Sri Lanka Set to Expand Ramsar Convention Wetlands: Three New Designations Await Announcement

The Minister of Irrigation, Wildlife, and Forest Conservation, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Attorney-at-Law, announced that the Wildlife Department intends to designate three additional wetlands in Sri Lanka as Ramsar Convention wetlands.

The minister conveyed this information during a media briefing on “World Wetlands Day,” celebrated on February 02(Today). As part of the plan for the year 2024, the Wildlife Department aims to declare the Wedithalathivu Nature Reserve in Mannar district, Adam’s Bridge National Park, and Chundikulam National Park in Jaffna district as new wetland zones.

Additionally, efforts are underway to expand the Wankalai Sanctuary into the Wedithalativu Nature Reserve, and the announcement of the Mirissa Marine Sanctuary is anticipated within the current year, according to the minister.

Director of the Wildlife Department, Manjula Amararatne, disclosed that the Narangala mountain range and the surrounding 239-hectare area in the Badulla Soranathota Divisional Secretariat, serving as a crucial feeding area for numerous streams and waterfalls, was declared a sanctuary on December 05 last year.

Sri Lanka, having signed the Ramsar Wetlands Convention agreement in October 1990, currently boasts six Ramsar Convention wetlands, namely Bundala National Park, Madu Ganga Sanctuary, Anawilundawa Sanctuary, Wankalai Sanctuary, Cumana Kudumbigala Wetland Cluster, and Wilpattu Sanctuary.

The United Nations has designated “Wetlands and human well-being” as the theme for the 2024 World Wetlands Day. The Ramsar Wetlands Convention, established in 1971 in Ramsar, Iraq, with the participation of 136 countries, aims to safeguard wetlands globally.

Recognizing the significance of this convention, Sri Lanka became a party to it in October 1990. Wetlands, covering approximately 6% of the Earth’s surface, are found on all continents except the snow-covered areas of the Southern Hemisphere and the Antarctic continent. The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as “a natural or artificial, permanently or temporarily flowing or non-flowing sea water or freshwater or brackish water marsh or swamp or water body area, including areas where the depth of sea water does not exceed 06 meters at high tide.” These ecosystems play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity, preventing floods, purifying water, and storing and releasing water.