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Alleged refilling of lagoons: Red light on gradual destruction over years 

28 Aug 2021

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa  Environmentalists are up in arms against the alleged large-scale refilling of lagoons and its surrounding areas for commercial purposes with the blessings of powerful politicians, as they claimed the impact of the refilling would affect the overall balance of the area’s biodiversity.  They also stressed that the refilling of these lands would directly and indirectly affect thousands of flora and fauna species living in these habitats, especially the mangroves.  According to environmentalists, the lagoons in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, as well as in the Negombo and Puttalam Districts, are facing an imminent threat from illegal encroachers.  A recent large-scale landfilling incident was reported from Trincomalee, where the residents in the area acknowledged that it had been conducted for over five years.   Likewise, environmentalists alleged that most of these coastal lagoons have so far been cleared for hotel projects, as these areas were in huge demand among tourists around the world before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country last year.  “Most of these projects were not recently launched ones, but have been conducted for quite some time. A majority of these encroachers are also wealthy people who have connections with powerful politicians. Only a very small number of residents have encroached these lands for residential purposes,” Environmental Conservation Trust (ECT) Director Sajeewa Chamikara told The Sunday Morning.  According to him, out of the most famous lagoons situated in the Madu Ganga Sanctuary, Anawilundawa, Trincomalee, Bundala, Wilpattu National Park, Kala Oya, Yala National Park, Kumbukkan Oya, Kumana National Park, and Panama Sanctuary, the lagoons situated in the North and East were facing serious encroachment issues at present.  Valuable ecosystems According to Chamikara, mangroves are the most common ecosystems that can be identified in lagoons which account for a total of around 15,000 ha. Out of that, only 40% is currently protected and the rest is not protected and are at risk of depletion.   In addition to the mangroves, in lagoons, the two most common lands are called mudflats and saltmarshes, and these were at a higher risk, as most of these encroachers are filling these two valuable parts of the lagoon, he stressed.  Explaining further, Chamikara noted that the salt marshes and mud flats are coastal ecosystems formed by soft sediments deposited either by river runoff or ocean tides, and these two land areas are very productive and are valuable ecosystems, as salt marshes reduce impacts of flooding on adjacent coastal cities by absorbing wave energy and reducing erosion, while mudflats also absorb large amounts of water during a flood, acting as a retention basin.  According to the Sri Lanka Coastal Zone and Coastal Resource Management Plan (CZCRMP) – 2018, there are around 82 lagoons ranging from 3 ha to 7,589 ha in extent, of which eight cover more than 1,000 ha each.   The total extent of lagoons amounts to about 36,000 ha. Lagoons are more abundant along the north, south, south-eastern, and eastern coasts where the littoral drift causes an accumulation of sand to form barriers and spits at river mouths through which the freshwater discharge is low.   Unauthorised encroachment and land reclamation Unauthorised encroachment and land reclamation (e.g. at the Bolgoda and Negombo estuaries and the Mawella and Lunawa Lagoons) has been identified as one of the major issues connected with these habitats, as is the loss of functional lagoon/estuarine water areas.  There has also been a loss of ecological and aesthetic value in some of the estuaries and lagoons (e.g. Bentota and Madu Ganga estuaries, and the Bolgoda Lagoon), the report states.    For instance, over 30,000 part-time and full-time fishermen are engaged in lagoon/estuarine fishery in Sri Lanka.  Going on for more than a decade: CEJ Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Centre for Environment Justice (CEJ) Executive Director Hemantha Withanage said distributing lands from lagoons had been a practice for more than a decade.   “Most of the lagoon areas around the country have not yet been demarcated and also the divisional secretary had no authority over these lands. Therefore, when a land dispute arises, it turns out to be a major issue which sometimes becomes a religious or ethnic issue,” he stressed.     According to Withanage, the Fisheries Ministry has the control over several lagoon areas, but overall, these areas were not protected.   According to research done by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), extremely rich biodiversity has been reported from several coastal lagoons in Sri Lanka, and some of them are designated as protected areas, or Ramsar sites, or Wetlands of International Importance (Madu Ganga, Kumana National Park, Panama-Kudumbigala Sanctuary, Bundala, and Vankalai).   Lagoons consist of a variety of ecosystems which range from arid-zone thorn scrubland, arid-zone pastures and maritime grasslands, sand dunes, mangroves, salt marshes, tidal flats, seagrass beds, and shallow marine areas. Besides, lagoons provide excellent feeding and living habitats for a large number of water birds, including migratory species, which also use this area on arrival and during their exit from Sri Lanka.   The Ceylon Birds Club reported a shorebird population of 1.2 million from Viddattaltivu Lagoon in 2010, while the highest recorded number from the entire country was 304,000 previously.  Environmentalists urged the Government to immediately come up with a proper plan to protect this important ecosystem, as they alleged that lack of laws had become a serious issue to protect these lands. As they claimed, there were no direct laws that cover lands in lagoons, and the Coast Conservation Act, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Act, and Forest Conservation Ordinance are used, and therefore, they urged the Government to formulate proper laws to protect these lands from encroachers. CCCRMD denies allegations Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department (CCCRMD) Additional Director General (DG) A.H. Gamini denied the allegations levelled by the environmentalists. He said there had been no recorded incidents of large-scale landfilling in lagoons around the country.  “If such an incident is reported, we take legal action against those who violated the law by refilling the lands in the lagoons,” he said. The Additional DG said there were no large-scale fillings happening at present. He added that in the Negombo and Puttalam areas specifically, the department had implemented special programmes for monitoring. He said that as the lagoons were managed by several authorities including the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and Fisheries Ministry, there could be some confusion on the matter. Furthermore, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Environment Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe noted that it was illegal to conduct any type of construction in lagoons, especially to clear mangroves. Therefore, the CEA was monitoring if any such construction is being done, and if it is occurring, the authority can take legal action against those who are responsible.  Meanwhile, attempts to contact Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda and Secretary R.M.I. Ratnayake were futile.  


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