Mangroves for the Future National Strategy and Action Plan

Mangroves for the Future

National Strategy and Action PlanAn Ecosystem-Based Integrated Coastal Management in Sri Lanka

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Mangroves for the Future

national strategy and Action PlanAn ecosystem-Based Integrated Coastal Management in sri Lanka

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Contents

Publ�shed by: IUCn (International Union for Conservation of nature), Sri Lanka Office for the National Steering Committee of the Mangroves for the Future Programme, sri Lanka,

Copyr�ght: © 2009 IUCn, International Union for Conservation of nature and natural Resources.

Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non - commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Research, synthes�s and comp�lat�on: Dr J I samarakoon

Photographs: Unless otherwise indicated, all still photographs are by Dr J I samarakoon

C�tat�on: sri Lanka national strategy and Action Plan (2009) Mangroves

for the Future Programme, IUCN Sri Lanka Country Office, Colombo. xxxii + 219pp.

ISBN: 978 - 955 - 8177 - 96 - 9

Cover Photograph: A hive of activity near the Fisheries Harbour in tangalle; Ranjith Mahindapala

Produced by: IUCN Sri Lanka Office

Des�gned and layout by: K. Amila tharanga

Pr�nted by: Karunaratne & sons Ltd. 67, UDA Industrial estate, Katuwana Road, Homagama.

Ava�lable from: IUCn sri Lanka Country Office, 53, Horton Place, Colombo 07, sri Lanka.

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CoNteNtS

ABBReVIAtIoNS .................................................................. v� FoReWoRD............................................................................ �x exeCutIVe SummARy ....................................................... x�

1. INtRoDuCtIoN ................................................................. 11.1 Coastal ecosystems Focus .................................................11.2 Coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka ......................................41.3 How to Read the nsAP ................................................ 13

1.3.1 structure of the Report .............................................. 141.4 Planning the nsAP – starting Point .............................. 151.5 the tragedy of the Commons ....................................... 161.6 the Mangroves for the Future Programme (MFF) – An opportunity .......................................................... 181.7 Integration with International Processes ........................ 201.8 Terminology – a Clarification ........................................ 201.9 Coastal ecosystems: Bio-physical Reality and need for ecosystem-based ICM ..................................................... 21

1.9.1 evolution of estuaries, Lagoons and Deltas .............. 241.9.2 A Micro-tidal regime .................................................. 241.9.3 A narrow Continental shelf ..................................... 251.9.4 Geological Base and Geomorphology (swan, 1983; Cooray 1982) ......................................... 271.9.5 Impact of technology ................................................ 271.9.6 Coastal Processes ........................................................ 29

1.10 the Developmental setting ............................................ 341.10.1 Development History and Poverty............................ 36

1.11 Planning Principles ......................................................... 371.12 Management of Change in ecosystems ........................... 371.13 Causal Model Analysis of Coastal ecosystems ............... 391.14 Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is Development ................................................................... 391.15 natural Hazards as stimuli for Improved ICM .............. 43

1.15.1 the Great Indian ocean tsunami 2004: An opportunity for Improved ICM ............................... 43

1.16 Millennium ecosystem Assessment and the tsunami 2004: a Foundation for MFF & nsAP ........................... 431.17 An Asian Perspective on ecosystem-based ICM ............ 44

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1.18 socio-ecological systems (ses): the Human Face of Coastal ecosystems ......................................................... 451.19 Adapting to Future Uncertainty ..................................... 461.20 Issues in sustainable Management of socio-ecological systems ............................................................................ 461.21 the national strategy and Action Plan (nsAP) ............ 471.22 towards 2030: MFF nsAP ............................................ 48

2. CoAStAL eCoSyStemS – exIStING SItuAtIoN AND tReNDS .................................................. 49

2.1 Preamble ......................................................................... 492.2 Methodology: Information on ecosystem trends ......... 532.3 Coastal Ecosystems – Definition, Regional Diversity, and Use Patterns ............................................................. 54

2.3.1 Definition ................................................................... 552.3.2 structure and Functioning of the seven Coastal ecosystems .................................................... 582.3.3 Regional Diversity – the Coasts of the Provincial Councils ..................................................................... 672.3.4 Distribution and extents of Coastal ecosystems ....... 802.3.5 Coastal ecosystems – size Matters! ............................ 812.3.6 Coastal Habitats: the need to Reform Perceptions..82

2.4 Ecosystem - Catchment Relations: Defining the Wider environment ................................................................... 88

2.5 Multiple Uses and Development trends of Coastal ecosystems ..................................................................... 89

2.5.1 Coastal Fisheries ........................................................ 932.5.2 special Area Management ........................................ 1053.5.3 Agriculture and Livestock ........................................ 1102.5.4 Industrial Development ........................................... 1152.5.5 Coastal tourism Development ................................ 1182.5.6 Urbanization and Housing Development ................ 1202.5.7 Brackish Water and Shrimp Aquaculture ................ 1212.5.8 Mineral Mining ........................................................ 1252.5.9 Power and energy .................................................... 1282.5.10 Anchorages, Fishery Harbours and Ports ............... 128

2.6 Coastal ecosystems and natural Hazards: Vulnerability, exposure and Resilience ........................ 129

2.6.1 Post-tsunami livelihood support .............................. 1332.6.2 tsunami-2004 & Post-tsunami trends .................... 133

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2.6.3 Interpretation of Impacts on Coastal ecosystems and Lessons ........................................... 134

2.7 societal Dependence on Coastal ecosystems and Resources: Do traditional Coastal Communities exist ? ..................................................... 134

2.7.1 “traditional” Coastal Populations ........................... 1372.7.2 non-traditional Coastal Populations ....................... 1392.7.3 open Access Resources and Common Property Resources ................................................................. 1402.7.4 Inferences ................................................................. 141

2.8 ecosystem Change – Problem of seeing and Understanding .............................................................. 1412.9 Global Change and sea Level Rise ................................ 1462.10 Problems to be Addressed in the nsAP ....................... 1472.11 Coastal ecosystem Change trends - synthesis ............. 1482.12 Future Research ............................................................ 151

3. tHe NAtIoNAL StRAteGIC ACtIoN PLAN (NSAP) ..........................................................................153

3.1 the structure of the national strategic Action Plan (nsAP) ..................................................... 1533.2 Policies .......................................................................... 1533.3 strategic Action Plan (sAP) .......................................... 1563.4 Relationship between Planned Development and Coastal ecosystems ....................................................... 167

3.4.1 some Planning Questions and Answers................... 1683.4.2 Validation ................................................................. 169

3.5 Development opportunities ......................................... 1693.5.1 ecosystem Restoration & Rehabilitation................. 171

3.6 Background to the sAP ................................................ 1723.6.1 national studies ....................................................... 1763.6.2 National Workshop – 19 November 2007 ............... 177

3.7 Implementation ............................................................. 1773.7.1 Participation ............................................................. 178

3.8 Monitoring & evaluation strategy: Learning and Adapting ................................................. 1793.9 Compatibility with CZMP 2004 ................................ 1823.10 Conclusion .................................................................... 183

ReFeReNCeS AND BIBLIoGRAPHy ............................. 187 ANNexeS ............................................................................. 205

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ABBReVIAtIoNS

ADB Asian Development BnakBP Before PresentCAs Complex Adaptive systemCBnRM Community Based natural Resources Management CBo Community-based organizationCCD Coast Conservation DepartmentCeA Central environmental AuthorityCFHC Ceylon Fishery Harbours CorporationCM Coastal ManagementCPRU Coastal Planning & Research UnitsCRC Coastal Resources CenterCRMP Coastal Resources Management ProgrammeCsR Corporate social responsibilityCVI Coastal Vulnerability IndexCZMP Coastal Zone Management PlanCZM Coastal Zone Management DAnIDA Danish International Development AgencyDFAR Department of Fisheries and Aquatic ResourcesDnP Department of national PlanningDs Divisional secretaryDsD Divisional secretary DivisioneCCDP eastern Coastal Community Development ProjectexD extensive and scattered Distribution (reference to regional coastal maps)eD education DepartmenteIA environmental Impact AssessmentePC environment Protection CommitteeF&CC Fishing and Coastal CommunitiesFAo Food and Agricultual organizationFCCIsL Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in sri LankaFRP Fiberglass Reinforced PlasticFVP Finalized Village PlanGCeC Greater Colombo economic CommissionGDP Gross Domestic ProductGESAMP UN - Group of Experts on Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution

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GIs Geographic Information systemGnP Gross national ProductGosL Government of sri LankaGPs Global Positioning systemGsMB Geological surveys and Mines BureauHMs Her Majesty’s service ICM Integrated Coastal ManagementID Incipient DuneinGo International non-Governmental organizationIPCC Inter-government Panel on Climate ChangeIRMP Integrated Resources Management Programme in WetlandsIso International organization for standardization IUCn International Union for Conservation of nature, sri LankaIWMI International Water Management InstituteLG Local GovernmentLGA Local Government AuthorityLGF Large Grant FundM/Cons. I Ministry of Construction IndustryMCPA Marine Coastal Protected AreaMCZ Marine Coastal ZoneMDG Millennium Development GoalsMeA Millennium ecosystem AssessmentMenR Ministry of environment and natural ResourcesMFF Mangroves for the FutureMFoR Ministry of Fisheries and ocean ResourcesMIoI Multiple Inter-sectoral, organized Intervention (see Table 13) Mln MillionMoenR Ministry of environment and natural ResourcesMoF Minsitry of FisheriesMPA Marine Protected AreaMPPA Marine Pollution Prevention AuthorityMsL Mean sea LevelnAPA national Programme of ActionNAQDA National Aquaculture Development AuthorityNARA National Aquatic Resources Development AgencynAResA natural Resources, energy and science Authority of sri

Lanka (now nsF) nCB national Coordinating BodynGo non-Governmental organizationnsAP national strategy and Action Plan (Mangroves for the Future)

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nsC national science CouncilnsF national science Foundation (now nsF)oBM outboard MotoroMRn ocean Management Research networkPC Provincial CouncilPnAs Proceedings of the national Academy of science (Us)PoW Programme of WorkP-P Public – Private PartnershipP-P-C Public – Private – Community PartnershipRGA Rapid Green Assessment (tsunami 2004 impact on

coastal ecosystems)sAARC south Asian Association for Regional CooperationsAM special Area ManagementsAMDC sAM Development CommitteessAReC swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries sGF small Grants FundsIDA swedish International Development AgencysLRDC sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development BoardsMe small and Medium establishmenttB Ceylon tourist BoardtURF territorial Use Rights in FisheriesUDA Urban Development AuthorityUn United nationsUnDP United nations Development ProgrammeUneP United nations environment ProgrammeUnis UniversitiesUoM University of MoratuwaUsAID United states Agency for International DevelopmentWRB Water Resources Board

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FoReWoRD

The Mangroves for the Future programme is a partnership led initiative aimed at promoting investments and action in ecosystem conservation for sustainable coastal development. The initiative seeks to ensure ‘a healthier, more prosperous and secure future for all Indian Ocean coastal communities’.

Known as MFF, Mangroves for the Future programme takes a long-term view which addresses the continuing challenges to coastal ecosystems and livelihoods. MFF currently focusses on the countries most affected by the 2004 tsunami: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Sri Lanka, the destructive tsunami waves of 26 December, 2004 killed around 40,000 people, displaced nearly half a million people and caused enormous environmental damage to much of the country’s coastline, excluding the north-western coastal area. A large area of natural ecosystems including coastal vegetations, mangroves, sand dunes and lagoons had been severely damaged. These valuable ecosystems have been known for their significant ecosystem services, crucial for the long term livelihood security of communities. MFF introduces a new paradigm for conservation of coastal zones by positioning ecosystems and the services they provide as a vital part of coastal development infrastructure. It addresses a number of areas, including unsustainable development processes, poor coordination and conflicting interests in coastal management between sectors, weak governance at the national level, inadequate regional collaboration in environmental matters, and gaps in capacity, knowledge and empowerment among coastal ecosystem managers and users.

The Coast Conservation Department in its Coastal Zone Management Plan – 2004 notes that “Sri Lanka’s coastal habitats have undergone degradation in different degrees during the past resulting in the decline of their resources as well as extents at an unprecedented rate”. The causes for this situation are well documented, and it is now evident that a more cohesive and an integrated approach is required to address these issues. This National Strategy and Action Plan (NSAP) has provided an opportunity to examine these matters in a more logical way by focussing on the respective parent ecosystems as the units of management for human wellbeing by optimizing their value as development infrastructure.

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As the NSAP notes, Sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems are relatively small in size in their micro-tidal setting resulting in low carrying capacity and low resilience. The coastal ecosystems are distributed in association with the 103 rivers which influence their structure and functioning. The NSAP drew on the vast experiences in the country, primarily of the Coast Conservation Department and secondarily of the Central Environmental Authority, and seeks to support inter-sectoral mechanisms for integrated coastal zone management. It also complements the existing national policies.

The preparation of this NSAP has been intensely participatory, with the involvement of the relevant Government Agencies and other stakeholders. It has been reviewed and updated over the last year or so, with considerable dialogue with the Coast Conservation Department, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and a number of experts. The entire process was overseen by the National Steering Committee (NSC) of MFF Sri Lanka.

We would like to thank Dr J I Samarakoon for his research and analysis and for painstakingly compiling the NSAP. His commitment to ensure regular updating of the draft NSAP during the last year was outstanding. This would not have been possible if not for the efforts of the National Steering Committee of MFF, which regularly reviewed the state of the NSAP. We would also like to thank the previous Chair of the NSAP, Mr W R M S Wickramasinghe, former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources for his leadership during the formative years of the NSC. We also thank Dr D T Wettasinghe for editorial assistance.

Ms Padmini Batuwitage

Chair, National Steering Committee, MFF Sri LankaAdditional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources

November, 2009

Dr Ranjith Mahindapala

Country RepresentativeIUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources, Sri Lanka

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the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) – 2004, prepared by the Coast Conservation Department (CCD), in accordance with the Coast Conservation Act of 1981 notes that “Sri Lanka’s coastal habitats have undergone degradation to different degrees during the past, resulting in the decline of their resources as well as extents, at an unprecedented rate”. Causal factors responsible for this degradation are both natural and human-made. since 1990, coastal habitats were managed as per successive Coastal Zone Management Plans of the Coast Conservation Department. However, in the disturbing circumstances noted above, a more systemic approach is perceived to be imperative. this could be achieved through the integrated management of coastal habitats with their parent ecosystems as the focus. the Mangroves for the Future national strategy and Action Plan (nsAP) provides an opportunity to initiate the shift to coastal ecosystems as the unit of management for human wellbeing and optimize their value as development infrastructure.

sri Lanka’s 1,600-km coastline has seven classes of inter-related coastal ecosystems: coastal marine zones (CMZ), bays, beaches, dunes, estuaries, lagoons and tidal flats. Mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs and soft mud bottoms are habitats situated within these seven parent ecosystems.

The technical definition of ‘ecosystem’ has been adapted to suit practical integrated coastal management (ICM) recognizing their fundamental attributes, namely (i) structural complexity – composed of interacting parts; (ii) linkages to the wider environment; (iii) dynamic stability - meaning predictable change without undergoing irreversible transformation; (iv) resilience – the capacity to bounce back after both natural and human-made shocks such as pollution; (v) ecological ephemerality (temporariness in ecological time); (vi) geomorphological ephemerality (temporariness in geological time); and (vii) coupling of ecosystem processes with those in the wider environment such as a watershed.

sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems, excepting the CMZs, are relatively small in size in their micro-tidal setting (difference between high and low tide never exceeds one meter). therefore, their carrying capacity as well as their resilience is inherently low.

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the coastal ecosystems and the associated rivers and watersheds of the wider environment, which influence their structure and functioning, are distributed over five Provincial Councils. Land use in these ecosytems comes under the jurisdiction of northern, Northwestern, Western, Southern and Eastern Provincial Councils.

the nsAP draws upon almost three decades of ICM experience primarily of the CCD, and secondarily of the CeA. the MFF Strategic Framework affirms that it seeks to: “… support the inter-sectoral mechanisms for integrated coastal zone management through the Coast Conservation Department”.

the nsAP consists of three chapters - Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: existing situation and trends and Chapter 3: the Strategic Action Plan. The first two chapters set the foundation for the priorities that have to be addressed in integrated management.

the more economically sensitive and productive ecosystems are affected by the ‘tragedy of the commons’ - too many people competing to extract a share of a diminishing resource base, since access is not regulated (open access). Many laws exist, but enforcement is very weak. the result is continuing ecosystem decline.

the MFF Programme’s vision, goal and objectives, in integrating and collaborating with other international programmes, are: Vision: a more healthy, prosperous and secure future for all coastal populations in the Indian ocean countries, where all ecosystems are conserved and managed sustainably as development infrastructure; Goal: to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems as key assets which support human wellbeing and security; Objectives: (i) to strengthen the environmental sustainability of coastal development, and (ii) to promote investment of funds and effort in coastal ecosystem management.

The NSAP is an exercise in strategic planning. It identifies priorities for action based upon the analysis of the existing situation and use trends pertaining to coastal ecosystems. the management priorities identified require refinement in the context of situation-specific geographic settings, taking into account both biophysical and socio-economic diversity. Planning was guided by five caveats (see Box A).

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Box A. Five planning caveats considered for critical assessment of material presented in the NSAP

The following planning caveats are relevant in seeking to move from habitat-based CZM to ecosystem-based ICM.

Caveat 1: “See and understand change, even where everything appears to remain the same”Understanding ecosystem change is difficult. Change may be so slow that it cannot be detected until appropriate time spans are considered (Diamond, 2002). This is made possible by a combination of techniques, time series photography and historical narratives of resource users.

Caveat 2: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.A wide range of unintended consequences of coastal management activities tell their story. Repetition of similar actions without an ecosystem perspective cannot produce a different result. Fishery livelihood in all ecosystems is seriously impeded.

Caveat 3: “Understand the power dynamics at the local level that make action possible”.This is the challenge faced by a coastal manager. The issue is ‘distance management’ (Diamond, 2002). Decisions devoid of local participation make their implementation impossible.

Caveat 4: “Repeated lies do not make a truth”.The virtues of mangroves have been uncritically applied in Sri Lanka based upon the false analogy of their structure and functioning in meso- and macro-tidal settings, in other countries. Today, the mangrove invasion of estuaries has become a serious problem. Similar situations need to be recognized generally to enable planning to deal with ecological reality instead of myth.

Caveat 5: “A panacea or universal medicine does not exist for coastal ecosystem problems”. Ostrom (2007) brings together the viewpoints of several leading scientists to demonstrate the need to move beyond ‘… simple, predictive models of social-ecological systems … and to develop through more comprehensive models a serious capacity to diagnose problems before solutions can be identified …’.

11. the character of coastal ecosystems is diverse. their diversity is defined by geomorphology, coastal processes and socio-economic demands. the three classes of geomorphological landforms, viz. bedrock-related, depositional, and hydrologic and wind-generated have evolved in combination with eustatic sea level changes and land sinking during the past 10,000 years. these processes have set limits on their potential for contribution to national economic growth and to support local livelihoods. the micro-tidal hydrologic environment (tidal amplitude less than 1 meter), the monsoons, waves and sediment discharges combine to shape the behaviour of

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these physical landforms and their dynamic interactions at the coast. the continental shelf is narrow, has little surface relief and supports relatively low fishery stocks, except in the north where it widens and provides scope for different forms of sea-bottom relief including seagrass beds and corals.

12. Pressure on coastal ecosystems stemmed from population growth as well as conflicting demands from un-integrated development sectors. the population grew from 7 to 21 million, over the past six decades, with one-fourth living near the coast. stresses arising from economic development have intensified. Coastal fisher-folk and their dependents rank among the poorest in the country because of depleting fishery resources, partially attributed to the impact of modernization of craft and gear. today, about a million people derive their livelihood from coastal fishery despite the absence of meaningful management.

13. the nsAP adheres to four planning principles in considering management options directed at: (i) optimal utilization of development opportunities, (ii) equitable distribution of benefits, (iii) minimal damage to structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems, and (iv) prevention of negative externalities. Management of coastal ecosystems as development infrastructure hinges on understanding and addressing natural and human-made change, within the ICM framework.

14. ICM is a process that seeks to improve human wellbeing by maintaining biodiversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems, by integrating government with the community, science with management, sectoral and public interests, and investment in development with the conservation of environmental quality and functions. Its principles and objectives have been refined by learning from implementation in a range of countries and development settings.

15. Recent experience with coastal hazards and the Indian ocean

tsunami of 2004 reveals that increased resilience of coastal communities protects life and property. Resilience is an attribute of socio-ecological systems which have adaptive capacity, i.e. learning from experience to create conditions that enable bouncing back after a disaster.

