News
Wildlife Dept. bureaucracy standing in way of whale watching exposed
By Ifham Nizam
Whales were neither disturbed nor harmed by tourists, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday.
Minister Ranatunga called for the lifting of restrictions imposed by the Wildlife Department on boat owners who took tourists on whale watching at Mirissa.
The Wildlife Department has recently imposed restrictions on whale watching vessels off the coast of Mirissa, according to reports.
Accordingly, Minister Ranatunga summoned the representatives of the Mirissa Tourist Hotel Owners’ Association to Colombo for a discussion and also summoned the relevant officials of the Wildlife Department.
The owners of the Mirissa whale watching boats raised their concerns and pointed out that wildlife officials only allowed whale watching after 2 pm.
Wildlife officials responded by saying that restrictions were due to numerous issues including a shortage of staff.
The Matara District Secretary was contacted by Minister Ranatunga and requested that 10 employees recruited under the Job Point programme be made available to the Wildlife Department.
The District Secretary complied with the request. Improvements to facilities at the Mirissa Fisheries Harbour for local and foreign whale watchers were also discussed at length.
State Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, who was also present, discussed with Minister Ranatunga the action that needed to be taken in that regard. Accordingly, it was decided to convene a meeting of Ministers and officials of the Ministries of Tourism, Fisheries and Wildlife to expedite the resolution of issues related to whale watching in the area. The Minister instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism to take necessary follow-up steps.
News
Establishment of an Institutional Framework to Inagurate Upper Hydro Catchment Areas Management Authority
Policy approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted at their meeting held on 08.06.2026 to establish the Upper Hydro Catchment Areas Management Authority for identification and
execution of a formal and long – lasting remedy to secure the central hills including the upper hydro catchment areas enabling them to sustain amidst extreme weather conditions
due to natural calamities and human activities as well as to be used for the sustainable development of the country.
Accordingly, a concept paper has been prepared including
institutional structure, activities, powers, active subject area as well as administrative and coordination mechanism for the proposed authority by an expert technical committee appointed by the Secretary to the President.
Based on the said concept paper, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the President to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill including legal provisions required for the establishment of Upper Hydro Catchment Areas Management Authority.
News
Introduction of Flora and Fauna (Regulation of actions of the Indigenous Community within the nominated areas) Regulations
With the objective of securing the traditional livelihood and the eco system of the indigenous community, it has been recognized the necessity of introducing a formal regulation methodology to secure their engagement in livelihood activities by being more sensitive to the existing laws.
Thereby, the Fauna and Flora (regularizing) regulations under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (Authority 469) have been prepared so that nominated activities within the prescribed area to a member of the indigenous community
who has been registered for securing the rights acquired from law or custom or usage or traditional stance to execute an act within a certain state land that is fundamental to the survival of the indigenous community permission can be granted
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to publish the said regulations in the government gazette notification and thereby submit to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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