March to August, and the Maha season, from September to February.[7]: 53
Demography
Traditional cultivation
The plantations destroyed in the reserves are large. A raid by the Special Task Force's Buttala camp in Zone 04 of the Yala reserve in February 2025 found four plantations on about three acres holding 203,500 plants of two to four feet, and two more on about two acres with 153,850 plants up to five feet tall, the same night the Lahugala camp found a one-acre plantation of 9,500 plants about seven feet tall and 85 kg of dried ganja.[1] In November 2025 Gonaganara police found three plantations of about five, three and two acres, holding some 200,000 plants, with 50 kg of dried cannabis ready for sale.[10] At Hambegamuwa in September 2023 a grower kept 3,000 mature plants and 25,000 seedlings on about half an acre.[11]
The collection documentation of the Yala accessions reports cultivation reduced by police pressure, and wild elephants that destroy the plants.[12] Villagers complained in 2024 that cultivation inside Yala was driving elephants out of the park into their villages.[13]
Appellations
| Appellation |
|---|
| Yala National Park (appellation) |
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Locality | Elevation | Collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZOM-SRI-YAL-0320260001 | Thanalmalwila 'Yala' General Population 2026 | Galge | 101 m | |
| ZOM-SRI-YAL-1020240001A | Yala General Population 2023 | Galge | 98 m | |
| ZOM-SRI-YAL-1020240001B | Yala General Population 2023 | Galge | 101 m | |
| ZOM-SRI-YAL-1020240001C | Yala General Population 2023 | 101 m |
The accessions were collected at Galge, at 98 and 101 m, on 15 October 2024 and 12 March 2026. They belong to the Yala National Park population. The 2024 seed was picked from dried flower bought around Thanamalwila and reportedly grown in the national parks.[12][14]
Enforcement
Sri Lanka's law forbids anyone to sow, plant or cultivate the hemp plant without the Minister's licence.[15] Monaragala District recorded 1,378 cannabis-related arrests in 2024 and Hambantota District 2,629.[16]
In February 2015 a Special Task Force team arrested three men in raids on plantations deep inside the Lunugamwehera Forest Reserve and seized 590 kg of finished ganja and 50,000 plants, which were burnt in the reserve.[3] In February 2021 officers from four police stations arrested two men for cultivating inside Yala National Park and destroyed 150,000 plants.[17] In January 2024 the army destroyed a three-acre cultivation inside Yala, seized 1,600 kg of cannabis and arrested three men.[13] The officer in charge of the Lunugamwehera police said in February 2024 that 13 raids had been made in the park in the previous two months; police said the Special Task Force was using drones to find plantations in the park under the Yukthiya campaign.[6] The same report carried the activist's claim that 50 to 60 plantations remained in the park and that growers also snared deer, sambar and wild boar for bushmeat.[6]
In December 2024 army intelligence and the Thanamalwila police burnt three plantations at Unakanda and Hambegamuwa, of 1.5, 0.5 and 0.25 acres, holding about 64,000 plants.[5] In March 2026 Buttala police found a plantation of about 13,500 plants at Wandama in Yala National Park and arrested a suspect, who also held a locally made firearm.[4] The operations are listed by year at Sri Lanka eradication campaigns (2025) and its sibling pages.
Recent news
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Over 200,000 Ganja plants destroyed in widespread STF operations". Newswire. 14 February 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mendis, H. M. Chryshane (2024). "Report on the archaeology of the Lunugamvehera National Park, Sri Lanka". Ancient Lanka. 3. doi:10.29173/anlk805.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jayasinghe, Jayampathy (8 February 2015). "3 caught with 590kg ganja, 50,000 ganja plants inside forest reserve". The Sunday Times. Colombo.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Police seize cannabis and firearm in Yala". Hiru News. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Army Assists Police in Major Cannabis Eradication Operation in Thanamalwila". LankaXpress. 13 December 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Warakapitiya, K. (25 February 2024). "Parts of Yala at risk from illicit ganja growers, poachers, and bushmeat trade". The Sunday Times. Colombo.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Ministry of Environment (Sri Lanka) (September 2020). National Drought Plan for Sri Lanka (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ Department of Census and Statistics (Sri Lanka). "Census of Population and Housing 2012: DS division population distribution, Moneragala District". Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ Department of Census and Statistics (Sri Lanka). "Census of Population and Housing 2012: DS division population distribution, Hambantota District". Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ "Massive cannabis plantations raided Inside Yala Reserve". Onlanka. 22 November 2025.
- ↑ "Illegal Ganja farm operator arrested and 3,000 Plants and 25,000 seedlings seized". Hiru News. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Yala". Zomia Collective. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Army destroys three-acre cannabis cultivation in the heart of Yala park". The Sunday Times. Colombo. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ Éloïse (6 November 2024). "Sri Lanka's Cannabis Heritage: A Travelogue". Zomia Collective. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ "Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance" (PDF). National Dangerous Drugs Control Board. ch. III. Retrieved 17 October 2026.
- ↑ National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (2025). Handbook of Drug Abuse Information in Sri Lanka 2025 (PDF). Rajagiriya: Research Division, National Dangerous Drugs Control Board. map 3, p. 54. ISBN 978-624-6011-11-6.
- ↑ "Two arrested for cultivating cannabis inside Yala National Park; 150,000 plants destroyed". The Morning. 6 February 2021.