WNPS PLANT, Otter Fonds from Netherland and the Lanka Environmental Fund joined hands to empower Female Entrepreneurs to commence their own forest plant nurseries through a powerful groundbreaking initiative recently. The final awarding and agreement signing was held with the female recipients and the WNPS and PLANT teams, along with the donor representatives, on the 23d of October 2025 at the WNPS head office. The WNPS once again pioneered a fresh thought process by making major infusions into Community aspects and entrepreneurship as a bridge for its conservation endeavours.

With a vision to develop forest corridors and unify fragmented forests through private sector engagement, the WNPS (www.wnpssl.org ) set up Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd, (PLANT) a few years ago (www.plantsl.org). The initiative gained rapid momentum thanks to a very focused approach, multiple partner engagements, and a passionate team, but soon hit a massive roadblock. The long forest corridors being created in the hills needed way more montane plants than were readily available. Species are carefully selected by the teams and with no precedent of large-scale reforesting in the hills, the existing few nurseries were unable to cater to the demands. The slow growth rate of montane plants provided yet another challenge. The leadership went for a bold plan for which it sought willing donors.

To read the full story visit https://island.lk/addressing-conservation-challenges-through-female-entrepreneurship-a-paradigm-shift/