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| Tuesday, 2 March 2004 |
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Maduganga Estuary elevated as Sri Lanka's third Ramsar site by Florence Wickramage
Sri Lanka on the whole is one vast wetland, experts say. Besides being endowed with nature's bounties in abundance and a rich cultural heritage, our country has been rated among the `highest hot-spots' in the world. Sri Lanka's Maduganga Estuary has been recently designated as the country's third Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance. The first is the Bundala National Park declared a Ramsar site in 1990 and the Annaiwilundawa Tanks Sanctuary as the second declared in 2001. Renowned environment experts around the world gathered in Ramsar in Iran to draw up the Ramsar Convention for the preservation of wetlands and waterfowl habitats. They listed a series of wetlands around the world which are of international importance. What is Ramsar The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on 2nd February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Though nowadays the name of the Convention is usually written "Convention on Wetlands", it has come to be known popularly as the "Ramsar Convention".
Ramsar is the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on conservation and wise use of wetlands primarily to provide habitat for waterbirds. Over the years the Convention has broadened its scope to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use, recognizing wetlands as ecosystems that are extremely important for biodiversity conservation and for the well-being of human communities. The Convention entered into force in 1975 and by September 2003 has 138 Contracting Parties. More than 1310 wetlands have been designated for inclusion in the list of Wetlands of International importance, covering some 111 million hectares of land. Maduganga Estuary The Department of Wildlife Conservation as the sole authority on behalf of the Government recommended to the Ramsar Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland that the Maduganga Mangrove Estuary should be recognized as a Wetland of International importance due to its high biodiversity. Accordingly the Ramsar Secretariat while accepting the Government's request has listed the Maduganga Mangrove Estuary as a Ramsar site effective 11th December 2003. Maduganga Estuary covering 915 hectares is located in the Southern Province. It is a unique mangrove lagoon joined to the sea by a narrow 1.8 km long canal and containing 15 islands of varying sizes, some of which are inhabited. The Estuary is formed of two shallow waterbodies Maduganga and Randombe Lake connected by two narrow channels. On the islands and shores are mangrove vegetation which include 10 major vegetation types and contains a rich biodiversity. The lagoon mouth is often blocked by a naturally formed sand bar which creates fresh water conditions in the northern part of the lagoon. Extensive biodiversity assessments conducted by IUCN Sri Lanka has revealed the presence of 61 ha. of relatively undisturbed mangrove habitat, 20 ha. mangrove scrubs and 63 ha. of mangrove mixed swamps on the shores and the islands. Further the vegetation contains 303 species belonging to 95 genera. Out of these 19 species are endemic and 8 are nationally threatened species. One important species is Lumnitzera littorea, a very rare and highly threatened species of mangroves thriving only in several locations around Maduganga. The mangrove population is unique with 14 species of mangrove and mangrove-associates. Also listed are a total of 248 species of vertebrate fauna of which 20 species are endemic and 30 species nationally threatened. The native vertebrate fauna of Maduganga represents 30% of Sri Lanka's native inland vertebrate species. The avifauna in this wetland represents around 43% of the country's native avifauna. The endangered estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and Mugger (C.palustris) are found here along with other rare reptiles such as the Indian python (Python molurus) and the Sri Lanka Kangaroo Lizard (Otocryptis weigmann). The mainland Maduganga area is one of the few remaining habitats of the threatened Hog Deer (Axis porcinus). Another species finding shelter in this wetland is the Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys punctata). The small patch of remnant lowland rainforest in the upper reaches of Maduganga harbours three species of threatened arboreal mammals - the Purple-faced Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus vetulus) the Golden Palm Civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis) and the Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus). The Little Green Heron is also found here. The Maduganga Estuary plays an important role in the life cycles of numerous fish species and prawns which migrate from the ocean to the lagoon to breed and to feed. Young fish and prawns find shelter in the lagoon in between the root systems of the mangroves until they are ready to migrate to the open sea. Cultural/Social The Cultural heritage of the Maduganga area is very prominent with numerous ancient temples on the islands. Maduganga helps in flood control by storing water during monsoon rains and retains nutrient run-off from nearby cinnamon plantations. The major occupations of the local people are fishing and agriculture - Cinnamon and Coconut. Poaching of wild animals is also rampant. An increase of the waterfowl population is shown but the extensive use of fertilisers and consequent growth of invasive species such as the Annona (Najas marinas) and small-scale cutting of mangroves for firewood have become cause for concern with regard to the health of the mangrove system. Sanctuary Considering the importance of the rich bio-diversity heritage of the Maduganga Estuary, the Department of Wildlife Conservation has drawn up plans to declare this wetland as a Sanctuary. Presently Maduganga Estuary is among the six sites selected from the Southwest Coasts of Sri Lanka for the Special Area Management (SAM) Project of the Coastal Conservation Department. |
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