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Land Development Corp. fills wetland with waste 

16 Mar 2021

Environmentalists allege that an area of the Bellanwila-Attidiya Wetland is being filled with construction waste by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), thereby harming the biodiversity and flood control abilities of the Wetland.  Speaking to The Morning yesterday (15), Young Zoologists Association Researcher Ishanda Senevirathne said that about one acre of land in the Bellanwila-Attidiya Wetland was being filled by the SLLDC as had been observed by visiting environmentalists and officers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation on 14 March.  “We observed that a land filling had been done by the SLLDC with construction waste, thereby causing environmental degradation and harming the biodiversity of the Wetland in an area of about the size of an acre. We could assume that the filling had been taking place for about a month. Wildlife Conservation officials spotted this land filling on 14 March.”  Environmentalist and Attorney-at-Law Jagath Gunawardana said that the Bellanwila-Attidiya Wetland is an important site of biodiversity and that it provides flood control for the surrounding areas and that it is being illegally filled by the SLLDC.  “If these Wetlands are harmed, it is going to impact the flood control and biodiversity. How can we stand against such illegal actions done by private entities when Government institutions themselves are doing such things?” he queried.  Gunawardana said that the filling of a wetland is prohibited under Section 7 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.  SLLDC Weras Ganga Division Project Director Prasad De Silva, responding to a query by The Morning yesterday, said that the matter of the land filling in question was a misunderstanding and that the matter has since been resolved.  “This land had been declared so by the Department of Wildlife Conservation which had granted us permission for it to be maintained as a low land and this approval was obtained in 2011. The filling was a temporary one. I discussed the matter with the relevant Wildlife Conservation officials and the matter has now been resolved.”  Attempts to contact Department of Wildlife Conservation Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara regarding the relevant approvals and the Bellanwila-Attidiya Park Warden regarding the land filling proved futile.  The Bellanwila-Attidiya Wetlands were declared a nature sanctuary on 25 July 1990.


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