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16. Change trends, pertaining to coastal ecosystems, define the strategic options available for planners to address any mismatch between ‘goals and values’ germane to the existing situation and society expectations. ecosystem-human relationships, now subsumed under the concept of socio-ecological system (ses), are drawn increasingly into the globalization process. these human-driven relationships are superimposed on bio-physical attributes that have set the fundamental limits on coastal ecosystem structure and functioning.

17. Published ecological research on the structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems of sri Lanka is rare. Reminiscences of scientists who were associated with research, planning and management of selected coastal ecosystems over the past decades bridged the gaps in information. thus, ecosystems (and socio-ecological systems) are recognized both as complex systems and possessed of emergent attributes, which cannot be precisely predicted in the face of continuous environmental change.

18. the coast refers broadly to the area of interaction between land and the sea including all seven classes of coastal ecosystems, namely:

• The land belt with sand dunes, tidal flats, and water bodies (estuaries and lagoons) where tidal seawater and freshwater from land drainage mix to form brackish water; and

• the beach, the belt of contiguous sea (about 10 kilometers wide) overlying the continental shelf to about 30 meters depth and including the sea bed.

The coast in the NSAP differs from the legally defined Coastal Zone of sri Lanka for functional and operational ecological reasons. It enables land use planning, the foundation of ICM, to be in harmony with ecosystem structure and functioning. The seven defined coastal ecosystems are:

mar�ne Coastal Zone (mCZ): the approximately 10-kilometer wide belt of sea extending from the mean low-water level of the beach or other landform (e.g. cliff) to a depth of 30 meters. this includes the water column, and the seabed with its diverse physical features and associated resident and migratory populations of plants and animals. It is a definitional adaptation required in the Sri Lankan context.

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the MCZ provides habitat for corals, seagrasses, seaweeds, algae, micro-organisms, and communities of organisms that inhabit soft muddy deposits. The majority of coastal fishers operate here.

Bay: Coastal indentation, generally situated in association with stable headlands. A bay is connected with coastal marine processes in a manner which maintains conditions somewhat similar to the MCZ, but seasonally more influenced by land drainage. Beaches situated in a bay are anchored by the headlands. Generally, a bay is shallower and more productive than the open sea since it receives and traps nutrients and sediment from land drainage. However, one of the deepest bays in the world, trincomalee Bay, also characterizes the sri Lankan coastline.

Beach: Beaches are accumulations of unconsolidated material on the shore. the material consists of various mixtures, among others, of mainly silica sand, coral sand, pebbles, mud and mineral sand. the appearance and quality of beach sand varies with the proportion of silica sand (from land drainage) to biogenic sand (shells and coral fragments) in the mixture.

Sand dune: Dunes are wind blown accumulations of sand which are distinctive from adjacent landforms such as beaches and tidal flats.

estuary: estuaries exist in many forms ranging from a simple funnel shaped opening of a river to the sea where freshwater from land drainage and tidal seawater mix to form brackish water, to the more extreme form of an estuarine delta (rare in sri Lanka). Barrier-built estuaries rank high as the most productive coastal ecosystems since they receive and retain nutrients from land drainage. estuaries and the MCZ are coupled ecosystems that are significant for fisher livelihood. the fate of a barrier-built estuary is sealed at the time it is born as the outcome of complex geomorphology. Longevity is determined by its own dimensions, the size and nature of the catchment, and land use.

Lagoon: A lagoon is a late evolutionary stage of smaller estuaries where the tidal inlet is blocked by a sand bar, which is relatively stable and has to be breached forcibly to enable tidal exchange.

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Tidal flat: Low-lying land contiguous with the sea and coastal ecosystems such as estuaries and lagoons, affected by periodic flooding by stream flow and tidal inundation, and subject to persistent, desiccating wind. such terrain develops characteristic vegetation consisting of halophytes (salt-tolerant plants which resist dehydration). The influence of salt is through periodic inundation or by salt spray. Tidal flats occur where the dry season is prolonged and strong winds prevail.

19. The National Strategy and Action Plan (NSAP) flows from the

analysis of the situation and use trends pertaining to the coastal ecosystems. these are summarized in Table A below, under the headings: geomorphology, demography, tourism, fishery, agriculture, waste management, and global change.

Table A: Summary of trends pertaining to coastal ecosystems and relevant management planning options.

Ecosystem - SES Attribute

Change Trend - Issue Planning Options

Geomorphology

MCZ Open access competition intensifies among fishers using traditional and small mechanized boats. A period of respite and recovery ensued in the Northern and Eastern MCZs because of civil conflict. In 2003-2004 when a temporary peace prevailed and normal fishing resumed, before the tsunami, production in the North and East bounced back to a level higher than during the pre-conflict level. Resilience of the MCZ thus was demonstrated. By 1988 (FAO, 1988) the coastal fishery had already reached the maximum sustainable level. Overcapacity in small scale fishing craft occurred following 2004 Tsunami. Consumer price escalation compensates for the diminishing returns on the unit fishing effort. Fishery management continues to lag. Some form of common property resources use rights are under discussion.

Multiple, inter-sectoral, organized interventions (MIOI) including law enforcement, property rights, changeover from open access nature, regulated land use by way of processes such as ICM, etc. Research & modelling where causes are unclear. Interventions require support from strengthened law enforcement

Bays Open access competition persists. Bays that serve as anchorages face pollution problems from waste oil as well as material from land drainage.

As above.

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Beach Erosion along the southern and southwestern coasts increasingly under control (ADB, 2006). Conflicts between fishers and tourism interests are increasing. Conflicts erupted at some locations such as Arugam Bay following the 2004 Tsunami.

MIOI. Consultation and research to identify options for beach sharing for multiple uses. Better law enforcement.

Dune Illegal sand mining from better endowed and remote sand dunes reportedly on the increase as in Kalpitiya. Sand mining in Ampan-Manalkadu area increased during 2003/2004. Limits of extraction not known.

Mapping and zoning of dunes for optimal use without destabilizing e.g. Jaffna. Research.

Estuary Hydrology increasingly threatened by sedimentation, pollution, land fill and misplaced mangrove planting. Diminishing fish catches. Periodic spikes in shrimp productivity.

MIOI. Research.

Lagoon As above, aggravated by closure of tidal inlet. MIOI, Research

Tidal Flats Unregulated expansion in shrimp cultivation in Northwestern Province leading to serious pollution in linked water bodies (Mundel, Puttalam, Dutch Canal). Sensitive tidal flats associated with brackish water bodies in the Southern and Eastern Provinces require zoning which harmonizes biodiversity concerns and multiple uses.

MIOI. Implementation of existing strategies, law enforcement.

Demography

Coastal Fishers

The population directly and indirectly dependent on coastal fishery resources has increased in proportion with the three-fold increase in the country population from 7 to 21 million in six decades. Catches have declined. Loss of income is compensated by rise in market prices.

Research – mainly cultural anthropology. The available studies (e.g. Stirrat, 1988) are limited and need widened scope.

Migration Both male and female emigration for employment has increased mainly to Europe (especially Italy) and Gulf countries. Significance in relation to MCZ carrying capacity unclear.

As above

Poverty, Vulnerability

Poverty among estuarine and lagoon fishers, and traditional coastal fishers has increased owing to depleted catches. Decline in wellbeing has been mitigated by remittances from female family members employed abroad.

As above coupled with urgent measures to promote employment and income generation.

Tourism

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Land use and conflict

Potential for win-win coexistence between traditional coastal land use and tourism exists. Appropriate models have not been developed.

MIOI, consultation with private sector on modalities of P-P partnerships. Research.

Fishery

Food security, income

Increasing emphasis on the export-oriented sub-sectors including deep sea fishing (multiday boats), shrimp aquaculture and ornamental fishery. Too little attention to integrated ecosystem-based fishery management.

MIOI. Research

Agriculture


Abandoning of low-lying coastal lands, consequent to inappropriate development efforts, continues. Optimization of land use including P-P partnerships little explored.

MIOI. Research.

Waste Management

Pollution and health

Decline in coastal fishery and deteriorating health trend linked to water pollution, improper sanitation, excessive groundwater extraction, depleted catchment

MIOI, research, modelling

Global change: climate aberration & sea level rise

Adaptation Impacts will aggravate over decadal and longer periods. Prioritization of hazard impact sites not initiated. Mapping based on risk factors and vulnerability indices is required supported by mathematical modelling. Aggravation of chronic disasters - an uncharted territory.

Application of techniques developed during 2004 Tsunami assessment. Research.

20. In order to facilitate learning effective ecosystem-based management, the common mistakes that lead to environmental harm are described in section 2.8.

21. the nsAP is based upon the fourteen policies listed below.

special Area Management (sAM)

Policy 1. support implementation of existing and future ecosystem-based ICM processes at sAM sites, designated in the CZMP 2004, through the

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Mangroves for the Future small Grant Fund (sGF) and Large Grant Fund (LGF) programmes, in collaboration with the Coast Conservation Department.

sedimentation and Pollution

Policy 2. stop, discourage and penalize all land uses and activities in estuaries, lagoons and their watersheds that facilitate accelerated sedimentation.

Policy 3. encourage and provide incentives to individuals and groups that undertake physical removal of sediment from estuaries and lagoons, including vegetation that contributes to sediment stabilization.

Policy 4. stop, discourage and penalize the discharge of sewage, municipal waste and industrial effluent, directly and indirectly, into estuaries, lagoons, bays and the MCZ, and generally in the wider environment of coastal ecosystems.

Policy 5. encourage and promote incentives for sanitation and waste treatment in the wider environment of all coastal ecosystems.

Fishing

Policy 6. Switchover from open-access fishing in the MCZ, bays, estuaries and lagoons to ‘closed fishing’ based upon combinations of licensing and tenure rights, supported by meaningful incentives for co-management (closure implicitly recognizes that ‘tradeable licensing’ cannot work in an environment where alternative employment is not readily available).

Policy 7. stop, discourage and penalize the use of mechanized trawls in the MCZ (10 kilometers) to a depth of 30 meters – to enable meaningful enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

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Policy 8. Stop, discourage and penalize methods of ‘artificial aggregative’ fishing within 10 kilometers of shore, e.g. ‘light course fishing’ – to enable meaningful enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

Land development

Policy 9. Progressively zone and demarcate all coastal land with the goal of enrolling coastal communities, who are losing economic opportunities in ‘traditional practices’, to benefit from new opportunities based upon community tenure rights to common property resources (CPRs).

Participation in Development

Policy 10. Promote participation of coastal communities in development decisions based upon their own economic interests, and sharing of coastal resources by way of political advocacy and lobbying, without becoming dependent upon political and corporate patronage that fragment coastal ecosystems.

education and Awareness

Policy 11. educate and create awareness at all levels about coastal ecosystems based upon their actual geographic character and vulnerability, and potential contribution to local and national economic growth.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Policy 12. Promote commitment to achievement of the MDGs at the level of Provincial Councils with particular focus on MDG 7: ensure environmental sustainability.

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Disaster Management and Hazard Mitigation

Policy 13. ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘risk’ assessments and maps must set the foundation for land use interventions related to hazard mitigation and adaptation to impacts of global climate change, and clearly directed at enhanced resilience of local communities.

Policy 14. All interventions that seek to mitigate hazards must receive certification by the CDM and local authorities that ‘risk’ will not be increased as an unintended consequence (negative externality).

22. the nsAP is presented in Table B, in the format developed by the

Regional MFF Programme, organized under 15 Programmes of Work (PoWs).

Programme of Work Actions/Outputs

ACTIONS TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE

1. Improving the knowledge base for coastal planning, policy and management

Sri Lankan reality:Limited knowledge about the actual state of the ecosystem and trends.

Problems:

A. Misconception of ecosystem development and evolution. ICM practiced more for conservation rather than as a development process. Livelihood aspects discounted.

1.1 Redefine and map coastal ecosystems

1.1.1 Prepare an ‘Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems’ linked to a GIS database by way of inter-disciplinary study, including:

1.2 Establishment of an interactive website linked to the GIS database of the ‘Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems’ for participatory acquisition of information, discussion of development topics, promoting awareness on land assets and development opportunities, and building community awareness on the burden of unintended consequences.

1.3 Establishment of a website supported with up-to-date photos for interaction with the media to maintain a flow of information on relevant problems and issues to generate sustained national attention. This would enable management of coastal ecosystems to be perceived as a ‘national problem’ since Sri Lanka is a ‘large island nation’ in which coastal processes have implications for entire catchments.

Table B: Summary programmes of work and actions/outputs constituting the NSAP of the MFF Strategic Framework

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B. A heavy burden of unintended consequences (negative externalities) of fragmented development undermining ecosystem structure and functioning.

C. Mismatch between actual structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems and popular perception resulting from confusion with coastal habitats. Lack of integrated and a unifying technical foundation for ICM based on a definition of ecosystems

1.4 Development of animated models (descriptive and mathematical) for key coastal ecosystems supported by research. The models will demonstrate progressive change in structure, functioning and economic value (e.g. topo-chronological models, see Action 2.1). Such modelling may be feasible immediately for Puttalam Lagoon, Negombo Lagoon and Batticaloa Lagoon which now display persistent and serious signs of decline (eutrophication). These models are also required for Programme of Work 3 (Reef-to-ridge decision making).

1.5 Lobby for establishment of a ‘political committee’ (or some other mechanism) which would have power to guide policy based upon knowledge transferred to the legislature from Actions 1.1 to 1.4

1.6 Initiate an ‘adult education’ short course in a university/universities to disseminate knowledge on ecosystem-based ICM using Sri Lankan case histories (including local language) supported by visual models to demonstrate long term trends.

2. Designing ecologically and socio-economically sound coastal ecosystem rehabilitation and management.

Problems:

A. Gap between community perception of significance of coastal ecosystems for livelihood and that of national coastal managers/planners. Ecosystem rehabilitation for whom?

B. Lack of models reflecting trends in critical drivers (natural and socio-economic) of adverse change in coastal ecosystems. What part/s of an ecosystem are to be rehabilitated?

2.1 Review all development and restoration work completed or underway in order to:

- assess their impacts on the definitive characteristics and productivity of the ecosystem. e.g. in the case of estuaries and lagoons the assessment must focus on the long-term impact on the hydrological volume, tidal prism, tidal inlet width, surface area, depths, cross sections, etc;

- relate actual costs e.g. Lunawa Lagoon restoration to potential costs for other estuarine ecosystems such as Negombo, Puttalam, Batticaloa, Kokkilai, Nanthikadal, Jaffna, and integrate them with national plans.

2.2 Conduct research (3 months) that can link to Action 1.1.1 and to 1.4 and provide analytical case histories for selected coastal ecosystems deserving of rehabilitation. The case histories would reflect topographical change with time (topo-chronological models) and causes of change.

2.3 Develop topographical-chronological models supported by descriptive and mathematical interpretations that enable predictions in the long-term (see Action 1.4) of demand for economic goods and services.

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C. Planting of mangroves in highly sensitive estuaries and lagoons resulting in accelerating the reduction in hydrological volume and aggravation of eutrophication.

D. Coastal community perception that improvement in wellbeing flows from severance of dependence on natural resources.

2.4 Provide comprehensive training and guidelines for community leaders, and parties engaged especially in estuarine and lagoon rehabilitation work, on ecosystem relations with a focus on long-term impact on the hydrological volume and tidal prism (including unintended consequences of interventions that contribute to sediment build-up, especially ‘cut-and-run’ mangrove planting.

2.5 Mobilization of women through ‘cash-for-work’ programmes to remove haphazardly planted mangroves, restore depth and replant as sediment filters and boundary markers in a manner that will not diminish the hydrological volume and tidal prism in reference to models developed under Action 1.4.

2.6 Promote cultural anthropology research targeted at defining ‘coastal communities’ to determine trans-generational perpetuation of coastal livelihood, particularly inheritance of ‘rights’

3. Provide decision support for ridge-to-reef approaches to land resources management.

Problems:

A. Increasing frequency of flooding in the Eastern Province (perhaps linked to climate change?), impeded drainage and crop damage, increased social conflict predicted to aggravate as post-conflict investment in development escalates.

3.1 Establish a GIS database for coastal water bodies and their catchments in the Eastern Province, similar to that described at 1.1.1

3.2 Inventorize, map and classify all coastal management (rehabilitation) projects within particular catchments and sub-catchments based on implications for hydrological volumes of associated estuaries and lagoons.

3.3 Promote and implement diverse interventions for enhancing coral reefs as recreational viewing and ornamental fish collection sites in bays along the Southwestern and Southern coastline while engaging in land use planning in the catchments to mitigate negative externalities that threaten coral health and to add value.

3.4 Develop land zoning and mitigating measures for reducing immediate land use impacts from e.g. coastal tourism on coral reef habitats.

4. Integrating coastal ecosystem economic values in development planning and appraisal.

4.1 Develop ecosystem valuation models for diverse ecosystems. An appropriate model is urgently required for a large estuarine system which accounts for impacts on linkages within a catchment as well as long-term impacts of ecosystem processes such as sedimentation, flooding, property development.

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Problems:

A. The coastal ecosystem goods and services are given relatively marginal importance in national economic planning since impacts of negative externalities are not included.

4.2 Land titling, land identification, and land allocation for landless coastal communities is ‘regarded’ as a necessary planning intervention to address poverty. Valuation of land zoning in the context of up market urbanization may reveal the manner in which economic drivers may be used to address poverty.

5. Learning from evaluation of the environmental effects of coastal management initiatives, including post-tsunami response.

Problems:

A. The official CCD outlook on CZM during the past two decades was confined to a narrow coastal belt which excluded consideration of causes of ecosystem consequences. The ‘big picture’ continues to be missed.

5.1 Evaluate development consequences of:

Beach ecosystem management (CCD/DANIDA; CCD/ADB/Dutch Aid);Special area management (CCD/USAID; CCD/ADB/DutchAid)Muthurajawela Marsh-Negombo Lagoon IRMP (CEA/Dutch Aid)

A key requirement in this evaluation of coastal management, implemented over three decades, is a more precise understanding of the relationships to sustainable livelihood benefits, stemming from the management of coastal ecosystems, with particular regard to: (i) empowering institutions; (ii) participation in development decisions – governance; (iii) integrated land use; (iv) entrainment of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

5.2 Develop guidelines for planning and formulating ecosystem-based ICM projects, which target contributions to livelihood enhancement with clearly quantified baseline socio-economic indicators and predicted outcome from the project.

5.3 Develop measures for integration of coast protection and other engineering works implemented by CCD and other executing agencies of the MOF into ecosystem-based EIA.

i.

ii.

iii.

ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EMPOWERMENT

6. Promoting civil society awareness and participation in coastal decision making

6.1 Promote a nationwide media campaign on regional development opportunities linked with coastal ecosystems and potential for economic growth supported by the MDGs and the accelerated restoration of the 2004 tsunami destruction. The campaign would highlight land use problems in sensitive watersheds, inappropriate land use and impeded drainage.

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Sri Lankan reality:

Unorganized coastal communities whose relatively small numbers are ignored within the existing political power structure except in urban settings.

Problems:

A. Development planning based on inadequate understanding of diversity, constraints and opportunities - hence failing to enlist public participation.

B. Inadequate recognition of the relative smallness of some of Sri Lanka’s watersheds and coastal linkages leading to a fragmented national outlook on coastal management.

C. Lack of predictive studies and guidance on management of flooding risk in sensitive catchments.

D. Diminishing labour force to man economic activities generated through ecosystem-based ICM.

The media campaign may promote a systematic long-term study of flooding risk based on probabilities and consequences associated with climate change to build security confidence. This would link with Action 1.5 to demonstrate the need for integration among national, provincial, LG authorities and the relevant bureaucracies focusing on policy.

6.2 Studies on flooding risk for the most sensitive catchments in the Eastern Province to highlight long-term adaptation measures associated with increased flooding frequency linked to climate change, identification of the weakest links, safeguarding food security and the role of women.

6.3 Studies on integration of the labour force and land reform (to mitigate land fragmentation) to service economic activities generated by ecosystem-based ICM. Study feasibility of land reforms based on collectively owned property rights. Existing national policy promotes labour migration (e.g. temporary foreign employment) while the civil conflict stimulates emigration of Tamils.

6.4 Promote public awareness campaigns, among coastal communities, on development opportunities to enable group organization, activism and lobbying to establish dialogue with LG authorities and national agencies.

6.5 Generate a process of advocacy and activism related to multiple uses of coastal ecosystems.

6.6 Explore ways and means of promoting gender rights especially in high risk (hazard vulnerability) areas – learn from the marginalization of women in relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation

6.7 Promote learning from ‘best practices’ in ecosystem utilization, by way of study tours.

7. Building the capacity of professional coastal managers for integrated coastal management with the focus on ecosystems (not habitats).

