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Friday, 8 February 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Cheranka Mendis
Through the dust swirls that threaten to choke us while the sun burned its mark across our backs, we edged forward in the allocated jeeps to the site where two excavators sit majestically, the only bright colour in an environment of the blue of the sky and the green of the plants.
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| Kalapu Andara and Pathok - the invasive plants that have taken over the park |
As the excavator is switched on, it moves forward to the tree line and struggles in a fight against the hardened barks of nature to remove from its roots Prosopis Julifora, commonly known as ‘Kalapu Andara.’ While that is stacked in piles, the machines also tackle the ‘Pathok’, a form of cactus known by the name Opuntia dillenii in scientific circles, uprooting it from the land on which it has forcibly made itself at home for the past few decades.
The Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka’s first wetland to be declared a Ramsar site and a biosphere reserve under UNESCO is today facing tough times in the face of invasive plants encroaching the natural habitat of the wetland.
From the entrance of the park, we were taken to the site, located several kilometres inside the park, and there was nothing to see save the dust covered cactus and Kalapu Andara, three monkeys playing on the branches and an eagle atop a massive tree that stood much taller than the others. Famed as a bird sanctuary with a large number of migrant birds using it as their final destination after miles and miles of flying from destinations like Syria and Russia, it was a pity not to see even one egret inside the park.
The spread of these two invasive plant species have been facilitated by meandering livestock herds over the years and is now posing a major threat to the habitat. Fresh water coming into the three key lagoons around the area adds yet another hazard to the sustainability of the park.
In the face of such threats, conserving and preserving the Bundala National Park has become a key worry for the Wildlife Conservation Department of Sri Lanka.
Now tied up with United Dendro Energy Private Limited, a subsidiary of Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) to eradicate the invasive plants, Wildlife Conservation has agreed to give the removed Kalapu Andara plants to United Dendro to be used for their biomass power generation activities.
Power from remnants of invasive plants
Entering into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPP) with the Ceylon Electricity Board, United Dendro will clear out 454 hectares of infected land within a period of five years. This project was initiated on Sunday (3 January) at the park. Remnants of the removed invasive plant species would be used for the production of electricity, the output which would be synchronised to the country’s national grid eventually.
“The Government aims to produce 20% of Sri Lanka’s electricity by 2020 from so called new renewable energy such as wind, solar, and biomass etc.,” LOLC Deputy Chairman Ishara Nanayakkara said.
Hoping to be in operation in 2014/2015, the company has estimated Rs. 100 million for the operation of removal of the invasive plants while the money that will go in to setting up a power plant is approximately US$ 16 million. The PPP is for a 20-year period from when the company starts operating the power plant.
“Fuel for the United Dendro power plants can come in three ways,” LOLC COO Kithsiri Gunawardena told the Daily FT. “It could come by way of having our own plantation, by using the Kalapu Andara from Bundala, and through an out-grower system.” Gunawardena noted that the Government has stressed the necessity of bringing in alternative methods of power generation, especially environmentally friendly projects in line with the new phase of development that is currently ongoing.
Encouraging eco-friendly electricity generation in the country, the Government in their Power Purchase Partnerships pays the highest rate for electricity that is produced using waste, while the second goes to biomass.
The Sustainable Energy Authority has suggested a payment of Rs. 25.09 per kilowatt for biomass generation, said Nanayakkara, expressing that what has currently been enforced is Rs. 20.50 per kilowatt. He also noted that a sum close to Rs. 0.35 per kg is to be paid whenever invasive plants are removed.
He also asserted that the company is now looking at Amabalantota and Gonnoruwa for possible locations to establish a power plant.
“There are two types of ways in which you can maintain the plant – water recycled or air cooled,” Nanayakkara further added. Setting up an air cooling power plant costs 20% more than the water cooling plant. “All our power plants will be air cooled power plants even though the cost is more. This is in our efforts to conserve water. If it is water cooled, usage is 1.2 million litres per day but air cooling is 200,000 litres per day which can be recycled. A lot of the water gets evaporated and is wasted in water cooling power plant management.”
The program of removing the two species of plants is conducted under the program, ‘Invasive plant species eradication and habitat enrichment.’
From timber to threat
The project implementation of removing the invasive plants are done in full compliance with the country’s Flora and Fauna Act and will be supervised by the Forest Conservation Officers, Wildlife Conservation Department said.
“The permeation of these viral plants within the Bundala National Park has resulted in the habitat destruction of its endemic species and has posed a threat to the park’s biodiversity,” Wildlife Conservation Department Director General H.D. Rathnayeke said. “We are losing the value of the area along with the value of the land with these plants taking over space at the park.”
