Ramsar International commends Ritzbury for contribution towards protection of wetlands

The number one selling brand of chocolates in Sri Lanka Ritzbury from CBL, along with the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Central Environment Authority celebrated the ‘World Wetlands Day’ in a grand scale at the Water’s Edge recently.  

This was the second consecutive year in which Ritzbury sponsored the Wetlands Day celebrations. The theme for the event this year was ‘Wetlands and Water Management’.

Speaking at the event, Ramsar Convention’s Asia-Oceania Region Senior Advisor Dr. Lew Young said: “There are approximately 205 million hectares of wetlands identified in the Ramsar Convention. Out of which 198,000 hectares belong to Sri Lanka. Hence it is the duty of the citizens of Sri Lanka to conserve the wetlands.”

While thanking Ritzbury for their immense contribution, Dr. Young also stated that he is aware that Ritzbury has sponsored this national day event for the past two years and can confidently say that they have set an example not only in Sri Lanka, but worldwide on good corporate citizenship.

“Ritzbury has taken measures to conduct awareness programs and educate the people of Sri Lanka on ways to protect wetlands,” noted Dr. Young.

Ritzbury Assistant Marketing Manager Nilupul De Silva said: “Ritzbury has come forward to sponsor this national event and poster competition as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The challenge of protecting the wetlands lies in our future generation. Since Ritzbury is a household name among our children we have chosen our brand Ritzbury to carry this message across the island.

“Ritzbury has invested Rs. 137 million on the television program ‘Ritzbury Journey Day’, in educating students of the beauty and protection of wetlands, the history, traditional crafts and biodiversity of Sri Lanka for the past seven years.”

CBL was one of the first companies in Sri Lanka to extend its CSR towards such a cause. While sponsoring the World Wetlands Day event, it also sponsored a poster competition. The competition was organised by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Central Environment Authority and the Education Ministry.

The objective of this competition was to show children the importance of protecting wetlands hence the theme for the competition was ‘Wetlands and Water Management’.

The winners were: Senior Secondary Category, Vindya Nuwangi Tennakoon of Holy Family Convent; Senior Category Kalana Thilian Molagoda of Kosvana Special School and Junior Category; Rehan Thenuka Koddikara of Vidura College; and Open Category U.K.D. Senaratne.

Present at the occasion were Minister of Wildlife Conservation Vijitha Vijayamuni Zoysa, Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy Susil Premajayanth, along with other Government officials and special invitees.

The Wilpattu National Park and Yodha Wewa area was named as Sri Lanka’s sixth Wetland at the event.

The Ramsar Convention, to which Sri Lanka is a signatory, was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. Currently with 160 signatories, this is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Bundala was classified as Sri Lanka’s first Ramsar wetland, followed by Anawilundawa in Chilaw, Madu River, Kumana forest reservation and the Vankalai Sanctuary.