Sri Lanka has a substantial number of internationally

7.1 Initiate university-based training programmes for imparting skills in ecosystem-based planning and adaptive management. This would include mainly ‘training of trainers’ with the support of regional expertise.

7.2 Establish Coastal Planning & Research Units (CPRUs) at Eastern, Southeastern, Ruhuna, Colombo, Sri Jayawardenapura, Kelaniya and Jaffna University to assist

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trained coastal managers, especially in the CCD for training of trainers

in collaborative training and as the sources (public domain repositories) of technical information for central and regional planning.

7.3 Building capacity of coastal community leaders to access public domain information and professional coastal managers in promoting sustainable development through lobbying and political activism.

8. Supporting environmentally sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities

Problems:

A. Careers for coastal community youth - there is a mismatch between the expectations of parents, their children and coastal planners (national and international).

B. Lack of research and information on career expectations of coastal community members.

C. Lack of reliable information on land opportunities, investment requirements, infrastructure, policies and labour force expectations to enable sound planning of sustainable livelihoods.

8.1 Initiate an awareness and motivation campaign to re-orient career expectations and stem urban migration of coastal community youth; generate sustainable livelihoods based on effective management of coastal ecosystems.

8.2 Promote research through the CPRUs to fill information gaps (see Action 7.2).

8.3 Inventorize regional examples and case histories on policies and measures that have reversed the exiting emigration trend from coastal (rural) settings seeking lucrative employment elsewhere. How may economic choices be reversed in a globalized economic environment.

8.4 Formulate a process of licensing fishing, closing access to the MCV and transferring collective property rights to coastal fishers, despite interventions that have resulted in drastic increase in coastal fishing effort through post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation.

8.5 Establish land use zoning, collective property rights to tidal flats and investment in infrastructure for development of coastal aquaculture by way of P-P partnerships, in keeping with corporate social responsibility (CSR).

9. Improving community resilience to natural disasters

Problems:

A. Lack of scientific information on the relative exposure of coastal communities to multiple hazards.

B. The lack of self-confidence within an ‘at risk’ coastal

9.1 Complete the analysis of data collected during the MOENR/UNEP ‘Rapid assessment of the impact of the 2004 tsunami on coastal ecosystems’ and prepare a preliminary ‘Atlas of Coastal Vulnerability – Negombo to Keerimalai’. This would provide a scientific basis for constructing Coastal Vulnerability Indices (CVIs).

9.1.1 Communities located at sites with higher CVIs may then be trained to explore the four factors that contribute to resilience:

- robustness of infrastructure;- resourcefulness;

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community to bounce back through organized self-help

- rapid recovery – doing things quickly to get back on their feet;- absorb lessons learnt, including shifting to safer locations.

10. Identifying sustainable financing mechanisms for coastal ecosystem conservation

Problems:

A. Coastal communities lack assets to enter into P-P partnerships to implement sustainable financing mechanisms as (e.g. eco-tourism)

B. Coastal land use decisions are predominantly with the state although the constitution provides for ‘traditional use’ community rights of common property resources (CPRs).

10.1 Implement land titling and other property rights programmes that would prevent expropriation of coastal common property resources (CPRs).

10.2 Establish a legal assistance entity to enable public interest litigation to safeguard common property resources and to prevent land expropriation.

10.3 Support land survey for identification and demarcation of common property resources for inclusion in the Finalized Village Plans (FVPs).

10.4 Train coastal communities in preparation of bankable business plans for sustainable development of coastal resources based upon property rights to ‘open access resources’.

ACTIONS TO ENHANCE GOVERNANCE

11. Supporting national ICZM

Sri Lankan reality:

Exclusion of coastal communities from meaningful developmental decision making coupled with biased law enforcement.

Problems:

A. Regulatory and law enforcement mandates fragmented among separate government agencies; inappropriate for ecosystem management.

11.1 Assessment of regulatory institutional relationships to identify the ‘weak links’ in law enforcement supported by actual case histories to demonstrate positive and negative consequences.

11.2 Raise awareness at the coastal community level on the consequences of weak law enforcement, and steps to be taken, individually and collectively, to safeguard against negative externalities on coastal ecosystems.

11.3 Support for media campaigns based on the technical aspects of ecosystem decline stemming from weak law enforcement and improper land use.

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12. Strengthening the integration and enforcement of environmental and social safeguards in coastal land use planning

12.1 Land reform to provide collective property rights to coastal communities for the allocation/alienation of tidal flats for coastal aquaculture.

13. Building national systems of marine and coastal protected areas that contribute to a regional network

13.1 Regional study is in progress and is mainly beyond the scope of national specialists except in collaboration with regional partners.

14. Promoting adaptive coastal management that includes ongoing ecological and socio-economic assessment and monitoring

14.1 Comprehensive participatory assessment of all past projects (Irrigation Department’s salt exclusion and drainage projects, CCD/SAM processes, CEA/IRMP, NGO/iNGO interventions, ongoing ADB/ECCDP, post-tsunami rehabilitation projects) in order to identify best practices.

15. Encouraging environmentally sustainable business practices in coastal areas

Problem:

Inability of majority of SMEs to adhere to environmental standards and remain profitable since much of plant and machinery were installed prior to enactment of environmental regulations.

15.1 Inventorize, map, identify ownership and classify all private sector entities (SMEs), located in proximity to coastal ecosystems, to monitor their adherence to the ‘triple bottom line’ and application of corporate social responsibility. This would reveal the financial, technological and investment obstacles to compliance.

15.2 Establish a funding mechanism to support business entities to comply with environmental standards, in collaboration with the respective business chambers.

15.3 Organize coastal communities to lobby against non-compliance by SMEs on the basis of scientifically testable evidence such as soil/water quality tests.

23. The planning questions and answers relevant to the NSAP are:

Question 1: What can the country gain from the investment to switch from management of coastal habitats to management of coastal ecosystems, when there are other priorities?

Answer: It will safeguard future development opportunities that are directly linked to the health of coastal ecosystems, which otherwise would be lost forever.

Question 2. Can the country afford it, especially ecosystem restoration?

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Answer: The country cannot invest on the scale required for comprehensive restoration and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems. But it can afford the investment to stop their decline and retain present and future developmental opportunities.

Question 3. Will investing in coastal ecosystems prevent another ‘Tsunami 2004’ disaster in particular and natural hazards in general?

Answer: sri Lanka cannot prevent natural hazards by investing in coastal ecosystems. But it can certainly minimize the loss of life and property by integrating useful interventions such as exposure, vulnerability and risk-based measures into coastal ecosystem management. However, planning with the next tsunami in mind is impractical since internationally renowned experts consider it to be over 400 years away (sieh, 2006).

Validation based upon actual experience is provided for each of the answers to the planning questions. Coastal tourism and aquaculture offer scope for development in well- functioning coastal ecosystems. Private sector participation in public-private-community (P-P-C) investment programmes are feasible with appropriate incentives and environmental safeguards against the downward spiral associated with global markets. Under prevailing conditions massive investment in restoration and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka is not a feasible option. However, numerous well planned, site-specific, interventions are feasible to slow down the existing decline trends until favourable conditions return for increased investment.

24. the nsAP evolved through: (i) National study and consultation,

focused mainly on situation analysis and trends, and workshop consultation, (ii) Regional studies and consultation, focused on gaps in knowledge required for coastal management; simple ecosystem valuation tools; training needs; sustainable funding mechanisms; institutional mechanisms required for sustainable governance; and role of and expansion of protected areas, (iii) Integration: combining findings from (i) and (ii) in consultation with the NSC.

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25. Participation and transparent decision making are the most important factors that contribute towards meaningful ecosystem-based ICM. the guiding principles, at the tactical level, are:

• Do no harm;• ensure there are no losers; and• Adhere to ‘subsidiarity principle’

slow and steady progression based upon awareness and education is desirable. ecosystem-based development must be made the responsibility of stakeholders. A carefully planned process of stakeholder identification is a practical first step for implementing agencies, to enable future transfer of long-term responsibility based on shared benefits.

26. Monitoring and evaluating the outcome of the ecosystem-based management of coastal ecosystems, and how decision makers and coastal managers use that information, will determine the success or failure of the nsAP. the information may be used as an opportunity to extract lessons from actual experience in sGF and LGF projects, to improve development of adaptive capacity and future endeavour. the latter constitutes a tribute to the continuing effort of human beings to enhance their wellbeing. Carefully selected and measured indicators will reveal the manner in which coastal ecosystems contribute as development infrastructure for human wellbeing. Identification of project-specific indicators for monitoring shall be the responsibility of both sGF and LGF project proponents and the nsC.

27. In keeping with Policy 1, every effort shall be made to consolidate the ongoing and envisaged ecosystem-based sAM efforts of the CCD, as embodied in the CZMP 2004. A framework to identify monitoring indicators has been developed. the goals and actual indicators should be arrived at in consultation with the on-site primary stakeholders, using logical framework analysis.

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1

IntRoDUCtIon

1. INtRoDuCtIoN

1.1 Coastal ecosystems Focus

Sri Lanka is the first South Asian Country to have a comprehensive Coastal Management Law which came into force in 1981. Accordingly the Coast Conservation Department (CCD), established for the purpose, has discharged responsibility in keeping with Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs) using environmental impact assessment (eIA) as a tool. However progressive degradation of coastal habitats could not be avoided. Both natural causes and human interventions associated with population growth have contributed. the inherent complexity and fragility of coastal habitats and their susceptibility to many dynamic processes occurring both on land and the sea have to be addressed together in order to arrest, retard and reverse degradation. Persisting with the same management actions as during the past three decades may not produce a different result. now is the time to shift focus from coastal habitats as units of management to the complexity of coastal ecosystems which include human communities (CCD, 2006).

the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) national strategy and Action Plan (nsAP) focuses on:

coastal ecosystems (which include human communities as interacting components)

coastal communities (interacting with the biophysical components)

trends in the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems (cultural aspects)

mission and vision of the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) charged with the sustainable development of coastal ecosystems and dependent communities in keeping with the Coast Conservation Act no. 57 of 1981

•

•

•

•

2

IntRoDUCtIon

The ecosystem focus deviates from the ‘coastal habitats’ foundation of three decades of coastal zone management embodied in national Coastal Zone Management Plans - CZMPs (CCD, 1990; CCD, 1997; CCD, 2006). the CZMPs are prepared by the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) in keeping with its statutory mandate. An assessment of critical coastal habitats in mid-1980s provided the foundation for the habitat approach (samarakoon and Pinto, 1988). Persuasive technical justification is now required to enable adopting the ecosystem approach in the next revision of the CZMP. The first step here is to realize that the ecosystem approach entails dealing with ‘complex systems’ and requires ‘systems thinking’ (Box 1).

Box 1. Planning for Complex Systems and Applying Systems Thinking

Complex systems: Systems can be understood as being simple, complicated, or complex. Simple problems, such as following a recipe may encompass some basic issues of technique and terminology, but once these are mastered, following the “recipe” carries with it a very high assurance of success. Complicated problems, like sending a rocket to the moon, are different. Their complicated nature is related to the scale of a problem (cf. simple systems), but also to issues of coordination or specialised expertise. However, rockets are similar to each other and because of this following one success there can be a relatively high degree of certainty of outcome repetition. In contrast complex systems are based on relationships, and their properties of self-organisation, interconnectedness and evolution. Therefore they cannot be understood solely by simple or complicated approaches to evidence, policy, planning and management. Also complex systems differ one from another. Therefore a single recipe does not provide a solution. Each and every complex system has to be addressed as a unique situation requiring an adaptive response.

Systems thinking: Systems thinking is an approach based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from the system’s environment or other parts of the system. It sets out to view systems in a holistic manner. Consistent with systems philosophy, systems thinking concerns an understanding of a system by examining the linkages and interactions between the elements that comprise the whole of the system. This helps us to see the big picture - from which we may identify multiple leverage points that can be addressed to support constructive change. It also helps us see the connectivity between elements in the situation, so as to support joined-up actions (integration). <http://learningforsustainability.net/tools/complex.php>

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IntRoDUCtIon

Coastal ecosystems are complex systems which include human communities (Box 2; Figure 1). even where the biophysical components change slowly, the processes in the human component grow, organize and diversify relatively more rapidly. therefore ecosystem-based planning carries many uncertainties. Planning may be simplified to some extent by using change trends (ecological history) to map futures. Two questions arise:

1. Do change trends in ‘coastal habitats’ reveal deviation from planning goals and societal values?

2. If deviaition exists, what can be done to reduce, and where necessary, to restore balance?

The CZMP 2004 (CCD, 2006) provides the answer to the first question. It asserts:

“Most of Sri Lanka’s coastal habitats have undergone degradation to different degrees during the past resulting in the decline of their resources as well as extents at an unprecedented rate”.

the nsAP provides an opportunity to search for an answer to the second question.

numerous studies of coastal diversity worldwide reveal that an appropriate land (spatial) unit possessed of ‘representational identity’ must be selected for natural resources management to achieve replicable and sustainable results (Darby, 2000). this is the geographic space with which people interact causing change as well as being changed by its attributes. That unit for coastal resources management is the ‘coastal ecosystem’, more appropriately represented as a ‘socio-ecological system’ - ses (Gallopin, 2006), which possesses emergent attributes (Box 1). the coastal area, where the land and sea interact, is the most dynamic component of a country’s landscape. In this context, the ever changing nature of a coastal ecosystem, properly defined and understood, enables both internal and external drivers (forces) that cause change to be identified and managed (UN Earth Summit 1992, Chapter 17; UNEP, 2002). Figure 1 shows the diverse variables that influence change in a complex coastal ecosystem – some manageable by human intervention, others beyond any form of human control.

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IntRoDUCtIon

Meaningful coastal ecosystem management is primarily local. therefore, the ecosystem approach to conservation and management of coastal resources requires careful and precise recognition of diversity within classes of coastal ecosystems, namely:

bio-physical characterresource demands from societyattributes of dependent coastal communities

1.2 Coastal ecosystems �n Sr� Lanka

sri Lanka has seven classes of interrelated coastal ecosystems, explained in greater detail in Chapter 2, which are made up of combinations of coastal habitats (Figure 2):

•••

Box 2. A socio-ecological system (SES) has emergent attributes

An SES is a complex adaptive system (CAS) that is constantly changing in the face of new circumstances in order to sustain itself. This process of change is only partially open to explicit human direction, e.g. as influenced by policies and national plans. Importantly, change cannot be predetermined. From this perspective, capacity development (skills, organization, learning, adaptation) are emergent properties

characterized over time by coherence, collapse and re-emergence. Emergence is an unplanned and uncontrollable process in which properties such as capacity emerge from the complex interactions among the actors (the social process component of the SES) in the system and produce characteristics not found in any of the elements of the system. The power and influence of emergence grows as complexity and uncertainty increase, and feedback occurs <www.ecdpm.org/pmb22>

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IntRoDUCtIon

marine coastal zone (MCZ) baysbeaches dunes estuaries lagoonstidal flats

These ecosystems are operationally defined in Chapter 2. Mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs, soft mud bottoms, etc are not included as ecosystems. these are habitats which constitute parts of the MCZ, estuaries and lagoons. As habitats they contribute to the structure and functioning of the ‘parent’ ecosystems, but by themselves, they are not ecosystems in sri Lanka’s geomorphological setting.

•••••••

Figure 1. Ecosystems change is influenced by people and institutions within the wider environment, including development drivers and external drivers such as globalization and climate change. Ecosystems change under the influence of dependent social systems, which are themselves complex. Where the latter influence is regulated, some balance may be achieved. Without regulation the ecosystem passes into a state of ‘lesser’ usefulness, if it cannot support socio-economic demand.

Development DriversDevelopment vision, employ-ment, infrastructure, education, empowerment, property rights (CPRs), gender, health, law and order, removal of stress on nature

External FactorsNational policies, corruption, unregulated markets, technol-ogy, positives and negatives, impede development

Where dependent population increas-es and imposes increasing demand on natural productivity, livelihood secu-rity diminishes as individual share of resources depletes.

Equitable Use RegulationLivelihood Security (Sustainability)

Policy, investment, law enforce-ment, participation, stable institu-

tions, governance, knowledge

Persistent stress on the ecosystem diminishes productivity. With intensi-fied stress the ecosystem undergoes transition to a changed ecological state. Social system loses benefits.

External DriversClimate change,

Sea level rise, Hazards

NATURALSYSTEM

- state shift-

SOCIAL SYSTEM

POPULATIONGROWTH

COASTAL ECOSYSTEM

6

IntRoDUCtIon

All coastal ecosystems in Sri Lanka have been modified at an increasing rate by people during the post-independence period spanning about six decades. Population increased more than twofold during this period. Ecosystems that support fisheries, especially in the nearshore coastal environment, estuaries and lagoons are among the most modified. This is not unusual; it is the case in all inhabited parts of the world (Blaber, 1997). While coastal ecosystems were modified by people, they were also being altered by natural processes. natural sedimentation from land drainage caused pronounced change in estuaries and lagoons (swan, 1983). these were induced by their geomorphological form and tidal regime.

An ecosystem is technically defined as any ‘unit that includes all the organisms making up a ‘community’ in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to a clearly defined set of feeding relationships, plant and animal diversity, and material cycles (i.e. exchange of materials between living and non-living parts) within the system’ (Odum, 1971). This scientific definition is appropriately adapted in Chapter 2 for the purpose of management. Apart from the aspects that are included in the definition, two additional attributes of coastal ecosystems significant in management are also explained in Chapter 2, namely:

ecological ephemerality (temporariness in ecological time)coupling

Figure 3 illustrates the interconnectedness (linkages) of the seven classes of coastal ecosystems. Interconnections must not be disrupted because coastal ecosystems are coupled with other ecosystems. they contribute to the capacity of a coastal ecosystem to maintain its structure and functioning. this is because an ecosystem never exits as an isolated entity. these interdependencies, however, are not uniform. they differ by location as well as level of maturity of an ecosystem over time, e.g.:

Dune-beach-MCZ relationships: A dune is supplied by wind-borne sand derived from a beach. the beach is supplied with sand by currents and wave action which transport material from the bed of the MCZ. the inter-connectivity extends also to land since, in the case of silica sand, the rivers transport this material to the coast. Dunes range in age (years) from about ten thousands to a few million years.

••

–

7

IntRoDUCtIon

estuary-MCZ relationship: Penaeid shrimps, one of the most valuable fishery products harvested from the MCZ and estuaries are a good example. they pass their life cycle as juveniles where freshwater and seawater mix to form brackish water (i.e. in estuaries and lagoons) and live as adults in the sea.

the coastal ecosystems of sri Lanka that directly support livelihood have low carrying capacity and resilience because of their relative smallness and shallowness. Carrying capacity implies, as an example, the number of fishers that the natural productivity of an ecosystem could support at a given level of fishery catch. Resilience, here, implies the ease with which an ecosystem restores its productivity after a disturbance (see section 1.19, this Chapter for explanation). Figure 4 shows the general distribution of some classes of coastal ecosystems and their relationship to the 103 relatively small rivers.

Much debate and discussion is taking place on the combined resilience of ecosystems and dependent communities (e.g. Adger et al. 2005; Gallopin, 2006; ocean Management Research network – oMRn http://www.maritimeawards.ca/oMRn/index.html). However, despite compelling arguments, the difficulty of shifting to the ecosystem approach was attributed to three factors:

1. ‘its explicit criticism of existing resource management institutions, and implicit threat to their established institutional and political interests’,

2. ‘its newness, relatively untried methodology, and consequent lack of substantive guidance for practitioners (and perhaps such practitioners’ expectations of direction)’,

3. ‘its equating of paradigm shifts in management with paradigm shifts in science, arguably leading to ineffective policy interventions’.

strategies and plans become implementable to the extent they can be interpreted in practical terms. to make ecosystem-based management practicable the minimum requirements that need to be met are:

Boundary demarcation and mappability (Figure 5)

of the ecosystem by physical boundaries or on the basis of traditional use

–

•

–

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of the ‘parts’ that constitute the demarcated unitof linkages with other ecosystems

Identifiability of ‘risk factors’, multiple uses, nutrient flows, sedimentation, efficiency of headlands, etc. that are key elements in the structure and functioning of the ecosystem.

Perceptions and how we think, also matter. What is seen or read in regard to complex systems, such as coastal ecosystems, is at variance with reality simply because of the limitations of the human mind to comprehend multiple connections (Pinker, 2002; Dawkins, 2004). Fortunately, new techniques of dating and remote sensing enable combining worm’s eye views of coastal landscapes with bird’s eye views (Figure 6). this capability to see beyond first impressions may be combined with documented knowledge and field experience of specialists to assist in planning.

––

•

Figure 2. Some coastal ecosystem classes. Pictures not to same scale.

