Earth hope

Land of rich biodiversity

Gurupokuna - Kalametiya wetland

by Nilma Dole

As Valentine's Day is celebrated, Mother Nature needs love and attention too. Global warming continues to rise at an alarming rate in the country. We have to think about how best to love her. The Kalametiya wetland located in the southern region is also a biologically diverse rainforest which has plenty of endemic species.

Kalametiya is a quaint and quiet coastal wetland in the Hambantota District. It is situated approximately halfway between the towns of Tangalle and Hambantota. The popular Kalametiya Lagoon is a brackish water body fringed by mangroves and salty marshes that is separated from the sea by a narrow islet of beach. Kalametiya is also famous for its bird life and was declared a Sanctuary in 1984. It has also been declared a "Special Area Management" (SAM) site under the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) in Sri Lanka.

Jetwing Eco-holidays CEO Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne in his book titled 'Sri Lanka National Parks and Reserves' says that Kalametiya is an extensive area of wetland with brackish lagoons, mangrove swamps, open grassy areas and pockets of scrub jungle. "It is an important site for migrant waders and provides an important refuge (one of the few remaining on the southern coastal strip) for the smaller mammals of Sri Lanka", he points out.

Many common wetland birds can be seen here like the Slatybreasted Crake, Watercock and Black Bittern. During the northern winter, Glossy Ibis may be present with thousands of waders and the Grey Mongoose and Hanuman Langur are the mammals most likely to be seen.

The University of Ruhuna has also done extensive research on Kalametiya and they have identified possible sources in changes of the mangrove cover at Kalametiya. The research can not only be environmentally beneficial but offer a livelihood for the people in the area.

However, there have been reports of illegal deforestation as posted by the Lakdasun Forum for Nature Conservation. Member Rahul says, "About a year ago large parts of the shoreline of the 'lewaya' lagoon and another dry lagoon was being destroyed by tractors, backhoes and dozers without permits".

He further adds, "There were rumours that a salt pan was supposed to be developed but no environmental impact assessment was done. Unfortunately, this problem has been badly damaging the environment because dozers on the beach have already opened the way for sea access to the lagoon which is cutting the beach 'watekeiya' that is crucial for retaining the shoreline in order to make this water canal".

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has catalogued Kalametiya as one of Sri Lanka's most important coastal ecosystem because in their research document - A biodiversity status profile of Lunama-Kalametiya Wetland Sanctuary - it has been reported that a total of 283 species of vertebrates were recorded from the Lunama-Kalametiya area, of which 14 species (5%) are endemic, while 17 species (6%) are nationally threatened.

The vertebrates comprise 35 species of fish, 13 species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles, 168 species of birds and 24 species of mammals.

Deforestation is rampant in the area because the villagers have cut down and burnt more than 50 ha of forest timber in the Kalametiya sanctuary for their settlements, chena cultivation and shell mining. This has displaced forest dwelling birds from their habitats. In addition to this, ill-planned irrigation infrastructure, discharge of agrochemicals into wetlands, unregulated animal husbandry, unauthorized development activities, hunting and poaching of animals especially turtles, accidents where animals have been killed on the Matara-Hambantota main road and the spread of alien invasive species have also become a problem in the area.

Overall, Kalametiya needs to be protected and if we don't do anything about it now, this prized wetland will be lost forever.

Sand mining in river beds - a major threat to local waters

by Harshini PERERA

Most of the rivers in South Asian region are polluted and most of the time neglected except for the purpose they serve as resources. The latest survey done by the United Nations indicates that around 750 million people sustained by the rivers in Asia will be affected due to pollution. Sand mining in river beds and basins could be seen as a major polluter. Many flora and fauna flourish besides rivers in Sri Lanka just like in any other country.

The Deputy Director of Mines explained to the Sunday Observer of their sustained efforts at combating the situation. They have found out that the sand mining is a threat to the entire biodiversity of Kelani river, which had been the topic of environmentalists for long, should take precedence. He, said sand mining could increase the saline water intrusion, though it is a natural process which said to happen twice a year.

"When sand miners in certain rivers, exceed the limit of the numberz of cubes recommended by us, some of them, scoop the bed of the river to the impermeable layer, so it causes the seepage of water. Thus the dry down of water could keep many in thirst," he said. When the level of water in the river naturally decreases it in turn increase the temperature of the water. This could lead to many environmental issues where the accustomed species in the river such as fish and plants will get affected.

