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| Sunday, 02 March 2003 |
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Consuming the Bolgoda... : An eco-system in peril by RAPTI SIRIWARDANE-de ZOYSA It has already been said a countless number of times, in a considerable number of ways by a numerous number of people, from journalists and environmentalists to the local communities inhabiting the area. For indeed, thanks to widespread and sustained media attention, activists and NGOs have been able to garner support pushing for the conservation of the Bolgoda Lake and its surrounding wetlands.
The uncontrolled dumping of industrial effluent, agricultural pesticides and untreated sewage leading to depleting mangrove reserves and the immense loss of biodiversity, an ever-increasing population density due to its recreational value and scenic beauty, and now the construction of the Colombo - Matara Expressway to join the long catastrophic laundry list, inevitably prompts socio-environmental calls-to-action. An entire eco-system is in peril. That was what it was called before, and quite rightly too. Research Situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, it is part of both the Colombo and the Kalutara Districts. The lake, consisting of two major water bodies, covers 400 square kilometres and the span of it extends approximately to 35 kilometres from Colombo. The entire lake is located between the Kalu Ganga and the Kelaniya Ganga basins, and while its North Lake opens up to the Indian Ocean via the Panadura estuary, the South Lake links to the sea through a narrow stretch of waterway known as Thalpitiya Ela in Pinwatte. Regrettably, much of the environmental research undertaken has been limited to its North Lake, where most of the human activity is going on. Extending up to Ratmalana, the extreme northern body of the lake is known as Weras Ganga, and the highly populated towns of Aththidiya and Moratuwa are situated in this locality. Not much prominence has been given to the river that connects the two Lakes or to the South Lake, which extends all the way down to Kalutara district in environmental discourse pertaining to the preservation of the Lake, in its entirety. This is hardly surprising, as the southern portion of the Lake has been relatively untouched by socio-economic activity. Yet today this area of the Lake too, is under threat by the proposed Colombo - Matara Expressway, and for those who are more familiar with the northern reaches of the Bolgoda, it will be naive to assert that degradation of the South Lake would hardly have an impact on its northern water body. Water bodies Bolgoda Lake is a basin estuary, but it is a lake because some natural brackish water bodies are referred to as coastal lakes. Since the Bolgoda Lake is not connected to the sea throughout the year via Panadura estuary, it could be considered as a semi closed lagoon. The ecological stability of these water bodies is largely determined by sea water and the annual fresh water influx into the estuary provided by the monsoonal floods that enable an instant flush and the mixing process therein provide sufficient renewal of the essential nutrients and, organic matters and dissolved gases. The ecological process in these estuarine systems can be disturbed in many instances directly or indirectly due to land based human activities. Like many of its South Asian counterparts the Bolgoda Lake, with its gamut of myth and folklore, may represent many things to many different people. For centuries the lake has been a traditional fishing ground for the communities that lived on its banks. Later, it was extensively used by the Dutch to ferry both goods and people from the Ratnapura District. Furthermore, the river acted as a popular mode of transport for timber harvested from the Sinharaja rainforest that was to be used in the timber mills of Moratuwa. However, it was perhaps during British colonisation that the Bolgoda earned its label as a popular recreational spot, and swiftly became noteworthy amongst the Colombo - dwelling British for its excellent hunting. Superficially, nothing much has changed. The colonial state subsequently became a postcolonial one, however the Bolgoda, complete with its retinue of timber mills and so much more, has managed to safeguard its identity as a recreational hotspot. In the recent years, it acquired another title. Now internationally reputed for the Bellanwila-Aththidiya bird sanctuary, state authorities have time and again been requested to declare it an eco-tourist zone with the hope of attracting more purposeful efforts at environmental conservation. Listed among the 42 important wetlands of Asia, it contains more than 350 acres of marshy land along the bunds of the lake, and shares its space with a considerable number of factories, playgrounds, homesteads and schools. Species It is home to a rich diversity of aquatic, amphibious, and mammalian species, among these include 160 species of migrant and resident bird life, including seven of Sri Lanka's endemic reptiles, but vast garbage dumps and red earth - fills are common enough. The IUCN has labelled Sri Lanka as having one of the highest levels of biodiversity per unit in Asia, yet a newspaper article that appeared last year commemorating the sixth World Wetlands Day which falls on February 2, stated that research undertaken by the Society for Environmental Education (SEE) revealed 'wildlife values' to be abysmally low among the Island's other 'environmental' priorities. Yet, as contemporary 'Third World' top-down political rhetoric goes, how possibly can the underdeveloped afford the luxury of conservation? Certainly, as state-planners would enthusiastically put it, there are roads to be built, factories to start, and land to be put to more 'efficient' use. Regrettably, for many who adopt this stance, the Bolgoda, especially the Northern lake fails to act as testimony to this type of bureaucratic mind-frame. When taking into account all who depend on it, including the profiteers of the Bolgoda Lake (some of whom may not necessarily be its polluters), the adverse impacts induced by socio-economic activity does not have the effect of neatly separating parties concerned into two potentially opposing camps. Illicit dumping With the mushrooming of a copious number of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants in the recent couple of years catering to a whole range of holiday-makers and those in search of recreational activities, from bird-watchers and anglers, to wind-surfers, boaters and picnickers, there should be, to a great extent, a convergence of interests amounting to the preservation of the Bolgoda and its natural environs. Yet, numerous complaints, many of which have come from inhabitants in the area have largely fallen upon deaf ears of the state apparatus. One example of this has been the complaints launched against the illicit dumping of sawdust, often at nighttime, from sizeable number of timber mills in the locality. This reduces the amount of oxygen available to aquatic life. Once having lived in an area well known for its angling, prawn and crab fishing, resident fishermen, especially those using the North Lake have observed that fish stocks deplete everyday. It is ironic to note that the want of economic development may lead to, in some cases, the loss of livelihood for others. Today, both the northern and southern water bodies of Bolgoda Lake assume many identities. It is a water body providing a rich habitat to a variety of feathered waders, and is also home to the Colombo Yacht Club. It is stretch of water that accommodates surface run-off during heavy rainfall thereby preventing heavy flooding, yet it is also perceived as a successful breeding pool for mosquito larva. Its aquatic life directly acts as a source of livelihood and subsistence for some, while for others its 'salubrious' surroundings may represent a means of generating income. To echo some environmentalists in saying that the Bolgoda may become the next Beira Lake would be a crude attempt to trivialize it. For indeed the uniqueness of the former lies in the fact that it strives to balance two, though not necessarily mutually existing worlds, its flora and faunal life on the one hand, and the burgeon urban environs surrounding it, on the other. |
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