Puttalam Lagoon – barrier built estuary although it is given the label ‘lagoon’ a permanent connection with the sea exists. It does not get closed by sand bar formation as in the case of true lagoons. Many sand bars are situated at the connection with the sea ‘tidal inlet’. About 40% of the area, 40,000 ha, of this estuary is less than 1 meter deep. Only about 10% is 3 meters deep (NARA, 1997).

Rekawa Lagoon–originally a barrier-built estuary has evolved to a state of being almost permanently cut off

from the sea. Area: 270 ha.

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A seine net operated from a beach to capture fish in the nearshore MCZ reaching to 2 km at sea. The beach is mainly formed from silica sand supplied by rivers.

A sandy beach appears white

because of predominance

of coral and shell fragments (biogenic

sand) instead of silica sand. Coral

reef patches situated in the MCZ are the source of biogenic

sand.

An old (near Pleistocene) stratified sand dune in Hambantota with more recent deposits toward the top. The steep drop shows impact of the 2004 tsunami (Photo: Morley de Silva)

10

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Tidal flats in the vicinity of north Mundel

Lagoon now being used for shrimp

cultivation. All waste

flows into the lagoon. These

public lands previously were used by coastal

communities.

A satellite view of Weligama Bay (about 1,000 ha). The indentation is between rocky headlands (transverse protrusions into the sea of the rock base of the island’s landmass). A creek, influenced by the sea, flows in through the upper border. Within the major indentation, sub-indentations occur between smaller headlands. At the lower right facing the sea, a series of small indentations exist. The beaches in the bays are kept in position by the headlands. Very little sand from land drainage is supplied naturally for beach stabilization. Within the ‘bay’ an area similar to the MCZ may be demarcated. The hinterland is highly urbanized. A significant waste load, municipal and commercial, flows into the bay. Unlike in the case of the MCZ in the open sea, some pollutants become trapped within the bay adversely impacting fishery productivity.

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Figure 3. All seven classes of coastal ecosystems are interconnected. The connection between a barrier built estuary and the MCZ occurs at the tidal inlet represented by overlap of two triangles. Land use impose negative impacts on water quality as well as the extent of the barrier built estuary (graphic adapted from Olsen et al., 1992).

TIDAL INLET

MARINE COASTAL ZONE -MCZESTUARY

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Figure 4. The distribution of coastal ecosystems along the coasts of the five Provincial Councils and their relationship to the 103 rivers and the continental shelf in the MCZ. The river outlets and their catchments influence the size and extent of all except the MCZ. Each provincial coast is explained in detail in Chapter 2.

Underwater canyon

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1.3 How to Read the NSAP

the nsAP seeks to change the perception of coastal ecosystems and the prevailing position with regard to their management. It represents the 4-dimensional (length, breath, volume and time) reality of coastal ecosystems by way of partial generalization, abstraction and simplification as required, in a strategic plan. The photographs, maps and other illustrations partially combine these four dimensions. However, justice cannot be done to their immense diversity. therefore the reader must trust the interpretations of reality given in the document as reasonably authentic because they are based upon actual field experience spanning several decades. to do so it is necessary, as much as possible, to cast aside preconceived notions and perceptions. As interest in the ecosystem approach grows, a more precise representation of change will emerge and new knowledge will be added. this, therefore, is a living document which will continue to develop.

the nsAP is linked and integrated with the CZMPs (CCD, 1990; CCD, 1997; CCD, 2006). therefore the reader must go to these and other relevant documents to gain more perspective. the nsAP is dedicated to the ecosystem approach and therefore remains focused on management of complex systems without allowing fragmentation to creep in.

the executive summary presents an overview that may be read in about 10 minutes. It includes five planning caveats (Box 3). they may be used as a reality check by asking the question ‘if this was done before, what would have been the result’. Readers, whose main interest is the action plan, could proceed to Chapter 3 after the executive summary. Cross references to relevant material in Chapters 1 and 2 have been provided.

some reference is made to the theoretical background of interpretations and arguments particularly in Chapter 2. Generalizations acquire validity when anchored in theory simply because they thus become testable by scientific methods. Some key references are provided. Further clarification of theory may be obtained through specific requests to MenR.

MFF strategic Planning Implementation Framework is at Annex 1 the outcomes shown in the framework flow from 19 programmes of work and 63 associated actions. the nsAP was harmonized with the MFF strategic Framework by way of stepwise clustering of proposed actions.

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1.3.1 Structure of the Report

the strategy and action plan include the following interconnected parts:

Chapter 1: Introduct�on: this provides a brief overview of the existing status and conceptual basis of human-coastal ecosystem relationships in sri Lanka in keeping with their geological, bio-physical and socio-economic reality.

Chapter 2: ex�st�ng S�tuat�on and trends: this Chapter provides the technical foundation for the nsAP by analyzing

Box 3. Five planning caveats useful in critical assessment of material presented in the NSAP

The following planning caveats are relevant in seeking to move from habitat-based CZM to ecosystem-based ICM. These will become clearer in Chapter 2

Caveat 1: “See and understand change, even where everything appears to remain the same”

Understanding ecosystem change is difficult. Change may be so slow that it cannot be detected until appropriate time spans are considered (Diamond, 2005). This is made possible by a combination of techniques, time series photography and historical narratives of resource users.

Caveat 2: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”.A wide range of unintended consequences of coastal management activities tell a story. Misplaced planting of mangroves as bioshields, nurseries etc. in sensitive estuaries now block water flow. Fishery livelihood is impeded.

Caveat 3: “Understand the power dynamics at the local level that make action possible”.This is the contradiction that a coastal manager is straddled with. The issue is ‘distance management’ (Diamond, 2005). Decisions devoid of local participation make their implementation impossible.

Caveat 4: Repeated lies do not make a truth”.

The virtues of mangroves have been uncritically applied in Sri Lanka. Today, the problem of mangrove invasion in estuaries has become serious. Similar situations need to be recognized generally to enable planning to deal with reality instead of myth.

Caveat 5: “Panaceas, universal medicine, do not exist for coastal ecosystem problems”.

Ostrom (2007) brings together the viewpoints of several leading scientists to demonstrate the need to move beyond ‘… simple, predictive models of social-ecological systems … and to develop through models a serious capacity to diagnose problems before solutions can be identified …’.

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IntRoDUCtIon

the existing status of coastal ecosystems and change trends. It addresses diversity among coastal ecosystems in the context of regional physical geography and resource needs of the coastal populations. It also analyses past development, their consequences, use trends and implications for the future.

Chapter 3: the Strateg�c Act�on Plan (NSAP): This section reflects on the issues that emerged from the analysis in Part 2, and proposes draft strategic actions in keeping with the MFF framework, constraints and a monitoring strategy.

1.4 Plann�ng the NSAP – Start�ng Po�nt

sri Lanka draws upon almost three decades of experience in coastal zone management to prepare the nsAP. thereby it complements the existing CZMPs of the CCD. the most recent revision, CZMP 2004, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers was published recently in the Government Gazette (no. 1,429/11 of January 24th, 2006). the nsAP seeks to nudge the CZMP in the direction of adjusting to ecosystem change. one of the foci of CZMP 2004 is ‘Conserving Coastal Habitats’ (Chapter 4). The MFF strategic Framework and Implementation Programme (Annex 1; Action 11.6) affirms that it seeks to:

“In sri Lanka support the inter-sectoral mechanisms for integrated coastal zone management through the Coast Conservation Department” (www.iucn.org/tsunami).

the CCD has already embarked on ecosystem-based ICM in regard to some classes of coastal ecosystems, e.g. beaches. Beach ecosystem management by addressing erosion in an integrated manner is one of CCD’s outstanding achievements, e.g. beach ecosystem restoration in negombo. It ventured into estuarine and lagoon ecosystem management under its special area management (sAM) component (CCD, 2004). In parallel, the Central environmental Authority (CeA) of the MenR also engaged in ecosystem-based planning and management for wetlands including coastal wetland systems (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003). thereby, sri Lanka is in a position to extract lessons from actual experience to support ‘adaptive management’ and apply them in the development of the nsAP.

•

16

IntRoDUCtIon

1.5 the tragedy of the Commons

The more sensitive coastal ecosystems in Sri Lanka face the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ (Hardin, 1965). All coastal ecosystems consist of interacting bio-physical parts and people (sess, Box 2). Groups of people compete, in the absence of restrictions, for the limited resources in the bio-physical component. Conflict results in, and sharpens, competition. Interests of the competing parties dominate as resource limits are exceeded, and the goose that lays the golden eggs is killed. this is aptly termed ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ (Hardin, 1965). Although, realization

Figure 5. An ecosystem can be mapped by physical boundaries based on a topographic map, e.g. Negombo Lagoon (left), or by reference to traditional use pattern, e.g. the shrimp trawling ground off the coast of Chilaw (right). The mapped area becomes the geographic unit of management A map may be prepared in consultation with the resource users and in reference to the sea bed using a global positioning system (GPS) (CEA/Arcadis-Euroconsult, 2003; Weerasooriya, 1977).

Trawling ground - MCZ

Negombo Lagoon

17

IntRoDUCtIon

may dawn that unresolved conflict is undermining shared self-interest no action is taken to resolve the approaching crisis. this is because important stakeholders believe others’ gains come at their expense. Also, the commons (coastal ecosystems) belong to the government and therefore is public property (in practice, no one is responsible). Can competing groups of people agree on a shared course of action to safeguard the structure and functioning of public property for shared benefits? Ostrom et al.(1999) demonstrates that it is possible if consensus is developed for a code of conduct.

A platform is required to build consensus for particular actions. The nsAP has the potential to serve as that platform. It is dedicated to contribute towards “… the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems as development infrastructure” (MFF strategy http://www.iucn.org/tsunami). It flows, partially from the worldwide response to the great Indian ocean tsunami of 2004 of which, one outcome is the Mangroves for the Future Programme (MFF). the nsAP seeks harmony and integration with all existing coastal resources development processes in sri Lanka with the goal of consensual action.

the overall national purpose of the nsAP in keeping with the MFF vision is:

to develop consensus for elements of a long-term strategy leading to 2030, which will overcome the existing fragmented perception of coastal ecosystems and their development, and provide an integrated foundation for action to arrest existing decline, and enable adaptation to future uncertainty, such as those stemming from climate change.

sri Lanka is a paradigmatic case study in this endeavour. It has a coastal zone management programme already in operation for three decades, three cabinet approved Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs), a dedicated line agency, the CCD, and a large contingent of well trained technical experts and coastal managers. It received technical assistance and financial support from the Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island from 1983-2001 under UsAID, the Government of the netherlands (1990-2005), the Asian Development Bank (2001-2008). The MFF Programme provides an opportunity for reflection and more careful and integrated planning for the future, based upon aggregated experience.

•

18

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1.6 the mangroves for the Future Programme (mFF) – An opportun�ty

The Mangroves for the Future (MFF) programme is a unique partner-led initiative to promote investment in coastal ecosystem conservation for sustainable development. It provides a collaborative platform for the many different agencies, sectors and countries who are addressing challenges to coastal ecosystem and livelihood issues to work towards a common goal. MFF builds on a history of coastal management interventions before and after the 2004 tsunami, and it responds to the call to continue the momentum and partnerships generated by the immediate post-tsunami response (www.mangrovesforthefuture.org).

Figure 6. Views of Negombo Lagoon, a barrier-built estuarine ecosystem, which combines images from the ground with real colour and false colour satellite pictures that enable ‘seeing the big picture’. The land use changes inside the estuary contribute to blockage of water exchange between the sea and its wider basin by way of tidal channels (lower right hand image marked with ‘X’). Socio-economic drivers (poverty and urban expansion) progressively increase land filling (see Chapter 2 for explanation).

The photo on the right is a view looking south into a placid lagoon with a sand barrier separating it from the sea (1989). The tidal inlet is stabilized by engineering. Water exchange between the sea and the wide basin occurs through channels. The picture on the left (1990) shows mangroves planted by the owner of the thatch hut for the purpose of subsequent landfill (see Chapter 2).

19

IntRoDUCtIon

Changes in sedimentation within Negombo Lagoon from Landsat images 1987-2002. The lagoon is deep blue, sediment is a paler blue (cyan)

1987 1992 2002

Sedimenta-tion in Lagoon (shown in Cyan)

Shell Gas Storage Plant : Growing industrialization- reflects infilling activities (in yellow)

Abandoned paddy

–to naturalized grasslands

(light green)

Paddy grounds

Lagoon Lagoon Lagoon

COMPILED BY INTERNATIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (IWMI)- 2007 (Nagabatla et al., 2007)

The Google Earth image (2008) right, shows settlement

expansion (X) in the channel area (Munnakkare and

Siriwardena Pedesa) which connects the basin of the lagoon

with the sea. Tidal exchange occurs through this channel

area. Sediment deposition and mangrove expansion

are choking the channel (see Chapter 2 for explanation).

x

20

IntRoDUCtIon

1.7 Integrat�on w�th Internat�onal Processes

the MFF Programme is integrated with international agreements and conventions, which seek action in conserving ecosystems, supporting livelihoods, and reducing risk and vulnerability, namely:

2000 Millennium Development Goals 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (and the 2010 Biodiversity target) 1992 Un Framework Convention on Climate Change2005 Hyogo Framework for Action (post-tsunami response)2002 Un Millennium ecosystem Assessmentthe Paris Declaration, 2005

The Paris Declaration 2005 is regarded as a significant agreement to improve aid effectiveness. A range of viewpoints on the topic are available from the Reality of Aid network (http://www.realityofaid.org/). the report of the Commission on Legal empowerment of the Poor, under the co-chairs Hernando De soto (Peruvian economist) and Madeline Albright (former US Secretary of State) – ‘Making the Law Work for Everyone’, released in June 2008 reveals the manner in which the rule of law combined with property rights would contribute substantively to poverty reduction by way of reforms (http://www.undp.org/legalempowerment/reports/concept2action.html#3). the european Center for Development Policy Management (eCDPM, 2005a, b) provides findings on capacity development for adaptive management of complex systems.

1.8 Terminology – a Clarification

the MFF nsAP is not solely about mangroves. this point is important since a singularly important geomorphologic characteristic of sri Lanka is the rarity of ‘mangrove ecosystems’ situated on alluvial deltas formed at the interface of land and the sea and dominated by mangrove plants as in several other countries in the region. A survey conducted in 2002 by CRMP revealed a total of about 6,080 ha (CCD, 2004). they occur mostly as habitat patches and fringes within estuary and lagoon ecosystems (swan, 1983, CCD, 1990) in a tidal range of about 50 centimeters. some exceptional mangrove formations interspersed by

••

••••

21

IntRoDUCtIon

tidal creeks occur along the coastline from Mannar to Poonereyn facing the Palk Bay where sediment deposition is high. they are absent in that form along the rest of sri Lanka’s coastline (swan, 1983). therefore the nsAP is an ICM planning process (see section 1.9) which encompasses all coastal ecosystems as they actually exist in the geological and geomorphological context of sri Lanka. (with mangroves recognized as habitat patches).

1.9 Coastal ecosystems: B�o-phys�cal Real�ty and Need for ecosystem-based ICm

the coastline of sri Lanka, about 1,600 kilometers long, is diverse and in some parts relatively more dynamic, such as the southwest seasonally affected by the South West Monsoons. Sri Lanka is influenced by surface currents in the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal (Figure 7 (a)). swan (1983, 1987) describes sri Lanka’s geomorphology and provides a classification based on the significant coastal processes (Figure 7(b)) that shape the coastline, viz. tides, currents, wave energy, sand stores and supply, stream flows, erosion and accretion. The three landform classes in sri Lanka are bedrock-related, depositional and hydrologic (Table 1). the causative factors of coastal landforms have combined with eustatic sea level changes and land sinking to contribute to the formation of some of the larger and deeper coastal bays, estuaries and lagoons such as trincomalee Bay, Puttalam Lagoon, Jaffna Lagoon and Koggala Lagoon. However, the majority are relatively shallow since they are formed by the deposition of sediments from land drainage that form sand barriers to partially enclose areas inundated by tidal flow.

Table 1. Common coastal landforms and sources of their formation (Swan, 1983)

Class Fluvio-marine Marine Aeolian(wind-formed)

Bedrock-related Not applicable Sea cliffs, caves, blow-holes Not applicable

Depositional Not applicable Beaches, spits, beach rock Dunes

HydrologicDeltas, estuaries,

lagoonsNot applicable Not applicable

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Coastal ecosystems originated and evolved under geological and bio-physical influences and constraints (Cooray, 1982; Katupotha, 1995a; senaratne and Dissanayake, 1982). Changes (e.g. by engineering) can be made to outward manifestations of these ecosystems but the underlying features eventually assert their dominance. Figure 4 shows the general distribution of rivers, estuaries and lagoons and their relationship with the continental shelf. the dunes and beaches are situated between two contiguous river outlets. the major bio-physical limitations of sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems are (swan, 1983) the:

micro-tidal regime in which the coastal ecosystems function relative smallness of the marine and brackish water coastal ecosystems, due to:

the narrowness of the continental shelf the predominantly ancient rock base of the island landmass, which provides little sediment and alluvium to the coast.

••

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Figure 7.(a). Some coastal processes that influence the coast of Sri Lanka include (A) seasonal sea surface currents entrained by the Southwest and Northeast Monsoonal wind, (B) the wave energy zones, and (C) shoreline types (Swan, 1983).

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IntRoDUCtIon

Figure 7.(b). Wave energy zones, coastal and shoreline types

A Bay and HeadlandB Spit and Barriera with Beachesb with Beaches and Dunes

t with structures transverse to CoastC Deltas and Saline Flats (low wave energy) D Limestone

Net DriftErosion HazardSubmarine Canyons

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IntRoDUCtIon

1.9.1 evolut�on of estuar�es, Lagoons and Deltas

the coastline is characterized by numerous estuaries and lagoons ranging in size from a few hectares (e.g. Lunawa Lagoon: 27 ha) to several tens of thousands (e.g. Puttalam Lagoon, Jaffna Lagoon and Batticaloa Lagoon: all in excess of 30,000 ha). All came into existence in the Holocene Period dating back about 10,000 years BP (before present), since when, eustatic sea level has remained in the existing condition. During this period the form, shape and size have changed by way of interaction among coastal processes, sedimentation from land drainage and human interference. the one class of coastal land form that is absent is the delta as illustrated in Figure 8 (e.g. bird’s foot delta at the junction of the land and the sea). This is owing to the absence of large rivers with adequate sediment loads and tides with an amplitude that moulds sediments into the form of a delta. As a result sri Lanka does not possess shorefront mangroves similar to those in countries with appropriate deltas.

Figure 8. Stages in the evolution of some coastal ecosystems (Day et al., 1989)

1.9.2 A m�cro-t�dal reg�me

the sea around sri Lanka has a tidal range of 75 cm during spring tides and 25 cm at neaps. since the tidal range is less than 100 cm the marine environment is micro-tidal. the tidal range is lower in the north than in the south (Table 2). Micro-tides cannot create strong currents. this has implications for tidal inlets at estuaries and lagoons, and at locations such as the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay which are perennially low energy zones (swan, 1983).

25

IntRoDUCtIon

Table 2. Tidal levels around Sri Lanka (Swan, 1983)

LocationsHigh Water Low Water

Mean springs Mean neaps Mean springs Mean neaps

Colombo 73 49 6 30

Galle 61 40 6 27

Hambanthota 58 40 - -

Batticaloa 70 27 - -

Trincomalee 55 43 6 18

Point Pedro 67 49 6 24

Jaffna 67 49 6 24

Delft 46 37 15 24

(Pamban Pass)* 70 46 9 34

* Indian territorial waters at the northern boundary of Gulf of Mannar

1.9.3 A Narrow Cont�nental Shelf

the continental shelf around sri Lanka is narrower, shallower and has less surface relief than is average for the world (swan, 1983). Its mean width is 20 km. It narrows to less than 10 km in the south (Ahangama-Gandara), widens moderately off the west coast north of Galle and in the south-east (tangalla-Patanangala), remains narrow, 10-20 km, off most of the east coast, and widens again northward of Mullaitivu (Figure 9). The shelf widens significantly north of the Kalpitiya peninsula on the north-west and attains its greatest width, 30-60 km, in the north (Figure 4). The significance of the continental shelf to livelihood and food security is expressed in the fact that about 50% of total fish production in Sri Lanka, prior to the eruption of the ethnic conflict in the 1980s, came from the north (sarvananthan, 2003).

the relief features of a continental shelf contribute fundamentally to fishery productivity (Darnell, 1990). The paucity of surface relief on the continental shelf around sri Lanka is attributed mainly to its exposure during the last glaciation when sea level was about 100 m lower (Figure 9). During this period much surface erosion occurred. submergence recurred again about 10,000 years ago with de-glaciation and rise of the sea to its present level (Katupotha, 1992, 1995b). Much of the relief therefore is patchy and consists of coral rubble, rock outcrops, patchy

26

IntRoDUCtIon

reefs, seagrasses, algal beds, and soft mud bottoms (swan, 1983). the most extensive relief features occur in the Gulf of Mannar and in the north. A vast seagrass meadow exists in this area together with coral reef patches and detritus. this material has accumulated by northward drift along the western coast of sri Lanka combined with southward drift along the southeast coast of India (swan, 1983). two major Indian rivers, Krishna and Godavari discharge into the Bay of Bengal across alluvial deltas along this coastline.

