Ritigala, a range of forest-covered hills in Sri Lanka’s dry zone, is a hot spot for biological diversity, with more than 400 plant species and dozens of animal species confined to a small area of 1,500 hectares. The mountains are steeped in history, with archaeological ruins and a monastery, which brings in visitors and pilgrims. It is also a rich source of medicinal plants, which has attracted hordes of collectors. Official attempts to conserve the forest – by making it a strict nature reserve – have had limited success. The forest was being denuded and degraded when, in 1993, a Buddhist monk introduced community-based resource management (CBRM) to the 14 villages surrounding the forest. It was very different from the government’s ‘guns and guards’ approach – one that involved the local people in both conserving the forest and in uplifting their living standards. A community organisation, RITICOE, has weaned local people away from the forest by providing them with viable alternatives for sustenance. Former medicinal plant poachers and hunters have now turned cultivators and voluntary forest guards. There is tangible evidence that the pressure on the reserve has been considerably reduced.

In 1996, TVE and SLETP were invited by RITICOE, and their supporters the Asia Foundation and USAID, to document this success story for local and international television. Three videos resulted:

	Hand in Hand: The Story of Ritigala CBRM (19 mins, English) looks at the historical, cultura looks at the historical, cultural and biological heritage of Ritigala, and traces the origins of RITICOE and its CBRM approaches.It includes
interviews with experts and with Rev T. Chandraratna, the Buddhist monk who provided leadership to this community initiative. It was produced by the Media House of Open University of Sri Lanka for SLETP.
Director: Dr Buddhi Weerasinghe.

Diriya Maga (19 mins, Sinhala) is the Sinhala version of the above film, also produced by OUSL Media House. This version has been used extensively in field level education, awareness and training activities related to grassroots level resource management and community mobilisation.
Director: Dr Buddhi Weerasinghe.

	Sri Lanka: Jungle Pharmacy (5 mins, English) is a condensed yet self-contained story of how local communities are trying to conserve the Ritigala forest, intended for an international audience. This was produced by TVE
International as part of its first series of Earth Report programmes and wasbroadcast worldwide on BBC World television in late 1996.
Director: Damien Rea, for Earth Report production team.

Price: Rs. 1,000 per VHS tape that contains all three films.