Conserve Kalpitiya ecosystem - Environmental consultant

W. T. J. S. KAVIRATNE-Ambalangoda Special Corr

Kalpitiya has a sensitive aquatic ecosystem, rich in biodiversity and those who make use of this ecosystem should be extremely careful in obtaining its resources, said Soba Sumithuro - Friends of Nature community based environmental conservation organization chief consultant Ravi de Silva.

He said so on the occasion of the formation of a branch of Soba Sumithuro organization at the Kudawa village, Kandakuliya in the Kalpitiya Divisional Secretariat area of Puttlam District recently.

He said that salt water and brackish marshes and mangrove swamps were wetlands bordering estuaries which could be found scattered around Puttlam and Kalpitiya, and these aquatic ecosystems were considered as hot spots of biodiversity in Sri Lanka playing a vital role in the maintenance of the ecological balance.

Indiscriminate felling of mangroves could have a negative impact on the breeding grounds of numerous species of fish, shrimp, oysters, clams and crabs, he pointed out.

Over fishing and harvesting fingerlings having no commercial value in Puttalam lagoon and several other water-ways in the country had already destroyed the fish stocks.

In order to safeguard the fish stocks, fisher-folk engaged in lagoon fishing should follow sustainable methods of fishing, he said.

Kalpitiya is already identified as a tourist resort due to the vast potential in the area.

But the tourism industry should be sustainable and should not have a negative impact on the livelihood of fishermen, he stressed. Referring to the other global environmental issues, de Silva said that the resources available across the world were fast depleting.

Meeting the food requirement of the growing global population, pollution of drinking water resources, global warming causing the melting of ice caps in the Antarctic causing inundation of islands, pollution of atmosphere due to poisonous gases , deforestation and its impact on the environment, depletion of fish stock as a result of unsustainable methods of fishing could be cited as global environmental constraints, Ravi de Silva pointed out.

It was the duty of community based environmental organizations such as Friends of Nature to make community members at the grassroot levels be aware of the emerging scenario affecting Sri Lanka today, he said.

The tourism industry had also taken root in close proximity to the sensitive ecosystems of Sri Lanka, such as coral reefs, rain forests, wildlife sanctuaries and lagoons. The tourism industry if not maintained in a sustainable manner, might have a negative impact on the existence of these sensitive ecosystems, he pointed out.

Before the emergence of tourism as an industry, the Puttalam lagoon and its surroundings had been used mainly for lagoon fishing. Referring to the pollution of atmosphere due to toxic gases, he pointed out that by now a considerable number of residents in the cities of Colombo and Kandy were reported to be suffering from numerous lung ailments.

Large fleets of motor vehicles reaching these cities on a daily basis emanated vast amount of toxic gases into the atmosphere, he said.

Forest cover in a country played a vital role in absorbing toxic gases in the atmosphere but deforestation had changed that natural cycle of getting rid of carbon dioxide.

The tropical forests in the Asia Pacific amounting to an extent of nearly 300 million hectares which provided nearly 70% of timber requirements of the world had been reduced in a drastic manner according to the latest findings.

By 1900, Sri Lanka had about 75 % of forest cover but now this forest cover is reduced to 19% mostly due to human activities, he pointed out.

Unfortunately there was no systematic mechanism in Sri Lanka for reforestation to compensate the clearing of forest cover. He said there were nearly 113 rivers and their tributaries in Sri Lanka and the majority were polluted. People living in close proximity to rivers and other water-ways were in the habit of dumping garbage. No river in Sri Lanka was safe for bathing as they were highly polluted.

He said the indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals and insecticides had already contaminated even the drinking water sources in predominantly rice producing areas of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa causing kidney ailments.

During the past few weeks, there were numerous reports on unnatural phenomena of rainfall and also unexpected climatic changes in the country.

He said it was important to be aware of the environment changes taking place in the country.