Figure 9. Sri Lanka shares a continental shelf with India which broadens in the Northwest and in the North. The area encompassed by the 30 m bathymetric contour also expands proportionately. The meagre surface relief of the continental shelf is characterized by diverse combinations of structures and material in the five provincial MCZs.

II

V

IV

III

I

Key:1. Firm black mud, seagrasses2. Black ooze3. Firm grey mud and ooze, seagrasses4. Soft grey mud, seagrasses5. Coarse yellow sand6. Yellow grey sand, seagrasses7. Firm white sand8. Flat rock with firm dark mud and sand9. Flat rock with living coral

10. Flat rock, gorgonids, sponges abundant11. Coarse whitesand with outcrops of rock and living coral12. Coarse red and yellow sand, frequent outcrops of rock and living coral13. Firm grey sand with frequent outcrops of rock and living coral

Coastal Segments – Provincial Councils (see Figure 4)Segment I: Northern Segment IV: SouthernSegment IV: Northwestern Segment V: EasternSegment III: Western

27

IntRoDUCtIon

1.9.4 Geolog�cal Base and Geomorphology (Swan, 1983; Cooray 1982)

About 80% of sri Lanka’s land area consists of ancient crystalline rock dating back about a thousand million years. the crystalline zones, Vijayan, Highland and southwestern, extend to the coast, in some places transversely, in others in parallel or obliquely. These are generally fronted, backed or topped by beach and dune sequences that date back to the Holocene Period, and even to the Pleistocene Period. the remainder of the island, about 20%, consists of sedimentary deposits dating back 2-25 millions years. the sedimentary material is mainly in the north and northwest (Figure 10) - (swan, 1983). Furthermore, the relatively short rivers with small catchments deliver little or no alluvium to the coast (Table 3). this geological and geomorphological character of sri Lanka precludes the formation of mangrove vegetation at the interface of the land and the sea along the coastline that borders the crystalline zones (swan, 1983). However, mangroves at the shorefront exist, somewhat patchily, mainly along the sheltered coastline from Mannar to Jaffna where deposition of silt and alluvium does occur.

1.9.5 Impact of technology

the character and behaviour of coastal ecosystems cannot be divorced from geological and geomorphological antecedents, since they set the limits within which coastal processes operate. However, the socio-economic pressures from population growth combined with technological development force the bio-physical nature of coastal ecosystems to change at a rapid rate. Change took place all the time but the rate has greatly accelerated during the past century. Different types and scale of water control structures such as revetments and groynes, submerged breakwaters, offshore breakwaters and sea sand dredging have contributed to physical transformation and set forth biological change.

Previously, traditional methods of resource exploitation occurred at a rate which enabled natural recovery. As an example, until the mid-1950s, traditional fishing using the outrigger canoe could exploit the productivity of the marine coastal zone (MCZ) only during the calm months (John, 1951). During the Monsoon, the MCZ rested and recovered. Today, mechanized fishing is extracting the same resource

28

IntRoDUCtIon

base, all through the year, regardless of rough seas and without respite. now, in parallel with globalization, interests with vastly different levels of power are competing for the same resources.

Table 3. Runoff, sediment and sand production characteristics of the twenty principal rivers (Swan,1983). The runoff and sediment load are related to the size of the river catchment and the geological terrain traversed. Mahaveli Ganga ranks higher in sand production than Kalu Ganga despite a lower runoff since the Highland Geological Zone yields more crystalline sandy material.

Drainage System

Runoff (mln m3)

Rank in Production of

Sediment/Sand

Geological Zones Traversed by the

Rivers

Destination of River-borne Sediment

Sediment Sand

Kalu Ganga 8187 1 2 Southwestern Zone Partially in a estuary/lagoon

Mahaveli Ganga 8142 2 1 Vijayan Zone Trincomalee Bay,

sinks to abyss

Kelani Ganga 5582 3 3 Southwestern Zone Sea

Walave Ganga 2201 4 4 Highland Zone Mainly in the sea

Gin Ganga 2180 5 7 Southwestern Zone Mainly in the sea

Maha Oya 1485 6 5 Southwestern Zone Sea

Nilwala Ganga 1380 7 12 Highland Zone Mainly in the sea

Bentota Ganga 1247 8 13 Southwestern Zone Mainly in the sea

Deduru Oya 1130 9 5 Vijayan Zone Chilaw Lagoon

Gal Oya 1079 10 7 Vijayan Zone Mainly in the sea

Kala Oya 855 11 9 Vijayan Zone Chilaw Lagoon

Attanagalu Oya 845 12 17 Southwestern Zone Negombo Lagoon.

Mundeni Aru 781 13 10 Vijaya Zone Batticaloa Lagoon

Maduru Oya 777 14 10 Vijayan Zone Batticaloa Lagoon

Aruvi Aru 567 15 14 Vijayan Zone Sea by way of minor delta

Menik Ganga 485 16 15 Southwestern Zone Sea

Yan Oya 482 17 15 Vijayan Zone Sea

Kirindi Oya 429 18 17 Highland ZoneMost sediment trapped by Lunugamvehera Dam

Kumbukkan Oya 428 19 17 Highland Zone Sea

Ma Oya 300 20 20 Vijayan Zone Kokkilai Lagoon.

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1.9.6 Coastal Processes

the ordinary coastal processes in sri Lanka, driven by tides, waves and sediment supply from the land, are very well understood, particularly on the west and south coasts that have been subject to intensive study over three decades. However, there was little or no previous understanding of the nature and dynamics of coastal flooding, especially that due to an extreme event such as the Boxing Day tsunami which occurred on 26 December, 2004 (Galappatti pers. comm., samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

the sri Lankan coastline mainly comprises two types of coastal formations. they are bays, strung between rocky headlands and long spits, and barrier beaches that have formed at the mouths of estuaries and lagoons. the lands behind these barrier beaches are low lying and liable to water logging. Rivers supply most of the sand (silica) found on the beaches. Alongshore movement of sand is driven by waves breaking obliquely on the beaches. Except in the larger well indented bays, there is some sand that bypasses the headlands. the small well indented bays on the south coast are not nourished by any river sand and their pocket beaches (swan, 1983) have a larger proportion of coral sand. such beaches cannot quickly recover from the loss of a large amount of sand during a catastrophic event such as a tsunami.

Another main feature of the coastal processes in sri Lanka is the very small tidal range (a maximum of 0.7 m at spring tide, and considerably lower at other times). since the tidal range is less than 1 meter, sri Lanka’s coast is in a micro-tidal environment (Perkins, 1971). As a result, the small tidal volume exchanges between coastal water bodies and the sea are often insufficient to overcome large volumes of longshore sediment movement (littoral drift) and maintain tidal openings. the tide driven currents in the nearshore area are also very small compared to wind driven currents (Galappatti pers. comm.; samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

the impact of coastal sedimentation processes on the MCZ has not been studied adequately. The smothering of coral reefs by sediment has been reported for some sites contiguous with urban settlements such as Hikkaduwa (Rajasuriya, 1995, 2002). Little or no information is available regarding sediment impacts on benthic vegetation at deeper locations in the MCZ.

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The dominance of wind driven currents is inadequate for mixing and/or flushing partially enclosed barrier built estuaries and lagoons in the micro-tidal regime in sri Lanka. the result is natural sedimentation and infilling. This sediment as it settles is stabilized by seagrasses, mangroves and reed beds. The relatively rapid infilling is revealed in the sequence of Landsat images of negombo Lagoon from 1980-2006 (Figure 6). this inherent natural result of coastal processes is today accelerated by a wide range of intended and unintended consequences of human activity including misplaced biodiversity conservation interventions (samarakoon, 2007).

the stability of beaches is maintained by a regular supply of sand from rivers draining the hinterland. the loss of sand from a particular beach could be controlled by the natural re-alignment of the shoreline and protection provided by coral reefs and sandstone (beachrock) that fringe some parts of the coastline. However, in recent decades, the natural dynamic equilibrium of the coastline has been disrupted by several destructive practices that have resulted in loss of land and beaches through accelerated erosion. The most significant of these is the mining of sand from the major rivers on the western seaboard. the devastating beach erosion that has occurred in recent years, particularly along the coastline north of Colombo, the capital city, was due mainly to river sand mining. the breaking of corals along the southwest coastline has also caused increased exposure of the coastline to erosive forces. the fact that all the major Portuguese and Dutch fortresses built in major towns were also constructed from coral (much easier to work with than granite) indicates that the destruction of protective reefs had been going on for many centuries (Galappatti pers. comm.; samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

In recent years the more exposed sections of coastline have been subject to erosion control (or coastline management) measures. sand nourishment has been increasingly preferred over the exclusive use of protective structures. All this physical understanding and the increasingly modern approach to coastline management did not prepare the country for the devastation caused by the Boxing Day tsunami, which was not even included in the accepted long list of natural coastal hazards in sri Lanka (Galappatti, pers comm..; samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

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IntRoDUCtIon

Figure 10 (a). Eighty percent (80%) of the land mass of Sri Lanka is composed of rock-based sedimentary material. Two narrow coastal segments along the northwest and the east of the island are composed of recent Quaternary deposits, which are alluvial. The most significant barrier built-estuaries also occur in the Quaternary (alluvial) Zones (see text for explanation).

Note the trajectory of the rivers. They traverse different Geological Zones which yield more or less sand and non-sand sediment. Sand for beach nourishment is delivered only by those rivers which flow directly to the coast and deliver sand in an unimpeded manner. The even-tual relationship between beaches and sand supply depends upon the many interconnec-tions shown in the flow diagram in Figure 10b.

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Figure 10 (b). Shore sand sources, movement, accumulation and renewal (Swan, 1983).

SHORE SAND CYCLE

SAND SOURCES

SAND TRANSPORT & DELIVERY:

Waves, currents, littoral drift

SAND TRAPS: headlands, estuaries, lagoons

NO SAND TRAPS

SUBDUCTION METAMORPHISM

RELATIVE UPLIFT & DENUDATION

Rivers

Coastal erosion

Offshore stores

Littoral drift

Inefficient Efficient

SHORT TERM STORES (unstable) beaches,

bars, spits)

MEDIUM/LONG TERM

STORES(stable beaches,

dunes)

RAPID LEAKAGE

SLOW LEAKAGE

BY PASS

SINKS, REPOSITORIES(shelf, submarine canyons,

continental slope, ocean floor outside coastal cells

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on 26th December 2004, tsunami waves, the highest of which ranged from 3m to 10m in height, swept over the coastal areas of east, south and southwest sri Lanka. In areas other than around prominent headlands the beaches rise to approximately 2m to 3m above mean sea level and the land (usually wetlands) behind are lower, even nearly sea level. These low lying lands were the most susceptible to flooding by the tsunami waves. The destruction due to fast flowing water was mitigated in some places by the presence of thick vegetation (or high density housing) which to some extent protected the area behind these obstructions. the large lagoons also absorbed some of the energy and volume of tsunami waves. In the deep south, southeast, northeast and northwest, there are large sand dunes created by wind blown sand. Many of these dune systems were high and strong enough to resist the tsunami wave. However, natural gaps in the dune system (for drainage paths of rivers and other coastal catchments) allowed the entry of the tsunami waves (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

the sri Lanka coastline comes under the purview of the Coast Conservation Law and the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) which is published by the government from time to time. one of the main features of this legal framework is the body of regulations to control development activities in the coastal zone. the 2004 CZMP had divided the coastal zone into 99 coastal reaches and specified setback distances that restrict construction and other activities close to the high waterline. these setback regulations have been made with the following objectives:

a) Protecting life and property against erosion and storm surge.b) Minimizing public investment in coast protection works.c) Protecting and enhancing the scenic value of coastal

environments, protecting vulnerable coastal habitats and unique natural sites.

d) Providing buffer zones around coastal archaeological, historical and cultural sites within the Coastal Zone.

e) Minimizing use conflicts among different activities taking place in the Coastal Zone.

f) ensuring public access to and along the coast.g) Maintaining consistency among national and regional laws and

plans, and h) ensuring consistency between national development goals and

environmental objectives.

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the CZMP recognizes the variability of the coastal zone and that no “one size fits all” set of rules would be applicable. The ‘surge’ due to a massive tsunami was not among the hazards envisaged in this plan. Whether it should be included among the more common hazards is also doubtful given the extremely long return period that is attributed to the 2004 event. the CZMP is designed to respond to events with return periods up to around ten years; it is not possible to deal with events with return periods of 200 to 1000 years within the same planning framework (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

the impact of sea level rise is included in the design guidelines for coastal structures (Galappatti pers. comm.). However its impact on the drainage of coastal wetlands has not yet been taken fully into account (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2008).

1.10 the Developmental Sett�ng

sri Lanka’s coastal area has a development history dating back more than 2,000 years with a legacy of archeological remains including settlements, trading centres, harbours and resource use patterns (Indrapala, 2007; sri Lanka survey Department, 2007). this legacy combined with diverse development processes in the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods have added their footprints to the prevailing situation in coastal ecosystems. Management of coastal ecosystems pivots on the interactions of people and space in the coastal area and their change with time.

Does sri Lanka need planning for management of coastal ecosystems for wellbeing of dependent communities? the need is real and placed in context by Figure 1. It shows the diverse influences shaping the relationship between society, development and ecosystems. some features are:

Population increased by about 2 ½ times from about 8 to 21 million since independence in 1949. About 30% of this population lives in the coastal area;

Persistent poverty of about 30% of the population;

size and productivity of coastal ecosystems remain static but there are more people to be supported and a bigger demand for goods and services to be met;

•

•

•

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IntRoDUCtIon

Increasing technological efficiency to extract (e.g. mechanized fishing methods) the same stock of goods (e.g. fish); from the coastal ecosystems

Implementation of development projects with inadequate EIAs;

Lack of investment in productivity enhancement of the coastal ecosystems;

Increasing pollution from industrial and municipal wastes discharging into coastal ecosystems, sometimes even killing biodiversity entirely (e.g. Lunawa Lagoon);

Misplaced mangrove planting in estuaries and lagoons causing sediment build-up and shrinkage of the water body which prevents fishing and impedes drainage;

Globalization of markets, intensified extraction of high value products (e.g. shrimp), and inadequate regulatory safeguards, thereby creating a downward environmental spiral; and

Decline in governance institutions as the boundary between government (legislature, judiciary & executive), civil society (voluntary organizations including nGos and CBos) and markets (private sector/commercial enterprise) become increasingly vague and undermine effective law enforcement.

Clearly, sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems are being undermined both by natural change as well as societal pressure. ‘Business as usual’ cannot reverse the relationship. should sri Lanka deliberately seek positive change? yes, indeed. then, it must purposefully plan to do so. Planned change can be positive if implemented over the long term – spanning decades. therefrom arises the need for the nsAP.

ecosystems are constantly changing both naturally and under the influence of people. The latter class of change is termed ‘anthropogenic’. therefore the nsAP primarily addresses change and seeks to promote ICM practices that manage this dynamic, across both space and time. this would prevent coastal ecosystems from passing into a state that is less useful, or even useless as a ‘public good’ (Figure 1). ‘Uselessness’ of a coastal ecosystem as a public good generally accompanies loss of biodiversity.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

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1.10.1 Development H�story and Poverty

the developmental history of sri Lanka since independence in 1948 reveals a wayward trajectory (Kelegama, 2006). economic development today is highly skewed among the provinces. Poverty reduction has been slow due to widening inequalities among income groups and across regions, and because growth is concentrated in Western Province. More inclusive economic growth will require easing specific constraints affecting particular sectors, regions, and groups, but priorities critical for all include improving the quality of education, access to infrastructure like electricity, connectivity to markets and urban centers, and access to finance for micro-enterprises (World Bank, 2007).

Rural areas are home to nearly 80 percent of the population and about 88 percent of the poor in the country. even though the rural poverty rate has declined from 29.4 percent to 24.7 percent during the period 1990/91 to 2002, this still translates to nearly 3.5 million people. the slowdown in agricultural growth over the past decade has slowed poverty reduction among agriculture-dependent households (World Bank, 2007).

The economic and social repercussions of over two decades of conflict have affected people throughout the country. over 65,000 people have died, nearly a million citizens have been displaced, private and public properties and economic infrastructure have been destroyed, local economies and community networks have been disrupted, and health and educational outcomes have deteriorated in districts in the north and East (World Bank, 2007).

Coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka, because of their relative smallness, are highly sensitive to shocks and slow but persistent change which do not allow the expression of their normal dynamics and resilience. these essential characteristics are captured in Chapter 2, section 3.1. These entities will be placed under intense stress in the post-conflict period unless concerted effort is made to safeguard both ecosystems and livelihoods.

All interventions under the nsAP must interact with the existing development setting. Additionally the rural coastal communities were struck a double blow by the impact of the rare and extreme Indian ocean tsunami of 2004. therefore the nsAP must address the manner

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in which ICM may integrate with mitigation of the existing impacts of coastal hazards in general and those from more regular ones in the future.

1.11 Plann�ng Pr�nc�ples

the four planning principles underlying the nsAP (Friend and Hickling, 1987; Faludi, 1978) are:

1. optimal utilization of development opportunities.2. Equitable distribution of benefits.3. Minimal damage to structure and functioning of coastal

ecosystems.4. Prevention or minimization of externalities.

Furthermore, precautionary safeguards are useful, in the context of relentless globalization of knowledge and markets, to ensure that sri Lanka’s exceptional, but limited, natural resource endowments remain a blessing instead of becoming a curse. the adaptability of the relatively small coastal ecosystems and the dependent coastal communities to absorb benefits from accelerated coastal development shall be a planning concern.

1.12 management of Change �n ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems are changing every day due to both natural and anthropogenic causes. these changes oscillate with time, seasonally or over longer periods of time. As an example, beach ecosystems in the southwest swing between periods of erosion during the Monsoon followed by re-growth and stability during the calm period. Where the regular to and fro movement of sand is obstructed by an engineering structure, erosion proceeds progressively until the beach is entirely lost. thus where change is forced to be in a negative direction, the ecosystems themselves pass into an altered state that does not satisfy human expectation (Figure 1). the adverse impacts of localized engineering intervention need to acknowledge also the coupling of that local setting with processes in the wider environment. existing trends include:

fragmentation of ecosystems that make up the coastal environment, e.g. by infrastructure

•

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IntRoDUCtIon

degradation of estuaries and lagoons, clogged by solid waste, polluted by diverse liquid wastes, and supporting a depleted fish population

transformation - physical loss of habitat, e.g. lagoons filled for housing

perceptions of coastal managers and decision makers that are not based upon geological, geomorphological and bio-physical reality

these changes, among others, are described, and their causes and trends are analyzed in Chapter 2. Changes often lead to problems. some problems are shared, in varying degree, by coastal communities and the country at large. However, a majority of the problems occur in a local context at specific geographic sites. Issues arise from each problem. these issues also constantly change.

The most significant problems are those that affect the livelihood of coastal communities and food security. the average income of coastal fisher households position them below the official poverty line of Rs. 2,500/= per month (Department of Census and statistics, 2006). Adverse changes in coastal ecosystems aggravate their poverty. At the same time consumers in general are compelled to reduce consumption of fish, the most important source of animal protein in Sri Lanka, because of scarcity and escalating prices. Both declining stocks and rising prices drive the competition within coastal communities to extract a share of the diminishing resource. eventually ecosystem decline forces change in human behaviour, even involving conflict (Figure 1). sometimes human impact on coastal ecosystems, especially the intensity of resource extraction, is driven by factors outside the control of coastal communities, as in the case of inflation caused by poor fiscal policies. some economic drivers of change are also exacerbated by global markets such as the consequences of periodic rises in oil prices. Fundamentally, anthropogenic change is driven by the most basic of human emotions - self-interest.

Mother nature, however, marches on regardless of the presence or absence of people, their impacts in the coastal area and attendant economic problems. natural coastal ecosystems, when severely impacted by human action, merely pass into an altered state which no longer yields goods and services desired by people. Mother nature is indifferent to

•

•

•

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IntRoDUCtIon

human problems. therefore, people have to change their ways if coastal ecosystems must provide to children the same benefits that parents took for granted.

A common feature of ecosystem change is that it comes about gradually, over extended periods of time, generally decades. this gradualness deceives decision makers and coastal managers and they fail to anticipate the consequences of change. Appropriately termed creeping normalcy, it is explained more fully in Chapter 2. the nsAP analyses several cases where coastal managers and decision makers failed to detect and identify ecosystem problems at a strategic level as priorities to enable appropriate procedures to be adopted at the tactical level.