Rathnayeke noted that few decades ago, Kalapu Andara was introduced to the area outside the park for timber purposes but has over the years spread into the park land as well. Even though the Department has tried to stop the spreading of the growth with the help of several NGOs by uprooting, they have only been able to do it on smaller areas of land. The removal of the plants will be done under three stages – blocking out the land of invasive plants, removal of plants, and removal of the seed bank/roots of the plants to prevent saplings from growing.
“It is estimated that an area of 2,000 hectares has been affected by these plants.” The plan is to plant indigenous and medicinal plants in the areas cleared and to make the rest into grasslands.
However, proper management is needed to continue the work going forward, and he said: “We must conduct research into this and look at ways and means of not only eradicating but also to protecting it against similar harm in the future.”
Setting up a wetland laboratory
For this purpose, Bundala National Park recently opened a wetland laboratory in the land adjoining the park where the park office is situated.
Funded by UNESCO after taking in consideration a project proposal forwarded by Wildlife Conservation Department, the laboratory is fully equipped to conduct research and ascertain the quality of wetland water samples, maintain data banks, and data collection of its visiting bird species.
Rathnayeke noted that the first project in the laboratory is to examine the water samples of the three main lagoons of the area – Koholankala, Bundala, and Malala. “We will measure the water qualities every three months or so to assess changes of the saltwater proportion in the water and also to see of any new ingredients that have entered the system. Afterwards we will look at water management measures that support each system.”
In parallel to that, the officials at the laboratory will also conduct surveys to monitor and record the biodiversity of the park. UNESCO provided Rs. 20 lakhs for the purchasing of the equipment for the lab while the Wildlife Conservation put in the rest of the money for the building.
Habitat enrichment
Wildlife Conservation annually allocates a sum of Rs. 1 million for Bundala alone, and Rs. 20 million for conservation around various locations of the island for habitat enrichment, he said.
“We have a separate allocation for habitat enrichment. Under this, in a separate component, we look at improve the habitat quality by removing invasive plants, creating water holes, maintaining fire-belts, planting indigenous species etc.”
Importance of wetlands
International Ramsar Convention Senior Advisor for Asia Oceania Llewellyn Young, who was present at the opening of the laboratory as well as the inauguration ceremony to mark the commencement of ‘Invasive plant species eradication and habitat enrichment’ program, noted the importance of wetlands.
He stated that while wetlands are all around us in the form of marshes, fish ponds, ponds, rice fields, tanks, mangrove forests and coral reefs and are among one of the most important habitat types in the world, they are also the most under appreciated. Many wetlands around the world are being destroyed and overused, he said.
“Wetlands provide many benefits to the people. They provide drinking water and food (rice, fish, shrimp, etc.) for the people,” Young observed. Wetlands also attract many wildlife species such as egrets, storks, flamingos etc. who migrate from Siberia, Russia to spend the winter time in Sri Lanka. And in turn this bio diversity attracts tourists who help generate income and job opportunities for local communities.
Wetlands also play a role in reducing the impact of climate change. “Wetlands store a lot of carbon in mangroves and trees. By conserving wetlands, you are stopping this carbon from being released to the atmosphere.”
While climate change is known to have caused heavy rainstorms and droughts in certain areas of the world, protecting wetlands could help the environment adapt accordingly, he said. “Mangrove forests can protect the coastal communities from severe storms. Lakes and tanks can store a lot of the storm water and if in drought the wetlands can also provide water.”
Need for an integrated approach
While the benefits of wetlands are spread across a large number of people, this also calls for an integrated approach to be taken to ensure the sustainability for the future.
“The Department of Wildlife Conservation is managing it, the tourism industry manages resources, farmers and fishermen have their part to play. Because there are so many people involved, we need integrated management,” Young said.
Cooperation between all segments is vital and this has been taken into account by the International Ramsar Convention which in turn has launched the theme of ‘Wetlands and Water Management’ at this year’s World Wetland Day (2 February) to try and raise awareness of the need for cooperation between the sectors, he expressed.
The Government also needs to identify the priority wetlands in the country and work on designating those not listed under Ramsar as Ramsar sites. Sri Lanka currently has six such Ramsar wetlands in the country.
“Designating a wetland as a Ramsar site is just a first step towards the sustainable management of site. The site needs to develop a kind of a site management committee where all stakeholders can come together and produce an integrated and joint management plan, implement it and then monitor the condition of the site,” Young said.
