By Ifham Nizam

It was not easy to explain the value of a wetland to some politicians and businessmen, Environment, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Briefing the media to mark World Wetlands Day, which falls today-February 2, he said the government had taken legal action against those who destroyed wetlands. “Anyone who destroys wetlands will be brought to justice,” he said. Amaraweera stressed that it was the responsibility of everyone to protect the wetlands. “Six major wetland systems in our country have been designated as Ramsar Wet Sanctuaries; The Bundala National Park, the Anavilundawa Sanctuary, the Maduganga Sanctuary, the Wankale Sanctuary, the Kumana National Park and the Wilpattu National Park. In 1971 the World Wetlands Day was declared at a convention held in Ramsar, Iran, and countries around the world implement various programmes to commemorate World Wetlands Day. The theme of World Wetlands Day 2021 is “Wetland and Water.” Minister Amaraweera said: “We have to fight with some businessmen, underworld gangs and other such elements, besides some government officials to protect the Muthurajawela Wet Sanctuary.”More than 30 such individuals had already been prosecuted for causing damage to the environment, the Minister said.Environmentalists believe that Muthurajawela filters the groundwater in the Colombo and Gampaha Districts. There were reports of some individuals damaging the Muthurajawela and Anavilundawa wetlands in the recent past. Amaraweera said that he had personally visited the sites and taken necessary steps to protect the wetlands. Arrangements have been made for a special programme at the Ministry of Environment today to mark the World Wetlands Day.

According to the National Environmental Act, No 47 of 1980 (as amended) and the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations gazette 722/22 of June 1993, “filling of more than four hectares of a wetland, removal of trees from more than one hectare needs an EIA. Surely, the CEA is aware that Muthurajawela was a wetland with many ecosystem services which cannot be sacrificed for a development project of this nature, Centre for Environmental Justice, Environmental Scientist Hemanatha Withanage said. “Muthurajawela is a marsh connecting the Kelani River and the Negombo lagoon with a 30km long wetland area – a critically important flood control system for the Gampaha district – to drain water from paddy lands in the upstream lowlands.”As the country’s largest saline coastal peat bog, the Muthurajawela marshes are 3,068 ha (7,580 acres) in extent. It is one of 12 priority wetlands in the country. The marsh, together with the Negombo lagoon forms an integrated coastal wetland ecosystem (6,232 ha in total extent). The marsh-lagoon complex is believed to have originated about 5,000 years ago.