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| Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Marsh to be conserved for its avifauna Bellanwila - Attidiya Environmental Centre in the offing by Shanika Sriyananda An environmental education Centre will soon emerge, at the controversial 10-acre stretch of Bellanwila - Attidiya marsh which has been used by the Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) as a dumping site for garbage. The marsh is very popular for its rich avifauna.
Land filling with earth excavated from the already polluted Bolgoda canal, where toxic industrial effluent from factories in the Ratmalana area are discharged through Thel Ela, has already commenced under the first phase with the assistance of the Land Reclamation and Development corporation. Shyamani Periyapperuma, Senior Environmental Officer CEA in an interview with the Sunday Observer said that the marsh has been destroyed due to the high rate of encroachments, uncontrolled cutting of wetland trees and shrubs, disruption or interference with the breeding of wild animals and birds by developing roads, permanent buildings, discharge of industrial effluent and its use as a solid waste dumping site. The Bellanwila - Attidiya sanctuary, which is the only remaining wetland around Colombo and identified as an important marsh in the Asian region by the International Wetland Survey of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), had been the garbage dumping site of the Council since 1997. According to Periyapperuma, a management plan had been drafted by the CEA to conserve the Bellanwila - Attidiya marsh which is a vital habitat for insects, fishes, reptiles and birds. Declared as a Sanctuary under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance 1990, this is a popular haunt for migratory birds. This wetland was home to over 157 bird species, 60 butterfly varieties, 43 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and 16 species of mammals. But this marsh, which was full of sewage, industrial and agricultural effluent, municipal garbage and other toxic waste resulted in the loss of most of its residential birds and fish.The Bellanwila - Attidiya Sanctuary encompassing 372 acres with a core area of 72 acres, comprises of a mosaic of shallow freshwater ponds, marshes and seasonally flooded grasslands, with scattered pockets of shrubs and low trees. The Bolgoda canal runs through the marsh and the DMMC garbage dump is within the core area of the sanctuary. According to Periyapperuma, over 20 industries, which manufacture asbestos, dyes, textiles, garments, PVC's and agro-chemicals, in the Ratmalana area discharge toxic dyes & other industrial wastes through Thel Ela. " The Bolgoda canal has been highly polluted due to this", she added. "Recently, the DMMC tried to use the dumping site as a solid waste transfer station. But due to the strong protest voiced by the villagers and environmental organisations against the proposed station, Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M. Fowzie has instructed the relevant authorities to stop this. He also ordered that the wetland be conserved", Periyapperuma said. She said that because of its proximity to the city of Colombo, the marsh could be developed as a recreational centre, while providing opportunities for conservation education, nature study and research activities. " To conserve the marsh all land fillings have to be banned, and illegal marsh dwellers have to be relocated. The core area needed to be re-mapped to acquire private lands within. All the constructions inside the core area should be prohibited and only foot paths should be allowed within the core area. Vehicles should not be permitted", she added. According to her, industrial waste water discharge to the marsh should be controlled by ensuring proper treatment systems. Highly polluted Thel Ela is to be preserved, " The Attidiya Environmental Organisation (AEO) is now ready to start growing trees in the previous dumping site and an environmental friendly information centre, research centre and an awareness and education centre will be constructed once the filling is completed", she pointed out. The upgrading of the marsh is entirely with the assistance of the community participation and once the project is completed, it will be handed over to the AEO for maintenance and conservation of the marsh. ############# 'Elephant census' In search of a solution to human-elephant conflict A more comprehensive and practical methods to solve the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) will be implemented after the 'Elephant Census', which counts all elephants in the country including those in North and East, is completed. The census undertaken by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC), got under way, last week.
The elephants in the Wayamba province, where the highest number of elephants have been killed, will be counted first. According to DWLC data, over 40 per cent of the total elephant deaths recorded in the country are from this province. The Willpattu National Park will be the base for the census and elephants in Puttlam, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Kahalla Pallekele Sanctuary and Ritigala Sanctuary will also be counted. DWLC officials in the Wayamba Province are now following a training programme under Dr. Richard Barns, a renowned British expert in carrying out elephant census using elephant dung. "There are seven to eight methods of carrying out elephant census. But the two most safest methods are the use of elephant dung and water holes", DWLC Director General Dayananda Kariyawasam said. Dr. Bans, who did several elephants censuses in African countries, is now involved in counting South African elephants. According to Mr. Kariyawasam, a well researched study on elephant density is essential to implement a long-term solution to the HEC. "By using elephant dung, we can find out several data about the elephants in the particular area", he pointed out. The Census will be funded by the 'Monitoring Illegal Killings of Elephants' (MIKE) program established under the CITES Convention to observe threats to elephants in the South Asian region. University students of Rajarata and Peradeniya, under the guidance of Prof. Charles Santiapillai will assist in carrying out the census in the Wayamba area. Over 150 centres will be set up in the Wayamba province to carry out the census. According to DWLC officials, the main reason for the high number of deaths due to HEC is the small forest patches within the villages. " Elephants migrate from one forest patch to the other in search