Presentation of coastal eco-systems:

Ministry completes action plan

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

Sri Lanka's first National Strategy Action Plan for the preservation of coastal eco-systems has been handed over to Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka by the country office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Sri Lanka to be implemented jointly by the Forest Department and the Coast Conservation Department.

The Plan titled "Mangroves for the Future ", was handed over to the Minister on Tuesday by IUCN Project Coordinator Dr. Donald Mackintosh at the Ministry.

Mangroves for the Future Strategy and Action Plan is envisioned to preserve the country's 1,600 km coastline and its interrelated coastal ecosystems such as the range of mangroves , bays, beaches, dunes, estuaries , lagoons and coral reefs, said IUCN Mangroves for the Future, Project Director Kumi Ekeratna.

The Plan will be implemented jointly by the IUCN with the Forest Department and the Coast Conservation Department. Restoration of mangrove ecosystems., rehabilitation and planting of mangroves in lagoons and estuaries are among the main objectives of the Action Plan, said Ekeratna.

Educational Institutions and Non-governmental Organizations are also expected to play a significant role in the management of these coastal environments as the new Plan seeks to establish scientific management of these resources, she said.

Unregulated coral mining and sand mining, industrialized resource extraction, increase in population, municipal pollution and climate change have exposed the country' coastal environment to danger of being eroded by the sea. The situation has exposed the coastline to risks of flooding and problems of freshwater supplies, she explained.

Mangroves for the Future identifies six critical coastal areas for the implementation of this programs. They are Puttalam.

Madu Ganga, Rekewa, Ussangoda, Kalametiya and associated areas, Paanama , Potuvil and Batticaloa, she said.

Meanwhile , the IUCN had completed its initial Mangrove Restoration and Rehabilitation Programs, which were carried out as a Small Grant Component for 2009. "We are expecting a second Small Grant to promote our mangrove replanting and restoration programs," she said.