The miners could see only the economic advantage of it whereas none think of the harm it does to the environment. When mining is severe, the miners not only damage the river bed by scooping sand but harm the flora in the bank as well. The bank is more inhibited by fauna such as cane, bamboo and mangroves. In fact, their sole existence get disturbed.

He said that "When salt water intrude above the normal distance, the species in the beyond that limit could not survive in salt water. The salt water can affect their natural way of living. Those species have adjusted to the prevailing condition could no longer remain due to the salty solution in water."

As a method to address the situation the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau has carried out a survey in 2006 and learnt that there were over 200 miners engaged in three places namely, Hanwella, Kaduwela, Homagama DS divisions. They have especially made it a policy for not to grant any licence in Kelani river since 2006 but to those who had been already engaged in mining at that time. This licence procedure includes some policies to protect environment.

It says only a limited cubes of sand in limited days can be extracted sand from the river. In the Kelani river a miner could get only 35 cubes a day and they should do mining every other day. So, the disturbed river receives a time to calm down, covering the damage it does to the river bed.

The Mining Engineer, Kushana Gunesakara who is responsible for the Gampaha division of the river explained that the impact on environment is similar to the other side of the river. But they have made the access points to the bank one meter, so that they have managed to save flora in the river banks. Moreover, constant monitoring measures have taken place and Police of certain areas are vigilant of the law breakers.

On Darwin anniversary:

Tourist limits to Galapagos, Antarctica?

Should the world celebrate the 200th anniversary today of the birth of English naturalist Charles Darwin by working to limit the number of tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands or Antarctica to protect their spectacular wildlife?

Would that help elephant seals like this one above on the Antarctic Peninsula slumber more peacefully? And would it cause less disruption for marine iguanas, below right, on Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos?

The Galapagos in the Pacific Ocean gave Darwin insights into evolution on his famed voyage around the world aboard The Beagle. Many species - from mockingbirds to tortoises - differ from those on the South American mainland.

And Antarctica, which wasn't even discovered when Darwin was born on Feb. 12, 1809, is the world's last big wilderness.

About 39,000 tourists are likely to visit Antarctica this current summer season, down from a record 46,000 a year ago and interrupting a fast-rising trend in the past couple of decades, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators Recession has hit bookings of trips that cost thousands of dollars.

IAATO says the numbers are tiny - enough people to fill a football stadium across a continent bigger than the United States.

But a group of environmentalists, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition wants the numbers capped - it hasn't proposed an exact figure, but says it shouldn't be too far above current levels.

Among nightmare scenarios for Antarctica, first sighted in 1820, penguins might get bird flu. Or new seeds unwittingly brought by tourists might thrive and displace lichens and mosses found nowhere else on earth.

A big cruise liner might run aground, spilling oil and coating beaches used by seals.

And the unique wildlife is of the Galapagos is similarly under threat from people with both tourism and immigration from the South American mainland.

See a BBC report here, for instance, saying that tourism rose to more than 173,000 last year.

The United Nations in 2007 added the Galapagos to its list of world heritage sites in danger. So should there be caps on visitors? If so, how many?

If not, how do we protect these unique places?

Source: Reuters

Endangered:

Rhino horned lizard

Ceratophora stoddartii belongs to family agamidae & genus Ceratophora which is a relict genus. This genus contains five species, all of which are endemic to Sri Lanka. Among them C. stoddartii is restricted to the central massif (Horton Plains, Peak Wilderness, Pituruthalagala, Kikiliyamana,) at cloud forest level.

C. stoddartii is a medium size lizard with thin body. It is known for its unique feature of prominent conical shaped rostal appendage - a 'horn'-like that of a rhinoceros, which comprises a single scale. Mature individual's dorsum and sides are dark brownish-green or yellow brown in colour. C. stoddartii is found in sub arboreal microhabitats. According to the 2007 Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora of Sri Lanka the Rhino-horned lizard is an endangered species. It is threatened due to illegal encroachment for agricultural practices, pollution by agrochemicals, habitat destruction, forest die-back, climatic change, etc...

Reference

http://www.pdn.ac.lk/socs/zaup/reptiles/agamidae.html

Pethiyagoda, R and K. Manamendra-Arachchi (1998) A Revision of the endemic Sri Lankan agamid Lizard Genus Ceratophora Gray, 1835, with description of two new species. Journal of South Asian Natural History Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon). 3(1):1-50

- By Dilup Chandranimal

IUCN (The International Union for Nature Conservation)

Sri Lanka-Country Office