News
Govt. determined to have Muthurajawela listed as Ramsar Wetland
By Ifham Nizam
The Colombo City was declared the world’s first Ramsar Wetland by the Ramsar Convention due to efforts of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to conserve the wetlands during his tenure as Defence Secretary, said Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.
The City has been named the world’s first wetland city by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and development of all wetlands such as Beddagana, Kotte, Bellanwila, Kimbulawala, Kolonnawa, Diyasaru and Diyatha Uyana as beautiful and safe wetlands. However, Muthurajawela was not included in the Ramsar wetlands catalogue.
Minister Amaraweera yesterday said that it was the intention of the government to have the Urban Development Authority to conserve the Muthurajawela Wetland Sanctuary under the supervision of the Ministries of Environment, Wildlife and Urban Development.
A committee appointed to look into the issues regarding the Muthurajawela Wetland Sanctuary held a discussion at the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday.
Representatives of all relevant institutions; Environment, Wildlife, Agrarian Conservation, Agriculture, Urban Development Authority, Central Environmental Authority, Forest Conservation as well as a delegation representing the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith as well as several representatives of environmental organizations were present at the meeting.
During the discussion, the group requested that Muthurajawela be taken over and developed as a sanctuary under the Wildlife Department.
Although Muthurajawela is spread over an area of 3,064 hectares in 1990, only 1,200 hectares remained today. As a result, they would have to spend a lot of money to implement alternatives to the lands currently occupied by different people and the Ministry of Environment and Wildlife would not be able to spend such a large amount of money to acquire them, Amaraweera added. .
He however said that steps would be taken to conserve the wetland under the Urban Development Authority so that it could be included in the Ramsar wetland list.
The Minister instructed the delegation to submit its decision to the committee within a week regarding the decision taken by the government to conserve Muthurajawela.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal forwarded by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala, the officer
in the special grade of Sri Lanka Surveyors’ Service currently serving as the Additional Surveyor General (Central) to the post of Surveyor General with effect from 02.02.2026.
Latest News
Implementing the programme to provide concession for pepper, coffee and cardamom plantations affected by the disaster
The instructions required for granting relief to farmers for the short term crops devastated due to the extreme weather have been issued through Budget Circular No. 08/2025 and 08/2025 (i).
Considering the economic importance of the export agriculture sector, the requirement of re planting long term export agricultural crops that were destroyed by the floods and landslides, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the
resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to pay the cultivators engaged in pepper, coffee and cardamom an
allowance subject to a maximum of rupees 425,000/- per hectare for replanting as well as to provide seedlings free of charge from the Department of Export Agriculture.
The demand for obtaining higher-level services to diagnose diseases has been increasing within the public health system in Sri Lanka due to the growth of non-communicable diseases and
comprehensive services at all levels of care.
However, when obtaining reports from key equipment such as CT scanners, MRI scanners, DSA, cardiac catheterization units, and automated hematology and biochemistry analyzers, it has been observed that such patients have encountered immense difficulties due to a lack of equal opportunities for them.
Especially concerning the limited resources available for obtaining the respective reports in government hospitals, it has
been observed that there have been delays in clinical management due to such patients having to be on long waiting lists. Further, taking into consideration the financial limitations existing for purchasing such equipment and the complex procurement procedures that must be followed for the purchase and maintenance of such equipment, the need to resort to alternative methods for obtaining such reports has been identified.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to take necessary steps to obtain such services and equipment to diagnose relevant diseases, following the prescribed
procurement procedure under the suitable public-private partnership subject to a performance-based payment scheme.
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
Implementing the programme to provide concession for pepper, coffee and cardamom plantations affected by the disaster
Cabinet nod to obtain diagnostic reports under public-private partnership
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