Wetlands: Sri Lankan media explore importance and threats

Lead PartnerInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Research ThemeVariability, Risks and Competing Uses

Wetlands for a sustainable urban future

In recognition of World Wetlands Day in Sri Lanka (February 2, 2018), a group of IWMI/WLE researchers together with the communications team organized a field visit for local media drawing attention to the value of Colombo’s wetlands, the threats they face and the measures needed for their conservation and wise use. Since the theme of the day this year is “wetlands for a sustainable urban future,” the media visit was tailored as an especially timely and appealing opportunity to increase public awareness of their importance, as the city rapidly expands.

The event was attended by around 10 journalists who represented local newspapers (English, Sinhala and Tamil) and online media platforms. The field visit included a guided visit to two representative wetland areas belonging to the Colombo Wetland Complex – Talangama Tank and Diyasaru Park – which demonstrate particularly well the economic, social, cultural and environmental value of these unique environments as well as the pressures that undermine their benefits.

The visit also included brief presentations on various aspects of the Colombo wetlands courtesy IWMI/WLE’s Priyanie Amerasinghe and Sanjiv de Silva along with N.S. Wijayarathna (Deputy General Manager, Wetland Management), Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLR&DC), Nadeera Rajapakse Rubaroe (Wetlands Ecologist); and Lucy Emerton (Environment Management Group, SOAS University of London). The journalists also interviewed the Head of Farmers’ Association of Talangama and another official from the Department of Agrarian Development, who is also a resident of the vicinity.

The media coverage resulting from the field visit included: