Protected Areas
Long ago, Sri Lanka had the foresight to declare as Protected Areas certain parts of the country that are especially valuable in conservation terms, or are particularly ecologically sensitive. A comprehensive body of legislation has since been introduced to support the maintenance of these Protected Areas and biodiversity. These laws also help control the pressures that these ecosystems and their component species are subjected to.
Many of Sri Lanka’s Protected Areas are Global Biodiversity Hotspots. They also serve a number of vital functions because they safeguard certain goods and services that are indispensable for human wellbeing, livelihoods and economic security. In many cases, water is one of the essential goods that Protected Areas help to secure and maintain.
Yet our Sri Lanka’s Protected Areas are being rapidly degraded, and their land and resources are being flagrantly abused with scant regard for existing laws, impacts on water security, or on the provision of other vital biodiversity goods and services. Encroaching and degrading Protected Areas is not just illegal; it is also an enormous threat to sound economic development.
It is an indisputable fact that without water, no human life is possible. It has also been apparent for some time that Sri Lanka is facing a looming water crisis. As water shortages become more and more common and as the quality of water received declines further and further, we must question what impacts these trends will have on the future wellbeing of the country, its economy and its population.
The destruction of Protected Areas is illegal! Report any abuses to the nearest Police Station, the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Forest Department or EFL for immediate action.
