Wilpattu, a conservation success story

* Wetland of international importance

* Becomes largest Ramsar site here

Disna Mudalige

The Wilpattu Wetland Cluster has been newly designated as the 6th Ramsar site in Sri Lanka acknowledging it as a Wetland of International Importance. It becomes the largest Ramsar site in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands since 1990. With the new addition, Sri Lanka has six Ramsar sites with a surface area of 198,172 hectares. The other five Ramsar sites include Bundala, Annaiwilundawa Tanks Sanctuary, Kumana Wetland Cluster, Maduganga and Vankalai Sanctuary.

The new site encompasses all of Wilpattu National Park (‘Land of Lakes’), declared in 1938. It belongs to North Western and North Central provinces.

The new designation becomes effective from today which is also the World Wetland Day (February 2).

The Ramsar certificate for the Wilpattu Wetland Cluster was officially handed over to Wildlife Conservation Department Director General H D Ratnayake by Asia/Oceania Region Senior Advisor on the

International Ramsar Convention Lew Young at a national ceremony to mark the World Wetland Day held at Waters Edge in Battaramulla yesterday.

This year’ s theme was “Wetlands and Water Management”.

The main threats to the wetlands in Sri Lanka are the filling up of wetlands, illegal constructions and garbage dumping. Addressing the occasion Lew Young congratulated the efforts of the Sri Lankan government on wetland conservation adding that they look forward to work closely with the Sri Lankan government for this purpose.

Two thousand eighty three sites with a total of 978 million hectares in 164 member countries of the Ramsar Convention have been designated as Wetland of International Importance.

The Ramsar Convention is an inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention’s member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.

Wildlife Conservation Minister Gamini Vijith Vijayamuni Soysa said the government should strongly oppose to illegal tree felling and should intervene to stop such illegal activities. He said the local authorities should be instructed to take actions against such illegal activities taking place in the country to conserve the wildlife and environment.

Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha requested the Wildlife Conservation and Education ministries and their affiliated institutions to work closely with his ministry observing that all of them should shoulder the responsibility of protecting the environment.

He pointed out schools are the most effective tool to disperse a message on environment conservation since they immediately communicate it to their homes.

He also noted environment related topics have gained much importance over the world in the recent times since people now often witness the repercussions of environmental pollution.

CEA Chairman Wimal Rubasighe and ICTAD Chairman Udula Bandara Awshadahamy also addressed.