DFCC raises awareness on 'VANISHING' forests

The DFCC Banking Group's calendar for 201 4, titled 'VANISHING', which is centered on environmental conservation, offers a daily reminder of the beauty of wildlife and nature in Sri Lanka and our responsibility to safeguard the vanishing forest cover which is home to many species of flora and fauna.

The calendar features a dozen excellent photographs captured by award winning photographer Rear Admiral Dr Lalith Ekanayake, Director Naval Medical Services of the Sri Lanka Navy. Dr Ekanayake is DFCC's Environmental Ambassador for 2014. He is an ardent wildlife enthusiast who promotes the conservation of flora and fauna of Sri Lanka. His photographs depicting rare moments in the wild, have won him many national and international awards. Recently, he became the first Sri Lankan to clinch the photographer of the year title at the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photography Competition held in India.

The theme of the Calendar is aptly named 'Vanishing', an excerpt of which reads as follows, ' The lush, densely overgrown rain forests, which cover 2% of Earth's surface is home to more than 50% of all animal species on the plant and more than 66% of all varieties of plant life. They are the lungs of the planet Earth. Because their vegetation takes in carbon dioxide and expels oxygen, they help mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases and slow down global warming. Sadly, the rain forests are vanishing! Relentless deforestation has left us with much less than half of those forests today. Biologists concede that more than 50 different species of plants and animals are vanishing within the World's forests every day.'