LIFE to Our Mangroves

Life to Our Mangroves

Known as ‘the Lungs of the Sea’, mangrove ecosystems provide critical services for the maintenance and wellbeing of global biodiversity. They are also of equal importance to humans living in the tropical belt, in terms of the ecosystem services they provide and the options offered by them as livelihoods, to the major proportion of populations which live in the coastal zones of the region.

About Mangroves

Mangroves are crucial in combating climate change as productive carbon sinks and protective barriers against natural disasters. Sri Lanka, as a tropical island, benefits greatly from conserving its mangrove ecosystems. The country has approximately 15,670ha of mangrove forests, with 21 species of true mangroves and associates, accounting for a significant portion of global mangrove species.

Most of Sri Lanka’s mangroves are located in brackish water systems and intertidal zones, except for a small area of sea-facing mangroves in the Vidathalathivu region.

Due to their vulnerability, various stakeholders are taking measures to protect mangroves from deforestation and degradation. Sri Lanka made history in 2015 by granting full protection to all its mangrove ecosystems, despite having lost 76% of the original habitats in the past century.

Causes of mangrove destruction include intentional deforestation, illegal land reclamation, aquaculture development, infrastructure projects, and tourism. Existing mangroves also face threats from siltation and pollution, leading to a decline in ecosystem quality and diminished capacity to provide optimal ecological services.

The Project - Life to Our Mangroves (LoM)

With the aim of encouraging collaborative action towards environmental and biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) engages its members in Public-Private-People Partnerships (PPPP). It has been proven that the impact of such projects far outweigh the impacts created by Corporate Social Responsibility-type projects being implemented by individual companies, however much they may be significant in terms of scale and effort.

This collaborative project developed on the lines of a PPP, focuses on achieving nationally significant outcomes in the realm of mangrove and coastal ecosystem conservation. While this initiative aims to contribute towards the national goals of biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation, the project was designed using the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and is being implemented according to the National Best Practice Guidelines on Restoration of Mangroves issued by the Ministry of Environment in 2022. The outcomes of this collaborative project will contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Blue Carbon Initiative as well as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the UNFCCC. The financial contributors to the project will also benefit from accruing Carbon Credits over a determined time horizon.

Project Site

The Anawilundava Ramsar Wetland Sanctuary, which covers an area of 1,397 hectares and consists of forest wetlands including mangroves, coastal saltwater ecosystems and freshwater lakes, is located along the coastal belt between Chilaw and Puttalam cities in the Puttalam district of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is one of the six RAMSAR Wetlands – wetlands of international importance – of Sri Lanka. The Sanctuary falls within the jurisdiction of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO). It provides shelter to a host of threatened fish, amphibians, mammals, reptiles and birds including migratory birds.

Within the Sanctuary, DWC has identified 44.5 acres of degraded mangrove forest patches in 23 closely-located plots, to be restored using scientific principles. Of this extent, 10 hectares will be restored by BSL under the guidance of the DWC. The selected degraded patches have been severely degraded due to shrimp farming projects that took place over a decade ago.

Project

Objectives

This collaborative project was designed and will be implemented with the following objectives in mind:

To contribute towards national forestry, mangrove conservation, biodiversity conservation and climate goals.
To showcase the value of Nature based Solutions (NbS) in mitigating and adapting to environmental and developmental challenges being faced by local communities.
To contribute towards the reduction of Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to climate change and to demonstrate the benefits of coastal ecosystem restoration in terms of building resilience and community readiness.

Key Points & Plans for

way-forward

On 26th July 2022, The DWC and the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka (WUSL) convened a meeting to present a comprehensive plan developed for the restoration of mangroves and other associate ecosystems at the Anawilundawa Sanctuary. In addition to BSL members, the meeting was attended by representatives from the DWC, Sri Lanka Navy, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS), and some other private companies.

During his opening remarks, Mr Manjula Amararathna reiterated that the purpose of the meeting was to present the plan developed for mangrove restoration in identified plots at the Anawilundawa Sanctuary. He mentioned that the Sri Lanka Navy actively supported the development of the plan by carrying out extensive hydrological mapping work at the site. It was mentioned that the WUSL and the WNPS, which began mangrove restoration work at the site on a trial basis too, contributed towards the development of the plan.

Mr. Amararathna mentioned that this plan focuses on the restoration activities of plot numbers 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 11, & 12 in the coming 6 months as they were closest to the Dutch Canal and thereby had a good supply of water.

Plot numbers 1 & 2 will be developed as constructed wetlands and plots 11 & 12 will be control plots to set the baseline for comparative purposes. Actual restoration of mangrove ecosystems will take place in plots 6, 7, and 8 during the next six months. BSL has been allocated plot 7 and plot numbers 6 and 8 are allocated to WNPS, Sudeesha & MAS respectively.

Baseline data will be collected from plots 6, 7, and 8 during the coming weeks. This baseline information will include water and soil quality analyses, soil carbon retention, etc. The preparation of formats required for baseline information collection has been completed already. Nevertheless, some modifications will be made to certain data gathering forms before application.

To obtain plants/ seedlings, a common plant nursery is being established at the site.

After the initial restoration activities in plots 6, 7, and 8, the activities in other plots, namely 19, 20, 21, and 22 will commence.

It is recommended to hire a common contractor for dredging/ land preparation purposes. Relevant procedures for this will be facilitated through the DWC Officer in Charge at the Anawilundawa Site. All corporate sponsors of the project will have to bear the costs of this collectively.Each plot will have its own particular dredging plan based on the Navy study.

During project implementation, there will be certain cost items like chemical costs for experiments, and laboratory expenditure that cannot be attributed to one specific plot/ implementing partner. These cost items will be shared among partners on a pre-agreed basis.

Based on the timelines that have been decided on, all partners will be responsible for each activity as stipulated. The Plan will be shared with all partners very soon by the DWC.