of food and water through the villages. This aggravate the human - elephant battle", he said adding the forest cover in the province should be extended for the elephants to move freely.The total number of elephants in the country, the number of tuskers, the number of females and males, the number of calves and she elephants and the age of elephants will be documented under the census. The last elephant census was carried out in 1993 and it found that there were 3,500 to 4,000 elephants in the country with 7 per cent tuskers. In the southern province, the elephants in National Parks Yala, Wasgamuwa, Lahugala and Udawalawe and Mahaweli region will be counted. - SS ############# Sewage overflow undermines River Thames The River Thames, which bisects the centre of London, is said by some to be among the world's cleaner urban waterways, but that claim to fame is undermined by frequent spillage from the capital's sewage system. At the start of this month, a fierce rain storm caused up to a million tonnes of untreated sewage to pour into a section of the river which passes through a residential part of west London, poisoning millions of fish. Just a week later, another million tonnes of water saturated with sewage was discharged close to two overworked water purification plants unable to cope with a new storm. London's vast subterranean sewage system, constructed after a series of cholera epidemics hit the city in the 1850s, was once the wonder of the world, but has been little modified since then. It uses the same pipes to gather both rain and sewage waste for transport towards reprocessing plants. The main drawback of this is when the system reaches capacity, for example due to torrential storms such as those which pounded London at the start of August. Then, engineers have a stark choice - open some of the 57 release valves scattered along the river's muddy banks, or risk sewers overflowing into the streets of the British capital. This type of incident, albeit in less dramatic forms, occurs about 50 or 60 times a year, dumping a total of some 20 million tonnes of waste water directly into the Thames, explained Jon Goddard, technical manager with the Environment Agency, the government's pollution and waterways watchdog. "To have these discharges, and the volumes of untreated sewage that run through the UK's capital city, past the Houses of Parliament ... I think that's quite a disgrace," he said. (reuter) ############# Guide to National Parks : Maduru Oya Maduru Oya, which was declared a National Park in 1983, was designed to protect the immediate catchments of five reservoirs developed under the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Program. With the acquisition of State land, the park, which provides refugee for hundreds of wild elephants, was extended to 58,850 hectares in 1985 in a bid to shelter more wild animals. Located in the dry zone with its Southern part bordering the intermediate zone, this tropical dry mixed evergreen forest lies between the Polonnaruwa - Batticaloa road and Mahiyangana - Padiyatalawa road in the districts of Ampara, Badulla and Polonnaruwa. This park is surrounded by the Mahaweli development areas, teak plantation and jungle are in the south and east. The 8 kilo metre long rocky mountain range is in the south - west of the park. The predominant soil, the red earth is fertile but easily eroded. Water bodies, constituting over 15 per cent of the park, include the Maduru Oya, Ulhitiya, Ratkinda and Henanigala reservoirs and tributaries of the Mahaweli and Maduru Oya river systems. An ancient Buddhist shrines, temples, dagobas, statues and hermitages from different eras of history are testimonies to this land being under the blessings of Buddhists priests. An ancient sluice, consisting of stone slabs and bricks, on the old breached earthen bund of the Maduru Oya was discovered recently. Nearly thousand of veddas lived in Kandeganwela, Kotatalawa, Dambana and other areas in the park before it was declared a National Park. Weera, Palu, welang, divul, ehela and weliwenna are the main tree species grown in the park. A rare and endemic tree - 'vatica obscura' - the only species of the Dipterocapaceae to occur in the dry zone, is found in restricted locations on the banks of the Maduru Oya. The park is home for some threatened species of mammals like sloth bear, leopard and water buffalo. Other mammals like slender loris, toque macaque, common langur, jackal, fishing cat, wild boar, Indian muntjac, spotted deer and sambur and small mammals include porcupine, black napped hare, Indian pangolin, squirrels, rats and mice are also inhabited in the park. Painted stork, White bellied sea eagle, grey pelican, great cormorant and little cormorant are the noteworthy aquatic birds in he park. Sri Lankan jungle fowl, the rare broad billed roller, common tailed bird, black hooded oriole, woodpecker and red faced malkoha which is endemic to Sri Lanka, are the resident birds in the Maduru Oya National park. Barbs, giant gourami, snake heads, catfish and tilapia can be seen in the reservoirs. The main access to the park is from the north 25 kilo metres from Manampitiya in the Polonnaruwa - Batticaloa highway. The park is located nearly 265 kilo metres from Colombo and the easiest route from Colombo is via Kurunegala, Dambulla, Habarana, Polonnaruwa and Manampitiya. There are two circuit bungalows and one dormitory at the park office in front of Maduru Oya reservoir. Ulhitiya Campsite is available for nature lovers. Complied by Shanika Sriyananda Source: Department of Wildlife Conservation. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
The proposed Bellanwila Attidiya Environmental Centre will be
constructed under the guidance of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA)
with the help of the Attidiya Environmental Organisation, which has been
at loggerheads with the DMMC for years, over the dumping of garbage
including hospital waste.
Several short-term plans to reduce the escalating number of human and
elephant deaths reported annually have failed mainly due to lack of a
properly studied research of elephant density in human habitats. Three
elephants and one human die due to Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in the
districts of Puttlam, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala, where the highest
number of elephants are reported killed. Over 45 elephants, in Wayamba,
had been killed mainly by the villagers to protect their agriculture based
properties last year with 25 elephants have been killed during the past
four months. Over 20 villagers in the province have died due to HEC.