1.13 Causal model Analys�s of Coastal ecosystems

Changes in ecosystems are caused, singly or in combination, by natural and anthropogenic factors. Interactions occur among the variables causing change. therefore straightforward cause-effect relationships are difficult to identify. A useful technique for understanding the pathways by which diverse variables cause change is the preparation of descriptive models that reveal underlying causes. Such models are termed ‘causal models’. Changes in some inter-related coastal ecosystems (MCZ and estuaries) are analyzed in Chapter 2 by applying a causal model to illustrate usefulness of the technique. It reveals the complex interrelated pathways by which change occurs in coastal ecosystems. the model is based on actual observation of change, technical studies, and cumulative results of focus group discussions. the virtue of a causal model is the manner in which it reveals the nodes where management interventions may be interposed to maintain the continuous flow of ecosystem goods and services. thereby causal models also serve as mechanisms for identifying the manner in which coastal management and development activities may be integrated.

1.14 Integrated Coastal management (ICm) �s Development

the MFF applies the principles of integrated coastal management (ICM) to the development process to achieve its mission (Table 4). Accordingly the appropriate definition of ICM is:

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IntRoDUCtIon

The goal of ICM is to improve the quality of life of human communities who depend on coastal resources while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems. thus ICM must integrate government with the community, science with management, and sectoral with public interests in preparing and implementing actions that combine investment in development with the conservation of environmental qualities and functions (GesAMP Reports and studies no. 61, 1996)

the vision of the MFF Programme and the goal of ICM converge on ‘human wellbeing’. From the outset therefore, ICM should be seen as a development activity. seers (1979) asserts that the purpose of development is to reduce poverty, inequality, and unemployment. For sen (1999), development involves reducing deprivation or broadening choice. Deprivation represents a multidimensional view of poverty that includes hunger, illiteracy, illness and poor health, powerlessness, voicelessness, insecurity, humiliation, and a lack of access to basic infrastructure (narayan et al. 2000, pp. 4-5; narayan and Patesch, 2002). economic growth can result in human development only when poverty is reduced and equity incorporated into its fabric (World Bank, 2005).

sometimes, ICM is tilted towards emphasis on biodiversity conservation. A distinction exists between ICM and biodiversity conservation. the goals of both are the same, viz. maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning. the priorities and emphasis of the two processes differ. the aim of ICM is to “promote the people, while seeking to preserve the place”. the aim of biodiversity conservation is to “preserve the place while engaging the people”. In the ICM process practitioners of coastal management serve as impartial and neutral brokers for communities and various resource users (Best, 2003).

A distinction has to be made also, in regard to how coastal ecosystems are perceived in a developed country and in a developing country such as Sri Lanka. In the former the significance of coastal ecosystems for people derives mainly from their role in recreation and property values. In sri Lanka, the value of a coastal ecosystem derives primarily from the goods and services it supplies to support livelihood and secondarily from its services to industry such as tourism. However, at specific urban sites such as Lunawa Lagoon, and negombo Lagoon, in the suburbs of Colombo, property values may dominate the manner in which the water body is perceived by the elites and decision makers (Wickremeratne pers. comm.).

•

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IntRoDUCtIon

some ecosystems such as the MCZ and beaches, traditionally used for fisher folk livelihood, have become prime resources for commercial investment and national development, e.g. export fishery, tourism. In such situations conflict is inevitable. ICM has the potential to reduce conflict by way of win-win solutions instead of zero-sum outcomes? From this stems its significance in dealing with interrelated issues in development, poverty and livelihoods. A population less trapped in poverty can better negotiate mutually acceptable conflict resolution. Reduction of poverty of coastal ecosystem-dependent communities is a significant and high priority issue which has to be firmly integrated into ICM in order to achieve sustainable management. In its absence, depletion of the productivity of a natural system is inevitable.

Christie et al. (2005) extracted important considerations for improved ICM from a series of evaluation studies on long-term experience of ICM in the Philippines and in Indonesia (Table 5). the strategic elements bear significance for the NSAP. Similar findings from the MFF Regional Study on ‘Institutional Gaps’ are incorporated in Chapter 2. A strategic outcome from the comparative study (Christie et al., 2005) is the ‘Reaffirmation of participatory management’. Two important underlying factors are: contribution from institutional arrangements and investment over adequately prolonged periods. Evidently, in the absence of active and organized support from local resource users, and inadequate external inputs, especially financial support, ICM as a long term sustainable process becomes tenuous. this is not surprising since changes in attitude and behaviour are involved that must become absorbed into the culture at the local setting.

Table 4. The principles and objectives of ICM (Clark, 1992, Kay, 2007)

Principles Objectives

A long-term viewA broad holistic approachAdaptive frameworkWorking with natural processesSupport and involvement of all relevant administrative institutionsUse of a combination of instrumentsParticipatory planningReflecting local characteristics

•••••

•••

Strengthen sectoral management by improving training, legislation and planningPreserve the biological diversity of coastal ecosystems by preventing habitat destruction, pollution and overexploitationPromote the rational development and sustainable use of coastal resources

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Table 5. Strategic elements that would improve ICM (adapted from Christie et al. 2005; Kay, 2007)

Strategy Rationale Literature

Effective management of ICM-derived outcomes

Improvement of economic and environmental conditions fosters ICM success and sustainability

Involvement and participation in ICM are influenced by initial project benefits and perceptions of benefits

Achievement of these benefits stimulates continuing involvement in the activities, sustaining the ICM process

•

•

•

Pomeroy et al. (2005);

Pollnac et al. (2005);

Oracion et al. (2005)

Re-affirmation of participatory management

Institutional structures to support large scale projects are often lacking and thereby do not convey benefits to grass roots level

Sustaining large-scale interventions over time will be exceedingly difficult and costly unless voluntary local participation occurs

•

•

Pollnac et al. (2005);

Oracion et al. (2005)

Integration in difficult contexts

ICM also depends on integration within and between multiple governance scales, therefore policies and laws matter

Institutional legal frameworks that mandate governance reform are lagging behind the pace of ICM project evolution

•

•

Eisma et al. (2005);

Patlis (2005)

Long-term commitment is essential to success and sustainability

Short project horizons are not conducive to sustained ICM processes beyond project termination

Successes of individual ICM efforts can be traced directly to relatively small groups of committed individuals (who champion ICM). Investment in capacity development in project staff, local and national agencies, and NGOs are resources well spent

•

•

White et al. (2005)

White et al. (2005)

Continuation of the evaluative and adaptive process

Research framed by multiple mandates, goals and disciplines is essential to the improvement of ICM, coastal environments and societies

ICM projects investing in data management systems and engaging local and national government agencies in self-monitoring exercises

Help track the impact of ICM efforts; increasingly used to ensure that ICM projects result in tangible and measurable third-order impacts

•

•

•

Pollnac et al. (2005); White et al. (2005); Olsen and Christie (2000) www.oneocean.org

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1.15 Natural Hazards as St�mul� for Improved ICm

People living on the coast must continue to adapt to coastal hazards as they have done in the past if they must secure life and property in the future. towards this end, many lessons are available from the disastrous hazards that have impacted coastal populations.

1.15.1 the Great Ind�an ocean tsunam� 2004: An opportun�ty for Improved ICm

the great Indian ocean tsunami 2004 was a rare, extreme event. sri Lanka was unprepared for it and sacrificed more than 30,000 lives (Department of Census and statistics, 2005). It accentuated the fragility of exposed coastal communities and the need to enhance their resilience, i.e. their ability to bounce back after a shock (Adger et al., 2005). extreme events offer opportunities for learning. Governments and responsible agencies must learn from them, mainly about how to save life and property during future hazards. the MFF Regional Programme, in its existing form consolidated in the aftermath of this event and combines relevant learning into its integrated framework.

the tsunami 2004 demonstrated that planned land use which takes into account the role of coastal ecosystems and associated risk may contribute to saving life and property in the face of diverse hazards in the future (samarakoon, epitawatte & Galappatti, 2008; 2009). However, the incorporation of lessons from the tsunami 2004 experience into an ICM strategy requires both strategic planning as well as tactical application. these aspects are discussed in detail in Chapter 2.

1.16 m�llenn�um ecosystem Assessment and the tsunam� 2004: a Foundat�on for mFF & NSAP

the United nations environmental Programme’s (UneP) Millennium ecosystem Assessment (MeA) initiated in 2001, involved more than thousand specialists from both developed and developing countries, and resulted in the worldwide awareness that ecosystems and human wellbeing are firmly interlinked. Thus the MEA establishes the logical and scientific foundation for the MFF & the NSAP. The MEA revealed that human wellbeing can be maintained in the long-term only to the

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extent that supportive ecosystems can sustain the supply of goods and services. Where ecosystems are depleted, human wellbeing also diminishes. the key challenge is long-term management of continuity of flow of ecosystem goods and services – this essentially, is sustainable development. (http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx; http://www.greenfacts.org/en/ecosystems/about-ecosystems.htm; http://www.maweb.org/en/Framework.aspx).

Understanding the dimensions of sustainable development of natural resources (and ecosystems), and combining them with technology and investment are important considerations (Daly, 1991). some leading thinkers have identified a framework for addressing sustainability (PnAs, 2007). this framework (ostrom, 2007) includes analysis and understanding the attributes of:

Ecosystems (constituting resource systems such as e.g. fishery, estuary, etc) in terms of their resilience, vulnerability and adaptability

The resource units generated by a given system (e.g. fish, visiting tourists)

the users of that system

the governance system that jointly affect and is affected by interactions and resulting outcomes achieved at a particular place and time

These recent scientific findings were applied in the development of the NSAP mainly by using ‘causal models’, described as an example in Chapter 2, for improving ICM.

1.17 An As�an Perspect�ve on ecosystem-based ICm

Coastal management in the Asian Region is straddled by some shared problems (ADB, 2002), namely:

Weak law enforcement Fragmented coastal constituencies that are motivated by short-term inducementsA weak knowledge base that is not amenable to rigorous scientific testing

•

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•

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In this context, case studies can bring up alternative courses of action pertaining to ICM that may be meaningful across geographic and cultural boundaries. Case studies would illustrate how problems of relevance to sri Lanka have been addressed. A shared feature that could emerge from the case studies is the need to understand the interactions among the bio-physical and social constituents of coastal ecosystems, both from a cultural anthropological perspective and the market demands of globalization. this may be addressed by treating coastal ecosystems as socio-ecological systems (Gallopin, 2006).

1.18 Soc�o-ecolog�cal Systems (SeS): the Human Face of Coastal ecosystems

ecosystems of interest for management inevitably have a connection with human populations. therefore, management planning for an ecosystem must recognize the interaction among the physical, biological and societal sub-systems, especially feedback from the social component (Box 2). such a tri-partite system is regarded as a socio-ecological system (SES). A SES is defined as a ‘system that includes societal (human) and ecological (biophysical) subsystems in mutual interaction (Gallopin, 2006). the ses itself is not isolated. It is connected to outside forces of the wider environment including:

natural hazards, national political processes (policies and institutions) and central decision-making (governance at all levels)

forces from outside the national border (oceanic processes, global change and globalization)

The biophysical subsystem of an SES is geographically definable and restricted within a boundary (Box 2). the societal subsystem has both a geographically defined character as well as broader, spatially unrestricted political aspects. For instance a national policy, such as the fishery development policy, formulated and adopted by the central government, may influence activity within a local ecosystem. The local fisher population may be pleased or displeased with policy implications, e.g. granting of permission to foreign fishing vessels. Agitation and demonstrations may result. this political aspect belongs to groups of people and constitutes ‘political power’. It is defined as the ‘capability of a group of people to resist imposed change if it is undesirable and to mobilize change where it is desirable’ (etzioni, 1968). the scope of group

•

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IntRoDUCtIon

power of a population may transcend the boundary of a village or a local government unit depending upon governance, functional institutions and organizations. A major drawback of many ICM initiatives is the inadequate consideration given to the societal component as stewards of ecosystems in keeping with the combined interests of self and nation.

1.19 Adapt�ng to Future uncerta�nty

Concepts of risk, exposure, vulnerability, resilience, adaptive capacity, and preparedness are being applied worldwide to the analysis of sess, particularly in the context of adaptation to climate change. In addition to being terms in colloquial language, they are widely used by the life sciences and social sciences, often with different meanings (Gallopin, 2006). Does experience with past coastal hazards reveal a learning trend in sri Lanka? Unfortunately, there is little evidence of learning from the 1978 cyclone that affected the east of sri Lanka and the 2004 tsunami (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2009).

A firm foundation for learning from the 2004 Tsunami is now available from the scientific impact assessment carried out in 2005 (MENR/UNEP, 2005a; UneP /MenR, 2005b) and other studies. Planning for future hazards must have a clear spatial orientation. the CCD setbacks give an indication of sites along the coastline, which are relatively more exposed to hazards. More rigorous preparedness would necessitate mapping the coastline specifically for the task of constructing atlases of ‘coastal vulnerability’ (based on coastal vulnerability indices – CVIs) and of ‘risk’ that could be readily understood by Provincial Authorities who are in charge of land allocation for development. some recommendations for learning are contained in Chapter 2.

1.20 Issues �n Susta�nable management of Soc�o-ecolog�cal Systems

the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems is fundamentally, a matter of economics and morality. the economic aspect, the value of ecosystem services, is being debated intellectually and improved valuation methodologies will, no doubt, follow. However, there is little evidence of serious consideration for the real value of ecosystems in policy decisions. Edward O. Wilson holds that ‘The issue like all great decisions is moral. science and technology is what we can do.

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IntRoDUCtIon

Morality is what we agree we should or should not do’ (Wilson, 2002). the challenge for the MFF Programme is to gain a real understanding of what should or should not be done for the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka.

the moral contradiction, whether something effective is done for coastal ecosystems or not derives from where power lies and knowledge is generated. Commenting on the failure of transfer of technology in agriculture, Robert Chambers (1990) commented - power is concentrated in the hands of people in high offices and central places. Knowledge is generated in universities, laboratories, engineering workshops and research stations and then transferred packaged for adoption. the approach is centralized, standardized and simple – inadequate to meet the interests and expectations of local populations who are dealing with the actual uncertainties of living with natural resources. the situation in regard to the management of the coast and its resources in sri Lanka, is comparable. Professional knowledge can contribute meaningfully to the nsAP only to the extent that physical geography and cultural anthropology are clearly understood in the perspective of resource demands of local communities and the manner in which resources are used.

1.21 the Nat�onal Strategy and Act�on Plan (NSAP)

the procedure used to develop the nsAP is explained in Chapter 3. the underlying logic is that the future is a reflection of the past, imprecise though it may be. therefore the future will be a product of present processes. Consequently, if planners ignore history, they must surely repeat its mistakes. the strategy and action plan being designed for sri Lanka seeks to answer three planning questions:

What is the present position of Sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems in relation to regional diversity of the country and resource demands?to what condition do planners intend to transform the coastal ecosystems by the year 2030?

How can society get there without aggravating existing damage or causing fresh harm to the coastal ecosystems?

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IntRoDUCtIon

As a foundation for the planning exercise, Chapter 2 presents an analysis of the current status and trends of the coastal ecosystems.

1.22 towards 2030: mFF NSAP

the many crises that confront the coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka have evolved over long periods of time spanning centuries in the case of aspects that have geological and oceanographic causes, and decades with regard to intended and unintended consequences of human activities. these impacts cannot be reversed or corrected rapidly with piecemeal interventions. systemic interventions may be implemented gradually. For this purpose strategic planning is of the essence simply because priorities for action can thereby be identified for implementation to make optimal use of available resources.

(Photo: Dr Ranjith Mahindapala)

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CoAstAL eCosysteMs – exIstInG sItUAtIon AnD tRenDs

2. CoAStAL eCoSyStemS – exIStING SItuAtIoN AND tReNDS

2.1 Preamble

this chapter attempts to build convincing arguments, based on coastal ecosystem trends, for the policies and actions proposed in Chapter 3: the national strategy and Action Plan (nsAP). the arguments must emerge from the legacy of multiple uses and development of coastal ecosystems and their resources. the way people use coastal ecosystems is the central issue. therefore, the material presented in this chapter is partly cultural anthropology. In this approach, people as ecological populations constitute a unit of analysis, and culture shapes how that population alters and adapts to the environment. (Kottak 1999; 2004). Culture, for the purpose of this chapter means the way of life of coastal communities, the associated wider society and urban counterparts - the behaviour, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next (Hofstede, 1997).

In retrospect, Chapter 1 presented the framework for exploring both natural change and human impact on complex coastal ecosystems, and to plan for future hazards. these impacts reveal themselves as time series trends, with particular internal rhythms (stressors) interacting with external variables (drivers). one challenge for the planner is to identify the maximum and minimum consequences. Then, planning may address and map the range within which average consequences could be maintained through monitoring and management. space does not allow a comprehensive analysis of all aspects relevant to coastal ecosystem management planning. Only the aspects most significant and relevant to the trends, with consequences for ecosystems, are addressed here to find answers to the three planning questions posed at the conclusion of Chapter 1 (section 1.21).

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this chapter is the foundation of the nsAP and seeks to clearly analyze the changes in coastal ecosystem and their trends in recent decades as a sound basis for future planning. Apart from natural change, much of the impact on coastal ecosystems arise from:

diverse traditional and modern practices of expanding populations

planned development interventions, supported by state and private sector investments.

therefore, the existing situation and trends need to be understood in a planning perspective so that adverse impacts on natural systems could be minimized when formulating future actions. Hence, the consequences of previously implemented plans on coastal ecosystems are assessed in relation to four essential planning principles (see Box 4 for an example), namely:

optimal utilization of development opportunities,

Equitable distribution of benefits,

Minimal damage to structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems, and

Prevention or minimization of negative externalities.

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Box 4. Development of coastal tourism, Lewis Place, Negombo

Development of tourism in Sri Lanka was planned by the government in the mid 1970s. Many incentives were offered to investors including concessionary imports and tax holidays. Hotels were built on the beach at Lewis Place. These same beaches were used by local fishermen for landing traditional fishing craft and fiberglass boats, drawing beach seine nets, drying fish, temporary wadiyas etc. Hotel builders were insensitive to the needs of the fishers and the functioning of the beach as an ecosystem. While incentives were provided, regulations were not in place to safeguard beach ecosystems and fisher livelihood – multiple uses. The hotels were built too close to the sea and obstructed coastal processes. In a few years the beaches were eroded and the hotels were threatened with collapse. The fishermen lost their livelihood. They could not beach land their fishing craft and boats, nor draw nets. Conflicts among hoteliers, fisherfolk and government agencies were intense. In the mid-1980s the government rebuilt the beaches using engineering technology. DANIDA provided grant assistance to solve the problem. Since planning ignored the four principles, tourism, mainly the hotel owners, benefitted at the expense of the natural ecosystem entraining serious hardship for fisherfolk and substantial costs in conflict resolution.

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the seminal thinkers on ecological methods emphasized that without knowledge of the past, ecological interpretation is meaningless. Therefore this chapter must supply answers to two questions:

What is the present position of coastal ecosystems based on past trends in relation to:

regional diversity of the country, and resource demands?

What will be the predictable status of coastal ecosystems if existing trends continue?

Why must trends be understood? Trends reveal four strategic options that planners must address, at a particular point in time, in the relationship between the:

values that society holds in regard to coastal ecosystems, and

goal of developing coastal ecosystems.

Let’s take the example in Box 4. What did society expect from a beach at Lewis Place, negombo. It expected their own livelihood to prosper parallel with tourism development. However, a disparity occurred between the values of society and the goal of development. since then the beach (at Lewis Place, negombo) has been restored by way of expensive engineering works. the goals and values for coastal resources, and ecosystems in particular, are contained in the CZMPs (CCD, 1990, 1997, 2006). these are also embodied in sri Lanka’s Constitution and the diverse international commitments made by the Government of sri Lanka, including the MDGs.

the four planning directions revealed by trends are:

If a trend shows that societal values and development goals are in harmony, only monitoring of the ecosystem is required to ensure balanced continuity.

If a trend shows a mismatch between societal values and development goals, and the causes are known, then policies, strategies and collaborative action are required.

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Where a trend shows a mismatch between societal values and development goals but the causes for the divergence are uncertain, then research must be undertaken.

Where a proposed development activity could create a new change trend, e.g. construction of a port or a fishery harbour, an environmental impact assessment is indicated to ensure harmony between societal values and the development goal.

strategic planning in a developing country is meaningful only if proposed policies, strategies and actions benefit all segments of society, including the poorest and weakest. In the sri Lankan coastal area this segment of the population is the so-termed ‘coastal communities’, which generally include populations that depend upon coastal resources for livelihood, and rank among the poorest (MoF, 2004; FAo/ADB, 1988). they depend directly upon harvesting natural productivity, and therefore, every adverse impact on coastal ecosystem structure and functioning undermines their livelihood. Benefits can accrue to ‘coastal communities’ only in proportion to equitable management of ecosystem-based development (World Bank, 2005).

