BSL signs partnership agreement with patron member Sampath Bank

• ‘Life to Our Mangroves’ – A multi-partner mangrove restoration project

Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) and Sampath Bank PLC exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding to partner in the multi-partner mangrove restoration project as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) using a private-public partnership approach. 

The project is expected to generate multiple environmental as well as socio-economic benefits. Overall, the intervention will enhance the resilience of the mangrove ecosystem, its capacity for renewal, and the provision of ecosystem services, whilst contributing to the socio-economic development of local communities. 

The signing took place at the Sampath Bank Head Office by the Bank’s Group Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Lalith Weragoda and Biodiversity Sri Lanka Director Shahid Sangani who is also the Managing Director of Dynawash Ltd.  

On 12 December 2021, Biodiversity Sri Lanka and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement this project. Wildlife Conservation Department Director-General M.G.C. Sooriyabandara and Biodiversity Sri Lanka Director Chandrarathna D. Vithanage signed this document at the Department of Wildlife Conservation. 

The project ‘Life to Our Mangroves’ was officially launched on the 7 February 2022 by Biodiversity Sri Lanka and its members. 

Known as ‘the Lungs of the Sea’, mangrove ecosystems provide critical services for the maintenance and wellbeing of global biodiversity. They are also of equal importance to humans living in the tropical belt, in terms of the ecosystem services that they provide, and the options offered by them as livelihoods to the major proportion of populations that live in the coastal zones of the region. 

In the context of the single-most debilitating challenge that humankind faces currently, mangroves play a significant role in fighting climate change as unique and productive Carbon sinks and by acting as a protective barrier for human settlements, against heightened natural disasters resulting from increased global temperatures. Therefore, there is special and increased focus being laid on the conservation and wise use of mangrove ecosystems around the world. 

Mangrove ecosystems cover 0.23% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. In order to prioritise the protection of these mangrove forests, and more so urgently - a national policy to conserve and sustainably utilise mangrove ecosystems in Sri Lanka, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in March 2020.

Anaiwilunda Wetland Sanctuary, which covers an area of 1,397 ha, consists of forest wetlands including mangroves, coastal saltwater ecosystems, and freshwater lakes. It is located along the coastal belt between Chilaw and Puttalam in the Northwestern Province of Sri Lanka. 

It is one of Sri Lanka’s six RAMSAR wetlands. The sanctuary provides shelter to a host of threatened fish, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, and many migratory birds. 

From 44.5 ha of degraded mangrove forest patches within the sanctuary, the DWC has agreed to guide Biodiversity Sri Lanka in initially restoring up to 25 ha, using accepted scientific principles within a period of five years. BSL Members will play an active role in this effort. 

The first two years will focus on planning, forging community partnerships, land preparation, nursery establishment, and planting activities. Years 3-5 will be allocated for gap filling and maintenance. Activities will be guided by IUCN’s Global Nature-based Solutions Standard. Baseline monitoring for the entire site is being undertaken by the DWC and monitoring of the BSL site will be in keeping with this overall M&E process.