Sri Lanka to Kill 400,000 Coconut Trees

The Sanskrit name for the coconut tree is Kalpavriksha, meaning “the tree which gives what is asked for" or "all the necessities of life” (crowningglory.co.in).

(Wisdom Quarterly) In India and other parts of Asia, the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is so useful that it is sacred. To kill a tree is tantamount to depriving a person of life. So much depends on coconut -- human shelter, a home for bhumi-devas, milk, oil, sugar, toddy, fiber, rope, electrolytes, utensils, and coconut-water, a liquid so pure it can be used as a substitute for blood in transfusions -- that many would be deprived of life by its loss.

But civil war and the karma (actions) and disturbed emotions of people have brought on a blight reflected in the living environment. And the government in its shortsighted wisdom will take matters into its own hands when permaculture and other practices might easily save the trees, the people, and the island economy:

Sri Lanka to axe over 400,000 coconut trees

COLOMBO (English.news.cn) -- The Sri Lankan government has decided to axe over 400,000 coconut trees to prevent the spreading of a coconut disease called "blight" (phytoplasma), which has reduced the country's coconut yield by over 45 percent. "We detected the disease in 2006 and it is now spreading fast in several districts in the south," Coconut Research Institute (CRI) Director Chithrangani Jayasekara told reporters on Thursday.

Coconut is a major ingredient of daily diet of tropical Sri Lankans, with each person consuming over 110 coconuts annually. The island currently has 450,000 hectares of coconut land, yielding 2,522 million coconuts every year. Over 80 percent of the nuts are consumed locally and the rest are exported as copra and coconut oil. More>>