Contradictions between the chosen development model in sri Lanka and the integrated management of coastal ecosystems are clearly evident. sri Lanka’s development model is based more upon the primacy of economic growth measured in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) and less on equitable distribution of the outcome of that growth. The nature of this growth indicator and its relationship to the behaviour of ecosystems was clarified by Daly (1991). He shows that both economic growth and safeguarding the integrity of ecosystems cannot be simultaneously achieved. However, continuous economic growth that draws upon ecosystem products becomes feasible, within limits, only to the extent that appropriate investment is made to increase the productivity of that ecosystem.

the complexity of the interactions between the ecosystem and human populations is presented in a simplified conceptual framework in Chapter 1, (Figure 1). Also, the ecosystem-human relationships, now subsumed under the concept of socio-ecological system (ses) are explained in Chapter 1, Box 2, and section 1.18. Livelihoods that depend upon ecosystem productivity are increasingly drawn into the globalization process where powerful market forces determine incomes (stiglitz, 2007).

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While these human-driven relationships are crucially important, in an island such as Sri Lanka, physical limitations fundamentally influence the structure and functioning of the coastal ecosystems. Geology, geomorphology and bio-physical attributes that set the fundamental limits on coastal ecosystem structure and functioning, are described in Chapter 1, section 1.9.

2.2 methodology: Informat�on on ecosystem trends

Published ecological research on the structure and functioning of entire coastal ecosystems is rare. Much of the available information is descriptive and relates to diverse facets of ecosystems, including fishery, seagrasses, mangroves, sediment budget, etc. Long term measurements of key indicators of ecosystem change are lacking. However, change pertaining to lagoons and estuaries has been catalogued to some extent (CCD, 2006; samarakoon & Van Zon, 1991; Ganewatte et al. 1995). Even so, adequate information is available, from diverse sources, to weave together a credible and testable representation of the patterns of change. one-off measurements such as the bathymetry of lagoons and estuaries, coupled with time sequences of aerial photographs, provide a convincing representation of the patterns of change. Living memory of some individual scientists who have been associated with the research, planning and management of selected coastal ecosystems in past decades, bridge the gaps in information. Fishery statistics, despite known shortcomings (Government of Ceylon, 1951, FAo/ADB, 1988), provide a reasonable foundation for inferences about the functioning of the MCZ and the impact of technological change.

the changes in the structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems, and their societal implications are, perforce, records based on limited scientific literature, field experience of individuals spanning about four decades, and the views and thoughts of experienced specialists. the material presented is based to some extent on multidisciplinary discussion and analysis. Of special significance is that it also draws on well documented experience, spanning 25 years, from ecosystem based ICM initiatives in sri Lanka:

Coast Protection Scheme Negombo: Rehabilitation of seven kilometers of beach ecosystem consisting of 400,000 cubic meters of beach nourishment, four offshore breakwaters and 2 groynes

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resulting in the restoration of fisher livelihood and tourism supported by DAnIDA (CCD, 1997), and

Master Plan Project for Muthurajawela Marsh and Negombo Lagoon: The first of its king strategic land use plan for the most economically significanr estauarine system implemented with cabinet approval from 1991-2006, supported by the Dutch Government (CeA/ARCADIs, 2003; CCD, 2005b).

This knowledge, analyzed scientifically (Odum, 1971; Holling, 1978) is summarized, as an example, in a composite causal model (section 2.5.1, Figure 23) that enables (i) mapping the complex interrelationships among many resource-use pathways that caused change, and (ii) identifying the core issues (diseases or pathologies) that afflict sensitive coastal ecosystems and the particular actions that are needed. It demonstrates the analytical contribution to the application of ‘adaptive management’ to ongoing ICM practices.

2.3 Coastal Ecosystems – Definition, Regional Diversity, and use Patterns

Coast, in the nsAP, refers to the area of interaction between the land and the sea which includes all seven classes of coastal ecosystems (see section 1.2, MCZ, bays, beaches, dunes, estuaries, lagoons, and tidal flats), namely:

The land belt with sand dunes, tidal flats, and water bodies (estuaries and lagoons) where tidal sea water and freshwater from land drainage mix to form brackish water; and

the beach, and the belt of contiguous sea overlying the continental shelf to 30 meters depth (an average distance of about 5 kilometers) including the sea bed.

This definition of the coast differs from the statutory coastal zone of sri Lanka (Figure 11) for both operational and ecological reasons. It is also supported by the scientific literature for ecosystem-based planning. Adherence to the ‘legal coastal zone’ defeats the purpose of ecosystem-based ICM since it does not give adequate consideration to the four attributes of a coastal ecosystem (Chapter 1, section 1.2.; this chapter section 2.3.1)

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Land use planning and implementation, in the context of local ecological diversity, are essential for ICM. Land comes under the jurisdiction of Provincial Councils and local government authorities (LGAs). For this reason coastal diversity is classified in five segments that broadly correspond to the coasts of the Northern, North Western, Western, southern and eastern Provinces. these segments share some bio-physical features and differ in others. A description of regional diversity and patterns of use follow the definition of coastal ecosystems.

Figure 11. (A) The statutory coastal zone of Sri Lanka (Coast Conservation Act 57 of 1981). (B) The coastal area as proposed in the NSAP based on actual distribution and dimensions of coastal ecosystems (see text for explanation) has variable boundaries (shaded area bounded by broken line) under the jurisdiction of Provincial Councils.

2.3.1 Definition

the seven classes of coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka were illustrated in Chapter 1 (Figure 2). the need for the shift from habitats to ecosystems as the units of management was clarified in Chapter 1. The interrelationships among classes of coastal ecosystem and constituent habitats are illustrated in Figure 3. The scientific definition of ecosystems (Chapter 1, section 1.2) though appropriate for research, is impractical for ICM. the long term objective of managing ecosystems is the retention of their resilience, the ability to recover from disturbance, and focusing on the particular without being distracted by generalizations (Chapter1, section 1.19; Holling, 1978, Adger et al., 2005).

(A) (B)

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Holling (1978) made the definition of ecosystems practical (functional and operational) by reducing their attributes to four essential features shared by all systems, living and non-living. However, ecosystems are complex and simplification may exclude important dimensions. Nevertheless, for practical thinking, Holling’s (1978) approach is useful although debate continues about diverse aspects of ecosystems. the approach has already been tested in sri Lanka (CeA/euroconsult. 1994; samarakoon and Van Zon, 1997). Holling’s (1978) approach enables coastal managers to identify ‘particular’ types of activity for management.

the four essential attributes, taking an estuary as an example, are:

Composed of interacting parts (i.e. there cannot be a system without parts), e.g. an estuary has water, submerged seagrasses, fringing mangroves, fish, etc.

Connected or linked to a wider environment and never isolated, e.g. an estuary is always linked with the sea.

Changing - dynamic, e.g. an estuary in sri Lanka is always changing; daily with the tides, and seasonally with the rains.

Resilient with the capacity to bounce back after a disturbance, e.g. a toxic discharge from an industry may cause a fish kill and alter the feeding relationships, however with time the normal food web is restored if the root disturbance is removed.

these four attributes can be separately analyzed to diagnose management issues. Furthermore, an ecosystem is a coupled system linked to the wider environment. For example, an estuary functions in rhythm with the tides since it requires mixing of seawater and freshwater. All coastal ecosystems are geologically ephemeral, with time spans of 1000s to millions of years (Chapter 1, section 1.9). But in ecological terms, with time spans of decades and centuries, they are important components of the coastal landscape providing many services for human wellbeing. this calls for the management and adaptation of the diverse factors that influence coastal ecosystems, ranging from relatively simple human-made factors such as product extraction (e.g. fishing), navigation and waste discharge, to forces beyond human control such as tides, waves, currents and climate (section 2.2).

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the subsidiary aspects of each essential ecosystem attribute, may be arranged hierarchically. For instance, structural complexity consists of interacting parts, but all parts are not equally important. In the case of an estuary, the part that is key to normal structure and functioning is the mouth that connects with the sea (tidal inlet). Management must target the mouth. the same tactic is applicable to the other three essential attributes (CeA/euroconsult, 1994). thereby, management of a complex system can be made simpler yet remain ecologically efficient (Holling, 1978). the terminology generally applied to ecosystems for the purpose of management are (Figure 12):

Figure 12. Abstract model of a barrier-built estuary based on the Negombo Lagoon to show its hydrological linkage to land drainage by the Dandugam Oya (B1), and to the sea by tides (B2). Thus the Negombo Lagoon behaves as a coupled system in rhythm with the land drainage pattern and the tidal cycle. It is made up of interacting parts that constitute ‘structural complexity’ (A1-A6). Resilience and Dynamic Stability cannot be shown since these attributes change with time and seasons (CEA/ Euroconsult, 1994). See text for further explanation.

Key:STRUCTURAL COMPLEX-ITYA1: SeagrassesA2: Fringing mangroves & mangrove islandsA3: Mud & shell bedsA4: Reed bedsA5: Estuary-marsh transitionA6: Tidal channel

HYDROLOGICAL LINKAGEB1: River flow & land drainageB2: Tidal exchange with the sea

RESILIENCETime dependent attribute – see text for explanation

DYNAMIC STABILITYTime dependent attribute – see text for explanation

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structural complexity: the interacting parts that constitute the ecosystem

Linkages: the manner in which the defined ecosystem is connected to the wider environment Dynamic stability: the manner in which an ecosystem changes in time while retaining its four essential, functional attributes

Resilience: the capacity of an ecosystem to bounce back to its original state following a disturbance.

2.3.2 Structure and Funct�on�ng of the Seven Coastal ecosystems

the seven classes of coastal ecosystems in the nsAP are derived by reclustering coastal habitats already named in the CZMPs (CCD, 1990, 1997, 2004), and supplementing them with the MCZ and bays (Chapter 1, section 1.9).

mar�ne Coastal Zone (mCZ): the approximately 10 kilometers wide belt of sea extending from the mean low-water level of the beach or other landform (e.g. cliff) to a depth of 30 meters. this includes the water column, and the seabed with its diverse physical features and associated resident and migratory populations of plants and animals. It is a definitional adaptation required in the Sri Lankan context. The MCZ provides habitats for corals, seagrasses, seaweeds, algae, micro-organisms, and communities of organisms that inhabit soft muddy deposits. these assemblages of organisms and habitats, constitute extensive subsystems such as the seagrass beds along the north-eastern coast and in the Palk Bay, which is the only habitat of the endangered dugong (Dugon dugon). Habitats in the MCZ also provide a home to Penaeid shrimps to spend the marine part of their lifecycle (Figure 13a). this is the area from which the traditional coastal fishermen obtain their catch. Proper management of the MCZ is required to sustain fishery productivity in estuaries and lagoons. The small pelagic fishery in the MCZ is influenced by the seasonal nutrient plumes to the sea that accompany seasonal rains and propagate planktonic growth (Figure 13b; Jayakody & Costa, 1988; Jayawickrema & Jayakody, 1991).

i)

ii)

iii)

iv)

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Bays: Coastal indentation, generally situated in association with stable headlands. A bay is connected with coastal marine processes in a manner which generally maintains conditions somewhat similar to the open sea, except seasonally, when land drainage increases markedly. the beach situated in a bay is anchored by the headlands. Its stability is linked to the efficiency of headlands in preventing sand bypassing out of the bay. the shape of bays may vary depending upon currents, wind and waves (Swan, 1983). Within a bay, the MCZ exists much as in the open sea, and may be addressed as an integrated unit connected to the influence of land drainage. A bay generally is shallower and more productive than the open sea since it receives and traps nutrients and sediment from land drainage. Interestingly, however, one of the deepest bays in the world, trincomalee Bay, is also found on the sri Lankan coastline. seagrasses, coral reefs and fringing mangroves (where sheltered from strong wave action) may occur as habitats within shallower bays.

Beach: Beaches are accumulations of unconsolidated material on the shore. the material consists of mixtures, among others, of mainly silica sand, coral sand, pebbles, mud and mineral sand. they are formed by the interaction of coastal processes and resulting water movement. Variants include barrier beaches and spits (swan, 1983; CCD, 2006). Diverse biological communities occupy a beach. the appearance and quality of beach sand varies with the proportion of silica sand (from land drainage) to biogenic sand (shells and coral fragments from dead organisms) (Figure 14). Most beaches are supplied by sand from land drainage and by recirculation of sand already stored on the sea bed. Only thirteen (13) of the 103 rivers deliver sand in quantities adequate to be redistributed by littoral drift to compensate for losses due to erosion (Figure 4). this linkage is important for beach management (CCD, 1997; CCD, 2004). Also it is a severe limitation since river sand mining for the construction sector has intensified to the extent that sand supply to sea is severely curtailed. the sensitivity of beaches to coastal processes as well as interference with them is expressed by the (i) erosive impact of the southwest Monsoons along some coastal segments (see section 1.9), and (ii) the entrained consequences of engineering structures (revetments, groynes and offshore breakwaters) that were constructed to protect beaches. Sophisticated technology is required to understand and address coastal erosion. the extent of the problem of coast protection is expressed in the total length of engineering structures that have already been constructed (Box 5)

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Figure 13. (a) Both estuaries and the MCZ are required for completion of the life cycle of the penaeid shrimp which contributes substantially to foreign exchange earnings. (b) The small pelagic fishes, sardines and herrings, that support small scale fishing in the MCZ, require connection with estuaries for nutrient rich water that stimulates growth of plankton that they feed on.

(a)

(b)

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Box 5. The extent of revetments, groynes and breakwaters constructed reflects the investment made in protecting beaches against erosion. The trend of beach protection engineering works is reported to have ‘broken the back’ of erosion. To that extent beach ecosystem stability has been achieved, mainly along the western, southwestern and southern coastlines (Wickremaratne, pers comm.., CCD, 2006).

Sand dune: Dunes are wind blown accumulations of sand, which are distinctive from adjacent landforms such as beaches and tidal flats. Although they resemble beaches when their elevation is low, they differ in the manner in which they are formed. Dunes are formed by wind and occur landward of the reach of wave run up. Recent dunes are unstable as the wind continuously disturbs the sand and changes their form. they acquire stability when covered by communities of vegetation such as creepers (e.g. Ipomea pescapres). sand dunes constitute a class of coastal ecosystems which are diverse regionally in age, structure, dimensions and stability.

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Figure 14. Diversity of beach ecosystems.

Batticaloa: sandy beach used for landing of fishing craft that operate in the MCZ.

Bambalapitiya: narrow beach, poorly supplied with sand. Erosion threatens

infrastructure. Protective rock revetment.

Induruwa: broad sandy beach well supplied with silica sand from Kalu Ganga (Photo: Dr. Nirmali Pallewatte)

Koggala: beach fronted by rock ledge (Photo: Dr. Nirmali Pallewatte)

Tangalla: beach at edge of a headland (Prof: M De Silva)

Passekudah: a broad, coconut-fringed beach in Kalkudah Bay

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Kankasanthurai, Jaffna: coral rubble beach Ahangama: white beach with much biogenic material (Photo: Dr. Nirmali Pallewatte)

Kalutara: a beach rich in black ilmenite deposits (as in Pulmodai)

Hambantota: a broad sloping, palm fringed beach. This beach supplies fine sand carried

by wind to dunes (Photo: Prof. M De Silva)

Hambantota: beach backed in places by low dunes. See Figure 1-1 for a contrasting high dune (Photo: Prof. M De Silva)

Batticaloa: beach at tidal inlet of Batticaloa Lagoon. Note creepers.

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sand dunes range in geological age from Pleistocene (>10,000-2 million years BP), through Holocene (< 10,000 years BP) to recent and incipient forms (Figure 15). The CZMP 2004 identifies three types (CCD, 2006):

i. Low, flat to slightly undulating, isolated platforms of sand, less than 1 m in height (e.g. incipient dunes occurring in Koggala, Matara, Akurala and Uswetakeiyawa).

ii. transverse primary dunes, consisting of single fore-dune ridges of undulating sand masses associated with stable beaches, exceeding 5 m in height (e.g. dunes at Mannar, Pooneryn, Kalpitiya and along the south-eastern coast).

iii. secondary transgressive dunes, usually exceeding 3 m in height (e.g. dunes at Mannar, Pooneryn, Kalpitiya and Jaffna; most of which are longitudinal, some parabolic, and a few are complex in form.

Incipient (immature) dunes are particularly interesting in ICM with respect to their possible role as physical barriers in the face of hazards. this aspect is discussed in detail in section 2.9. the wind-blown sand supply from beaches to a dune depends on the climatic conditions. In arid zones the sand is generally dry and moved with ease by wind. In the wet zone, moisture from the frequent rains binds the sand grains and prevents transport by wind (swan, 1983).

Figure 15. Diverse dunes. See Figure 2 for another view of a dune in Hambantota.

Hambantota: dunes stabilized by Casuarina to reduce wind-blown dust nuisance. Dates back to Pleistocene (Photo: Prof. M De Silva)

Yala: dunes topped by creeping vegetation. Probably as old as those in Hambantota

(Photo: Wim Giesen).

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estuary: An estuary exists in many forms ranging from a simple funnel shaped opening of a river to the sea (riverine estuary: CCD, 1997; CCD, 2004) where freshwater from land drainage and tidal seawater mix to form brackish water, to the more extreme form of an estuarine delta. Deltas at the confluence of rivers and the sea are typically dynamic and small scale, and occur mainly in Palk Bay where wave action is weak. Barrier-built estuaries occur where rivers flow into a partially enclosed area separated from the sea by a barrier of sand, mix with tidal sea water, and then pass into the sea (Figures 2 and 6). these are also regarded as ‘basin estuaries’, as a simplification (CCD, 1997; CCD, 2006). The barrier-built estuaries are perennially connected with the sea (e.g. Jaffna Lagoon, negombo Lagoon, Puttalam Lagoon, Chilaw Lagoon). these formed about 10,000 years ago in the Holocene Period. their long-term

Panama: dune interrupted by spaces where sand was washed away by the 2004 tsunami (Photo: Wim Giesen).

Manalkadu, Jaffna: mobile dunes (shifted by wind) which partially smothered a church (seen jutting out). Probably dates back to Holocene (circa, 10,000 YBP). The tsunami wave 2004 reached the dune toe (> 16 m).

Hambantota: old, stable dunes fronted by granite (Photo: Prof. M De Silva)

Hambanthota: remains of an incipient dune (ID) situated between two stable dunes that

terminate at a tidal inlet. Photo taken shortly after 2004 tsunami. Later the ID formed

again (Photo: Prof. M De Silva)

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destiny (centuries and millennia) is extinction since they are inherently sediment traps – the smaller and shallower they are at the time of origin, the sooner they fill and change into a network of creeks.

Barrier-built estuaries rank high among the most productive coastal ecosystems since they receive and retain nutrients from land drainage. A diversity of habitats exist within them, such as seagrass beds, mangroves, shell beds, and soft mud beds, which provide food and shelter for many marine organisms that have evolved to benefit from such ‘nursery areas’ (Figure 13).

the fate of a barrier-built estuary is sealed at the time it is born (Perkins, 1974). Longevity is determined by its own dimensions, and the size and nature of the catchment. the larger catchments produce proportionately more sediment. The associated estuaries therefore are filled relatively more rapidly. In general, estuaries belong in the class of “fluctuating water level ecosystems” which are “pulse-stabilized” in a “youthful” stage in regard to productivity (Odum, 1971). This means that adequate, twice-daily tidal flushing prevents estuaries in Sri Lanka from reaching their terminal maturity and loss of fishery productivity (CCD, 1997). However, the limited efficiency of Sri Lanka’s semi-diurnal micro-tides to maintain stability of tidal inlets is an important consideration for coastal managers. Land uses in the catchments resulting in increased sediment and pollutant loads accelerate the demise of barrier-built estuaries, unless safeguards are in place.

Lagoon: A lagoon is a late evolutionary stage of relatively smaller estuaries where the tidal inlet is blocked by a sand bar produced by wave action. sediment received from land drainage may also be trapped at a tidal inlet until it eventually clogs the passage to the sea (Figure 2, Rekawa Lagoon). the tidal connection with the sea then becomes seasonal and the brackish water body is classified as a lagoon (CCD, 1985). Lagoons are classified as distinct ecosystems because the management measures involved are substantially different from those in the case of estuaries. this is because the range of multiple uses that they are capable of supporting is limited, e.g. a lagoon cannot be used as an anchorage for marine fishing craft. Nevertheless, they support livelihood depending on the level of recruitment of commercially valuable fishery species (Jayakody & Jayawickema, 2005).

