Sri Lanka is home to nearly 16,000 ha of mangroves with 21 true mangrove species which is almost one third of the global diversity of true mangroves and several mangrove associates. The countries that harbor mangrove ecosystems have arisen to the target of protecting the immeasurable services derived from this valuable ecosystem. Sri Lanka is no exception, and in fact now leads the Commonwealth counties as the champion of Mangrove Ecosystem and Livelihood Action Group and working with its members to identify the priorities of actions, set innovative finances that can trigger conservation and sustainable use, develop enabling policies and instigate data governance for informed decision making.
Despite all the benefits delivered by mangroves, a considerable extent of mangroves in Sri Lanka is being destroyed and degraded by various factors. Accordingly, Sri Lanka has taken a number of significant measures to restore and conserve mangroves in order to safeguard biodiversity and to ensure the ecosystem services of mangroves as well as opportunities for livelihoods.
In January 2020, Government of Sri Lanka adopted the National Policy on Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Mangrove Ecosystems in Sri Lanka with a vision of “A healthy mangrove ecosystem with rich biodiversity supporting the nation with direct and indirect services”. In order to maintain the sustainability of the Policy, it was required to develop and implement a National Strategic Action Plan focusing on “Conservation, Research, Land Use Conversions and sustainable resource extraction and restoration parameters” as stated in the Policy. Accordingly, the “National Strategic Action Plan for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Mangrove Ecosystems in Sri Lanka” prepared and the Strategic Objectives have been identified based on the 6 strategies of the National Policy. This National Strategic Action Plan elaborates various platforms available and needs to be built in, to move forward and to engage further.
The actions outlined here are mapped to SDGs, Sri Lanka is signatory to and wish to ensure that these targets are achieved as agreed through the implementation of this action plan. The primary and secondary responsible agency for each action has been outlined. Each agency is accordingly requested to include these actions to their respective annual plans and invest accordingly. Additionally, National Strategic Action Plan also invites investors, well-wishers and other donors to engage with relevant institutions and ensure policy goals are achieved.
Further, the Importance of developing the “National Guideline for the Restoration of Mangrove Ecosystems of Sri Lanka” was identified at the National Expert Committee on Mangrove Conservation and Sustainable Use established under the Ministry of Environment. And one of the policy statements states that the, “Promote environmental offsetting and restoration of degraded mangrove ecosystems with the aim of rebuilding lost environmental services with scientifically sound techniques”. Accordingly the National Guideline was prepared with the technical support provided by the mangrove experts. Mangrove restoration is an inherently complex task that is prone to failure when the necessary conditions are not met. Publishing the “National Guidelines for the Restoration of Mangrove Ecosystems of Sri Lanka” is one of the milestones to guide government, private, non-government institutions and general public who are interested in restoration of mangrove ecosystems in Sri Lanka.
This guide starts with the basic science one needs to know for restoration, it introduces the forms developed by the Ministry of Environment to plan and to implement restoration projects, all key agencies and personnel that you need to know, a logical key for decision making that you can follow to select the best approach for a given site, tips on how to collect, store and plant seeds and manage seedlings, basic instruments required to obtain measurements and most importantly, this book is made for anyone with a passion to restore mangroves.
The “National Strategic Action Plan for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Mangrove Ecosystems in Sri Lanka” and the “National Guidelines for the Restoration of Mangrove Ecosystems of Sri Lanka” are developed and presented as a result of great teamwork. The members of the “National Expert Committee on Mangrove Conservation and Sustainable Use”, members of the “Task Force for the restoration of mangroves”, officials from the relevant stakeholder institutions, academia, representatives from private sector and non-governmental organisations who provided the information necessary for the compilation of these books..
These books were launched on 15th June 2022 at the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka under the patronage of Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Environment. Backed by the Policy, National Strategic Action Plan and National Guidelines for restoration, better management of mangroves is now possible with conservation of mangroves and sustainable use and scientific restoration which is vital for economic and social revival of coastal communities and good governance in Sri Lanka.
National Strategic Action Plan for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Mangrove Ecosystems in Sri Lanka 2022-2026 - Download
