Conserving SL’s Wetlands

February 2nd each year is World Wetlands Day, the anniversary of the February 2, 1971 signing of a Convention on Wetlands of International Importance at Ramsar, an Iranian town on the Caspian Sea.

The aim of what has come to be known as the Ramsar Convention was ‘the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world’.

The Ramsar Convention defined wetlands as ‘areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.’

Biological diversity

In Sri Lanka, the Annaiwilundawa Tanks Sanctuary in the Northwestern Province, Bundala in the Southern Province (in 1990), the Maduganga in the Southern Province (2003) the Kumana Wetland Cluster in the Amparai District (2010), and the Vankalai Sanctuary in the Mannar District (2010) have been declared as Ramsar sites.

These sites are not merely of national importance but are considered of significance to humanity as a whole, for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the ecological and hydrological functions they perform. However, there are many more wetlands which are of vital national or local importance.

Wetlands are integral parts of the hydrological cycle - acting within the ecosystem in much the same manner as the kidney within the human body. They play crucial roles such as storage of water, recharging of aquifers, trapping of sediments and nutrients and slowing down the runoff of storm water and therefore avoid serious flooding and, last but not least, provision of habitat for aquatic fauna.

Human activities

Additionally, they provide human beings with raw material and natural products, recreation and ecotourism, and regulate the quality of drinking water by filtering the excess nutrient and the toxic substances which enter it as a result of human activities.

The filling up or otherwise degrading of wetlands can have serious consequences, both for the associated ecosystem and for human beings - who are (even if they may not realise it) essential parts of that ecosystem. The results of unfettered human activity on the water bodies of Sri Lanka are now becoming apparent.

One thousand years ago, the hinterland of the South West coast of Sri Lanka was characterised by an almost continuous, interconnected series of rivers, streams, lakes, marshlands and lagoons. This was in addition to many wetlands in the Dry Zone (including tanks) which were conserved and used sustainably - for irrigation, fishing, grazing, firewood collection and salt extraction.

Natural balance

In the 12th century King Parakramabahu the Great reclaimed much of the wetland areas in the Pasyodun Rata - the country of five yojanas, the Southern half of today’s Kalutara district. However, our ancestors made certain that the reclamation was sustainable and did not overly upset the natural balance.

Five hundred years later, the Dutch began draining the area around Colombo, creating what we know today as the Beira Lake. This water body was then much bigger than it is today; lands were continually reclaimed from it, especially under the British.

The railway yards between Fort and Maradana, the land on either side of D R Wijewardena Mawatha, the Air Force grounds at Kew Point, the land now occupied by the Muttiah playground and the Moors Sports Club and much of the residential land between Flower Road and Duplication Road were all reclaimed from the Beira during the 20th century. Human encroachment on the wetlands proceeded apace after the departure of the British. It was not only Colombo which was affected: wetlands in its outskirts - notably the Muthurajawela, Diyawanna and Attidiya marshes - and areas in the outstations suffered.

Additionally, the discharge of industrial, agrochemical and human effluent, clearing of vegetation (and in some areas prawn farming) in and around the wetlands and the spread of invasive species have played havoc with the ecosystem.

Efforts by environmentalists and other stakeholders to convince the government of the need to conserve the wetlands as flood retention areas fell on deaf ears. So too did explanations of the possibility of using them sustainably; for example by harvesting, for organic fertiliser and biogas, the weed water hyacinth (Japan jabara) - which acts to purify polluted water and is actually cultivated in other countries).

Legal action

Even after Sri Lanka signed the Ramsar Convention in 1990, very little action was taken apart from declaring Bundala a Ramsar site (the only one until 2003). The prevailing political culture of impunity meant that even existing regulations on preserving retention areas were breached. A National Wetland Steering Committee was established by Cabinet, but was moribund.

The most evident of the detrimental effects of wetland degradation was the catastrophic urban flooding in the Colombo area which became endemic from about 1991. Despite this, only ad-hoc measures were put in place for over a decade.

The burgeoning wetlands disaster caused environmentalists to take legal action over the destruction of the Muthurajawela. The courts ordered the government to produce a wetlands policy. Accordingly, the government re-constituted the National Wetland Steering Committee, and set about drafting a National Policy on Wetlands, with the participation of stakeholders - including the general population.

The policy, which came into effect in 2005 aims to protect and conserve wetland ecosystems, to prevent their illegal use and to restore and maintain their biological diversity and productivity. It also seeks to enhance the wetland habitats’ contribution to the ecosystem and to ensure that local communities use Wetlands sustainably. It is expected to fulfil national commitments to international treaties and agreement, particularly to the Ramsar Convention.

Subsequent to the adoption of the national policy, the Muthurajawela and the Talangama tank were declared environmental protection areas, and other wetlands are being considered.