NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COLOMBO WETLANDS WAS SUCCESSFULLY HELD IN COLOMBO

National Conference on Colombo Wetlands was successfully held in Colombo 11 th June 2019 at water’s edge, Battaramulla with the participation of decision makers, state agency representatives, practitioners, academics, developers and the general public especially community level representatives. The objective of this conference was to initiate a high level  discussion on importance of protecting this invaluable ecosystem from current and future threats. During the conference CEJ launched their Mobile Application dedicated to improve the complaining mechanism on wetland related issues. Ms Dinali Jayasinghe, National Coordinator of the UNDP/GEF/SGP program spoke about the sixth operational phase of the small grants program and what type of projects are ongoing in Colombo Wetlands landscape. Urban Development Authority presented their future plans for the Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura City areas. Thereafter Central Environment Authority, Urban Development Authority, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation and Wildlife Conservation Department spoke on their mandates regarding conservation of wetlands. Prof Devaka Weerakoon from the University of Colombo presented the Colombo Wetland Management  Strategy which has been developed by a team of experts led by SLLRDC. Participants unanimously agreed to give their contribution to protect this valuable ecosystem in their capacity.