We, the undersigned, urgently call upon the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation of Sri Lanka to revoke the decision of de-gazetting part of the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve. This action threatens the ecological integrity and biodiversity and the ecological services rendered by one of Sri Lanka's most iconic mangrove ecosystems along with its unique seagrass, mud flats, salt marshes and coral reefs.

Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, located along the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka, is renowned for its rich biodiversity, including numerous species of flora and fauna some of which are endemic or threatened. In addition to being a nature reserve, the area is also identified as an environmentally sensitive area, flanked by protected areas of the Department of Forest. This ecosystem plays a vital role in coastal protection, carbon sequestration, and sustaining the livelihoods of local communities dependent on its resources, mainly fish and shellfish. The nature reserve is an important habitat for many species of migratory birds that aggregate, every year, making it a critical element in supporting Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and RAMSAR. This location has periodically recorded over 100,000 birds congregating to feed. The elusive dugong finds its home here.

Despite proclaimed commitments to climate action and mangrove protection, the Government has decided to de-gazette parts of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, in clear violation of due process and in a haphazard manner, resulting in the following urgent concerns

Environmental Destruction
The de-gazetting of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve exposes the area to potential deforestation, land conversion, and industrial activities, which could lead to irreversible damage to the ecosystem, such as nutrification, acidification of the soil, barren landscapes, pollution, changes to hydrology amongst other dire consequences.

Biodiversity Loss
The reserve is a habitat for many endangered and vulnerable species, including the  critically endangered Dugong. Removing sections of its protected status increases the risk of habitat destruction, threatening these species with extinction.

Climate Change
Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve is a unique ecosystem with the convergence of all three blue-carbon ecosystems. These serve as vital carbon sinks contributing to reduction in atmospheric carbon. Their destruction would release significant amounts of carbon dioxide, exacerbating global climate change.

Disruption of Local Community Livelihoods
Many local communities situated in and around the VNR depend on the sustainable resources provided by these ecosystems using them in a sustainable way. De-gazetting threatens their way of life and economic stability.

Violation of International Commitments
Sri Lanka is a signatory to various international environmental agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement. Sri Lanka has committed to increasing the national forest cover to 32% from 29% by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution targets. The de-gazetting undermines these commitments and damages the country’s reputation as a leader in conservation.

Sri Lanka is the champion of Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods Action Group (MELAG) in Blue Charter Initiative of the Commonwealth.  Sri Lanka has committed to mangroves through a joint resolution to UNEA with the Government of Indonesia, set a global example by adopting National Mangrove Policy, pioneered World Seagrass Day declaration at UNGA to mention few of our commitments, advocated a climate change university and commitments to increase carbon sequestration capacity by 7% by 2030 at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Sri Lanka was recently Honoured with UN Award for Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration

We urge and appeal to the Government and the Ministry that the Gazette and the decision to de-gazette the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve be immediately revoked and rescinded.

Whilst doing so, we call upon the Government and the Ministry of Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation of Sri Lanka to implement stronger protective measures to prevent future threats to the reserve, ensuring long-term conservation of the reserve. To this end, we would urge that local communities are also engaged in these renewed conservation efforts, recognizing their role as stewards of the environment.

We urge the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation to act swiftly in restoring the protected status to all areas of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserves the ecological, social, and economic benefits of preserving these vital  ecosystems, far outweigh any short-term gains from its de-gazetting. 

Let us work together to protect our natural heritage for current and future generations.

 

වෙඩිතලතිව් ස්වභාව රක්ෂිතය ඉවත් කිරීමේ තීරණය අවලංගු කරන ලෙසට පහත අත්සන් කර ඇති අපි ශ්‍රී ලංකා වනජීවී හා වන සම්පත් සංරක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයෙන් කඩිනමින් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. මෙම ක්‍රියාව පාරිසරික අඛණ්ඩතාවයට සහ ජෛව විවිධත්වයට තර්ජනයක් වන අතර ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉතා වැදගත් කඩොලාන පරිසර පද්ධතියක් එහි අද්විතීය මුහුදු තෘණ, මඩ තට්ටු, ලවණ වගුරු බිම් සහ කොරල්පර මගින් ඉටු කරන පාරිසරික සේවාවන්ට ද එය තර්ජනය කරයි.

වෙඩිතලතිව්හි සියලු ම ප්‍රදේශවලට ආරක්‍ෂිත තත්ත්වය ප්‍රතිෂ්ඨාපනය කිරීමට කඩිනමින් ක්‍රියා කරන ලෙස වනජීවී හා වන සම්පත් සංරක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයෙන් අපි ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. මෙම ජෛව කඩොලාන පරිසර පද්ධතිය සංරක්ෂණය කිරීමෙන් ලැබෙන පාරිසරික, සමාජීය සහ ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිලාභ එය ගැසට් නිවේදයක් හරහා අනාරක්ෂිත් කිරීම මගින් ලැබෙන කෙටි කාලීන වාසිවලට වඩා බොහෝ සෙයින් වැඩි ය.

கீழே கையொப்பமிட்டவர்களான நாங்கள், விடத்தல் தீவு இயற்கைக் காப்பகத்தின் ஒரு பகுதியை வர்த்தமானியிலிருந்து அகற்றும் முடிவை உடனடியாக இரத்து செய்யுமாறு இலங்கை வனவிலங்கு மற்றும் வன வளங்கள் பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சினை கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம். இந்த நடவடிக்கை சூழலியல் ஒருமைப்பாடு மற்றும் பல்லுயிர் பெருக்கத்தை அச்சுறுத்துகிறது, மேலும் இலங்கையின் முக்கிய சதுப்புநில சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பால் அதன் தனித்துவமான கடற்பாசிகள், மண் அடுக்குகள், உப்பு சதுப்பு நிலங்கள் மற்றும் பவளப்பாறைகள் மூலம் வழங்கப்படும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் சேவைகளை அச்சுறுத்துகிறது.

வனஜீவராசிகள் மற்றும் வன வளங்கள் பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சு உடனடியாக நடவடிக்கை எடுத்து விடத்தல் தீவின் அனைத்து பகுதிகளும் பாதுகாப்பட்ட பகுதியாக மீள உறுதிப்படுத்துமாறு கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம். இந்த மிக முக்கிய சதுப்புநில சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பைப் பாதுகாப்பதன் மூலம் ஏற்படும் சுற்றுச்சூழல், சமூக மற்றும் பொருளாதார நன்மைகள், வர்த்தமானி அறிவித்தலை நீக்குவதன் மூலம் கிடைக்கும் குறுகிய கால நன்மைகளை விட மிக மிக அதிகம்.

 

This appeal was formulated by the Mangrove Conservation Sustainable Livelihood Forum of Sri Lanka which comprise of

• Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS)
• Lanka Environment Fund (LEF)
• The Pearl Protectors
• Federation of Environmental Organizations (FEO)
• Parrotfish Collective
• Environment Foundation Limited (EFL)

By signing this, you express your collective voice in support of preserving Vidathalativu Nature Reserve and upholding Sri Lanka's commitment to environmental conservation.

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