FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR DRIVEN

ENDEMIC CONSERVATION THROUGH

NATIVE PLANT NURSERIES

When conservation meets empowerment, a revolution begins. This program is something greater than conservation; it is a movement that restores forests while restoring dignity, independence, and hope. Reconnecting fragmented forests requires thousands of native plants, and traditional nurseries could not keep pace with the ambitious reforestation plans of Preserving Land and Nature (PLANT), which is an initiative of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS). Instead of slowing down, the team chose to innovate, train women, fund them, mentor them, and guarantee the purchase. These women, picked from many rural applicants, serve not only as entrepreneurs but also as biodiversity custodians and community leaders.
PLANT equips women with restoration skills, financial literacy, and entrepreneurial tools. Immersive training and hands-on fieldwork get strengthened by a sustainable business model. The initiative creates economic security, leadership opportunities, stable families, and a future where conservation benefits both nature and people.
Working across 34 locations, PLANT protects over 1300 species and is already creating over 50 kilometers of Forest corridors. Numerous initiatives seek to protect threatened endemic species living in south-western Sri Lanka, which is where the highest development threat exists.

OUR VALUES

Sustainable Livelihoods based on eco cultural values

Inclusive Restoration and conservation

OUR VALUES

Sustainable Livelihoods based on eco cultural values

Inclusive Restoration and conservation

PLANT can pave the way for Private Conservation to become more mainstream for the healthy future of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity. Commencing with big dreams, we are acutely aware that these are realized in small steps of one tree and one species at a time, based on the fundamental principle that we can conserve only by coming together for the greater good. This is about a Conservation Social Revolution.

Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Chairman PLANT and Former President

An ambitious Mission

In 2020, Sri Lanka’s largest and most active conservation entity, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), set up Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd (PLANT) to directly own, conserve, and preserve lands or help set aside privately owned lands through partners, in a manner that enhances all forms of wildlife and nature, as well as to hold land in trust, on behalf of future generations.

PLANT’s Mission is to create uninterrupted or reasonably connected corridors of protected natural spaces and forest ecosystems, that safeguard Sri Lanka’s unique biodiversity.

About PLANT

Working with over 35 Partner organisations, numerous scientists, volunteers, small staff teams and different communities, PLANT has prioritized evidence-based restoration mechanisms, drawing on existing conservation knowledge and practices and conducting biodiversity studies to understand species footprints.

www.plantsl.org