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Tidal flat: Low-lying land in arid areas situated near the sea, and coastal ecosystems such as estuaries and lagoons, affected by high tides, periodic flooding and subject to persistent, desiccating wind. Such terrain develops characteristic vegetation consisting of halophytes (salt-tolerant plants which resist dehydration). The influence of salt is through periodic tidal inundation or by salt spray. Halophytic plants are generally small and shrub-like. the soil is generally rich in alluvium. Although the term ‘salt marsh’ (CCD, 2006; NSF, 2000) is used in the literature on coastal habitats in sri Lanka, the term is a misnomer. salt marshes are technically the temperate counterpart of mangroves (Zedler, 1997) and do not exist in Sri Lanka. Most tidal flats have been converted to paddy fields if freshwater is available because of the favourable clay content of the soil. For the same reason tidal flats are highly attractive for coastal aquaculture.

2.3.3 Reg�onal D�vers�ty – the Coasts of the Prov�nc�al Counc�ls

the types of coasts and distribution of coastal ecosystems differ among the five Provincial Councils of Sri Lanka, Northern, North-western, Western, Southern and Eastern, i.e. they show regional diversity. therefore, generalizations for the entirety of the country’s coast, although appropriate for national policy, has no practical meaning for management. Recognition of this regional differentiation is essential since land use planning, a key facet of ICM, is under the jurisdiction of the respective Provincial Councils. the distribution, structure and functioning of particular coastal ecosystems is an expression of regional geology and geomorphology as well as coastal processes. the technical material is drawn mainly from swan (1983) and the national Atlas of sri Lanka, 1st & 2nd editions (survey Department, 1988; 2008). ecosystem-based management boundaries could be defined by the respective provincial authorities.

Northern Reg�on (Figure 16): Boundary: the northern Region extends between the tidal inlet of Kokilai Lagoon on the northeast coast and the outfall of Moderagam Aru in the northwest. It is characterized by the Jaffna Peninsula, and a broad, shallow continental shelf. Along the northeast coast the depth of the continental shelf is 30 m to a distance of about 20 km. the continental shelf of the Jaffna Peninsula, the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar extend to more than 20 kilometers within the 20 m depth contour.

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Rivers and Watersheds: twenty three (23) watersheds of major and minor perennial rivers are associated with this coastline. The more significant are: Ma oya, Per Aru, Kanakarayan Aru, Palli Aru, Parangi Aru, nay Aru, Aruvi Aru and Moderagam Aru. there are no rivers in the Jaffna Peninsula. the subsidiary rivers in this region are relatively short. their runoff and sediment yield are relatively low. some prominent barrier-built estuaries, smaller lagoons and bays occur along the northeast coast. Much of the sediment delivered by the rivers becomes trapped within the estuaries and lagoons. Ma oya delivers its sediment load into Kokilai Lagoon which is progressively getting filled up. The slight indentations that form bays are flanked by low headlands that barely protrude into the sea. Alluvial plumes that occur at river outlets during the northeast Monsoons both enrich the nearshore coastal water as well as the seagrass beds along the coastline. Because of the relatively wider continental shelf, interconnections between the rivers, barrier-built estuaries and the nearshore waters, the crustacean (shrimp) fishery resource is significant.

Coastal Ecosystems and Habitats: A highly productive MCZ, beaches, dunes, estuaries, lagoons and tidal flats in diverse forms exist in this region. the MCZ is enriched by coral reefs, seagrass beds and muddy deposits. the coral reefs are situated off the northern coast of Jaffna, and extend into the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar. the seagrass beds extend along the north-eastern coast, and expand vastly in the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. shore-front deltaic mangroves, not found elsewhere along sri Lanka’s coast, occur in association with the outlets of Palli Aru, Parangi Aru and nay Aru, albeit on a diminutive scale.

the northern boundary of the Jaffna Peninsula faces shallow water over the continental shelf which is less than 20 m deep. since this stretch is relatively sheltered it is not affected by medium and long period swells, as experienced along the southern coast. Bays and prominent headlands are absent. the only indentation is the tidal inlet of thondamannaru Lagoon. senaratne and Dissanayake (1982) conducted a paleogeographic reconstruction of the predominantly Miocene limestone Jaffna Peninsula using photogrammetric techniques. Application of similar techniques towards understanding the evolution of landforms in coastal areas that are exposed to hazards, could contribute substantially towards identification of suitable mitigation measures.

The northwestern flank of the Northern Region experiences low wave energy and enhanced sediment deposition, including alluvium.

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senaratne and Dissanayake (1982) provide an interpretation of the evolution of Karaitivu Island and associated lagoons and vegetation. Along this coastline, deltas with shorefront mangroves have developed unlike elsewhere. the mangrove habitats together with the seagrass beds in this relatively shallow, sheltered area, including Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, constitute a highly complex and productive MCZ. this is the only area in which the threatened dugong (Dugon dugon) exists in the waters of sri Lanka.

the beaches associated with the tidal outlet of Kokkilai Lagoon at Pulmoddai, and extending northward to some extent is enriched by placer deposits of ilmenite, rutile and zircon. these deposits form part of a 60 m wide belt, which extends southwards to nilaveli. the beach material consist of 79% of placer heavy minerals, of which 80% is ilmenite. the ilmenite deposits are exploited on a commercial scale at Pulmoddai by the sri Lanka Mineral sands Corporation. Ilmenite does not occur in concentrations adequate for commercial exploitation, elsewhere.

Raised beaches and the best developed sand dunes in sri Lanka, progressively increase in height from Mullaitivu and along the eastern flank of the Jaffna Peninsula to Point Pedro. Impressive sand dunes which are mobile exist in Manalkadu. Dune migration in the 1950s resulted in the smothering of the village school and church (Figure 15). the dunes rise to more than 5 m at some points in their undulating form. Dunes also show impressive development along the western coast of the Jaffna Peninsula and in the north-west in Mannar island. the mobility of dunes is associated with their relative immaturity.

the prominent barrier-built estuaries include Kokkilai Lagoon, nayaru, nathikadel, and Jaffna Lagoon. Jaffna Lagoon is the largest barrier-built estuary in the country and supports diverse uses. seagrass beds and fringing mangroves occur in these brackish water bodies and provide rich nursery habitat for a wide range of fishery organisms. The most abundant fishery resources in the country occur in this region (John, 1951).

Land Use and Resource Potential : Large and small settlements are concentrated in the Jaffna Peninsula. they are relatively sparse along the north-eastern and north-western coastal areas of the region. An extensive

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motorable road network links most locations in the region. the Jaffna islands are serviced by a ferry and launch system.

A highly significant character of the region is its rich coastal and estuarine fishery recognized for its high potential since early post-independence (Government of Ceylon, 1951). This fishery contributed an estimated 40% to the total fish supply in the country in the period preceding the onset of the ethnic conflict in the mid-1980s. It showed resurgence during the brief two-year period of peace (2001-2003) when normal fishing was again allowed (sharvananda, 2003; 2005b).

the region is known to be rich in ilmenite and miocene limestone used for cement production. High quality silica sand exists in commercial quantity in the sand dunes in the Vadamarachchi area. Hydrocarbon exploration has been carried out in the Gulf of Mannar. Resource extraction that has occurred already include:

- Commercial ilmenite extraction from placer deposits extending to the beach at Pulmoddai.

- Commercial miocene limestone extraction from terrestrial quarries situated near to the coastline supported cement production on a national scale at the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory.

- Dune sand extraction in Ampan and Manalkadu for use in construction.

- salt and salt-based chemical production at elephant Pass.

Coastal tourism was popular in Keerimalai and in the environs of the Maviddapuram temple. High potential is reported for development of coastal tourism in the area. numerous archeological sites and places of historic interest are dispersed throughout the islands along the north-western coast (Delft, Kayts, etc).

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have not been designated in the region.

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Figure 16. The coast of the Northern Province showing geomorphology, coastal ecosys-tems and some resources

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Key:1. Beach, coral reef, tourism2. Miocene limestone for cement manufacture – Kankesanturai3. Silica sand from dune: Vadamaarachchi4. Largest sand dune, sand mining, tourism, settlements.5. Seagrasses: rich shrimp fishery6. Groundwater for agriculture (no rivers in Jaffna peninsula), sensitive resource7. Abundant ilmenite: commercial extraction8. Lagoons and estuaries: nursery for shrimp9. Tidal flats: shrimp cultivation potential10. largest estuary: supports extensive livelihood, drainage for agriculture11. MCZ: rich coastal fishery12. Islands: archeological sites, tourism13. Palk Bay: mangrove deltas, seagrasses, rich fishery14. Gulf of Mannar: rich fishery, oil exploration, proposed MPA15. Tidal flats: potential for aquaculture16. Pleistocene dunes, Miocene limestone, archeological remains17. Wildlife protected area

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North-western Reg�on (Figure 17): the north-western Region extends from Moderagam Aru south to Maha oya and forms the coastal boundary of the north-western Province. the continental shelf, to a depth of 30 m, begins to decrease in width in the vicinity of the Moderagam Aru, narrows to less than 10 km alongside the Kalpitiya sand spit/dune, and broadens again to about 20 km in the vicinity of the Maha oya outlet.

Miocene limestone underlies the Holocene and riverine alluvial deposits. Beneath the alluvial deposits occur beach and dune deposits situated on the limestone dating back to the Pleistocene period. High limestone cliffs line the coastline rising 10-70 m above sea level and topped by relict dunes. Kudremalai Point was the site of an ancient settlement which subsequently was buried by more recent deposits. Southward, the limestone cliffs continue, topped with shell-bearing beach and dune deposits. these are heavily forested. the Kala oya and Mi oya flow through sheltered deltas into Dutch Bay and Puttalam Lagoon. Mangrove habitats occur on these deltas.

Limetone at Aruakkalu has been extracted on a commercial scale for almost five decades since the establishment of the government cement factory in Puttalam. Its ownership and operation were transferred to Holcim Ltd. (a multinational company) in the 1990s. the present rate of extraction is anticipated to be feasible for many years into the future. the excavation areas are now being managed for the enhancement of biodiversity with potential for nature tourism with appropriate intervention by the private sector (Ziegler pers comm.).

the Puttalam Lagoon is separated from the sea along its western side by a compound sand spit with Kalpitiya peninsula situated at its northern end. this sand spit has complex beach ridges as well as dunes dating back to the Holocene period. Beach rock underlies the beach and dune deposits indicating the effects of the Pleistocene sea level fluctuations. The western border of Puttalam Lagoon continues beyond Kalpitiya peninsula interrupted by a series of sand spits. Karaitivu island constitutes the northernmost sand spit and forms the western boundary of Portugal Bay.

Bar Reef sanctuary situated offshore of Kalpitiya is the sole MPA in this coastal reion.

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Figure 17. The coast of the North-western Province showing geomorphology, coastal ecosystems and some resource uses

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Key:1. Miocene limestone topped

by Pleistocene dunes, forest, red earth. Limestone supports commercial cement industry (Puttalam Cement – Holcim Lanka). Cliffed limestone coastline

2. Kalpitiya sand spit and dune system, Holocene. Situated on and fronted by beach rock. Coral reef habitat in MCZ

3. Dutch Bay and Portugal Bay at entrance of Puttalam Lagoon, dynamic sand spits

4. Puttalam Lagoon, a barrier built estuary, main livelihood support for numerous villages in vicinity. Urban employment scarce

5. Mundel Lagoon, a relict part of an earlier extensive estuarine system. Fishery depleted by pollution from shrimp aquaculture on tidal flats in vicinity.

6. Shrimp aquaculture on tidal flats, some previously used for paddy cultivation. Hapahazard development with much pollutant flows into Puttalam Lagoon and Mundel Lagoon

7. Abundant groundwater available because of limestone geological structure8. Small scale coastal fishing in MCZ. 9. Chilaw Lagoon: barrier-built estuary being progressively clogged by unmanaged

mangrove planting by special-interest NGOs. Shrimp culture at periphery with unmanaged pollutant flows into lagoon. Significant anchorage

10. Shrimp fishery – trawling both traditional and modern. Impact on sea bed not studied. Productivity depends upon linkage to Chilaw Lagoon as a nursery.

11. MPA: Bar Reef Sanctuary off the Kalpitiya peninsula. Coastal belt of the Wilpattu National Park is a protected area.

12. Extensive mangrove planting in inter-tidal areas that potentially obstruct hydrology and accelerate sedimentation.

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south of Mundel Lake, the swampy extension passes through Udappu towards the deltaic outlet of Deduru oya. the delta extends further southwards to Chilaw Lagoon. the coastline in this area is dynamic and has receded through erosion.

the shallow continental shelf receives alluvial material from the Deduru oya and Chilaw Lagoon, and provides habitat to penaeid shrimps which pass the juvenile part of their life cycle in the estuary. the MCZ in this region area is highly significant for fishery livelihood.

Major coastal tourism development in the Kalpitiya area has been planned by the Ceylon tourist Board www.treasury.gov.lk/EPPRM/npd/pdfdocs/mahindarandorafinalreport.pdf.

Western Reg�on (Figure 18): The boundary of the Western Region extends from the Maha oya outlet to the outlet of Bentota Ganga. the continental shelf, up to the 30 m depth contour, narrows in the vicinity of Maha oya to less than 10 km and continues in that form along the entire western coast. the crystalline rocks emerge closer to the sea and are reminiscent of old headlands. A prominent sand dune extends from the outlet of Kelani Ganga to the tidal inlet of negombo Lagoon.

Negombo Lagoon is the significant barrier-built estuary in the northern part of this region. It is joined with the Muthurajawela Marsh which had passed through stages of inundation and emergence during its evolution. sediment discharged by the Attanagalu oya is almost entirely trapped by the estuary. Alluvial plumes characterize discharges to the sea during the rains. the interaction between the estuary and the nearshore continental shelf is expressed in the seasonal peaks in small pelagic fish stocks as well as penaeid shrimps.

Although crystalline rock protrudes transversely along the coastline, their frequency is relatively low. As a consequence bays supported by headlands also occur less frequently despite historical patterns of erosion. there is a dearth of sand supply from rivers in this region, except from Kelani Ganga and Kalu Ganga.

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Figure 18. The geomorphology and coastal ecosystems of the coastal area of the Western Province

Key:1. Beaches from Maha

Oya to Kelani Ganga outlets significant for beach tourism. Sensitive to erosion, much investment in protection and stabilization

2. Lewis Place beach ecosystem restoration with offshore breakwaters and nourishment. Multiple uses for tourism and traditional fishing.

3. Negombo Lagoon, barrier-built estuary, significant estuarine fishery, livelihood support. Inlet a high

value anchorage for marine fishery. The basin of lagoon becoming shallow from sediment entrapment, decline in fishery output, high prices compensate for lower production.4. Sink for industrial effluent and urban sewage.5. Source of land for property development.6. Nursery for penaeid shrimps. Linked to MCZ.7. Nutrient source for plankton and small pelagic food web development.8. Aquaculture at periphery with pollutant release into estuary9. Muthurajawela Marsh: zoned for protection and for development. First major land

creation with ‘dredged sea sand’.10 . Lunawa Lagoon, small lagoon restoration (27 ha). Main driver is urban property

development. Sink for industrial effluent.11. Bolgoda Lagoon and Panadura Estuary. Supports small scale fisher livelihood. More

significant in property development. 12. Beaches for tourism, Moratuwa to Bentota.13. Significant investment in beach protection, some interventions haphazard. 14. Kelani Ganga: critical sand source discharging directly to the sea, heavily mined for

construction industry15. Kalu Ganga: major sand source for beach nourishment.

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Southern Reg�on (Figure 19): the southern Region extends from Bentota Ganga to Kumbukkan oya. the continental shelf is narrow and rarely exceeds 10 km, up to the 30 m depth contour, until the outfall of the Walawe Ganga. It widens to about 15 km from Walawe Ganga to the outlet of Kumbukkan oya. Dunes of varying elevation occur in this region with the most prominent extending eastwards from Hambantota.

Figure 19. The coast of the Southern Province showing geomorphology and coastal ecosystems

Key:ED: Extensive and scattered distribution, therefore not marked.1. Narrowest continental shelf to 30 m depth (ED).2. Significant national communication infrastructure along coastline, extensively

protected by engineering structures3. Beaches to Tangalla mainly situated as pocket beaches between headlands. Highly

significant tourism resource (Figure 1, Weligama Bay etc.)4. Some lagoons support livelihood marginally. Production declined by way of impacts

from flood protection and drainage works constructed in the 1960s.5. Madu Ganga developed as a site for a multipurpose coastal visitor center. Contributes

to livelihood6. Rekawa Lagoon and Kalametiya Lagoons support small scale livelihood. 7. Significant beach seine fishing in MCZ.8. Fishery harbours in bays, Beruwala, Hikkaduwa, Dodanduwa, Galle, Weligama,

Devinuwara, Tangalla, Hambantota, Kirinda.9. Beaches backed by low dunes until Matara. Dunes more prominent in the more

southern coastline.10. Dune sand mining for ‘garrnet’ contributed to weakening as a hazard barrier. Breached

at weakened sites.11. Hambantota: Pleistocene dunes serve as significant hazard barrier, high risk because of

population density 12. Yala & Ruhuna National Park boundary

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the coast in this region extending to Dodanduwa is endowed with attractive beaches supplied partially with sediment from Bentota Ganga. numerous pocket beaches exist suspended between headlands and backed by weathered country rock. the beaches in the south-west are stable with efficient anchoring by the headlands. South of Balapitiya the beaches extending past Hikkaduwa are affected by erosion and require frequent stabilization by engineering interventions.

Coral mining extending back to the sixteenth century, for construction of the Dutch Forts, and continuing since Independence for the construction industry, was halted by the CCD under its management interventions. Much of the coastal erosion during the south-west Monsoons along this coastline has been attributed to coral mining (CCD, 1990; 1997).

the coast from the outlet of Gin Ganga to Kumbukkan oya is characterized by numerous bays situated between headlands, of lateritic and crystalline rock. the largest bay occurs in Galle. the coastline is also backed by lagoons of varying size. Barrier built estuaries are conspicuous by their absence. Most lagoons have lost productivity because of drainage and flood protection schemes that have attenuated tidal linkages. Associated groynes and water control structures have contributed to beach erosion since planning was driven by ‘single sector’ interests and not integrated to retain multiple functions and uses.

eastern Reg�on (Figure 20): the eastern Region extends from the outlet of Kumbukkan oya to the tidal inlet of Kokilai Lagoon. Ma oya which marks the boundary between the eastern and northern Provinces discharges into Kokilai Lagoon. the continental shelf, up to the 30 m depth contour, in the vicinity of Kumbukkan oya is less than 10 km but widens in some segments, particularly between the tidal inlet of Batticaloa Lagoon and Muttur. the continuity of the continental shelf is broken by the trincomalee Bay. north of trincomalee Bay the continental shelf again widens. All seven classes of coastal ecosystems exist in the eastern Region. Formal settlements do not exist in the segment from Kumbukkan oya to Panama since this area is the seaward boundary of the yala and Ruhuna Wildlife Protected Areas. The coastline and beaches are backed by dunes of varying elevation. From Potuvil to Batticaloa, settlements are

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concentrated in the relatively narrow coastal land strip situated seawards of the waterspread of estuaries and lagoons, and cultivated areas.

the coast is indented to form numerous spectacular bays situated between headlands of weathered rock, as at Arugam Bay, Kalkudah, and Vallaichenai. Koddiyar Bay situated at trincomalee differs from all other bays along the eastern coast as well as elsewhere in the country. At trincomalee the Vijayan Zone (base rock) proceeds transversely to the coast and protrudes as cliffs into the sea. Koddiyar Bay is situated between a sequence of such headlands. It ranks as the deepest bay in the Indian ocean.

north of Koddiyar Bay the landform descends to the coastal plain. Further northward, the land undulates with steep descents to the coast at some locations. small indentations constitute bays in this area. Significant sand dunes along this coastal stretch occur between successive tidal inlets and river outfalls.

the beaches along the eastern coastal region generally are broad and tend to grow outward. nevertheless, the pocket beaches situated in embayments north of Kalkudah are threatened by erosion because of coral mining at the fringing reefs. except at a few sites, coastal erosion is not regarded as a serious problem.

the eastern Region is regarded as relatively more exposed to cyclones and storms originating from the Bay of Bengal. During the 2004 tsunami, the eastern and north-eastern Coasts ranked as the most severely affected (MenR/UneP, 2005a). During the cyclone of 1978, this coast was severely affected mainly from the impact of wind.

the barrier built estuaries and lagoons along the eastern Province, particularly in Ampara and Batticaloa Districts, perform a critical role in drainage of a large extent of paddy lands that constitute the ‘bread basket’ of Sri Lanka. The efficacy of drainage is generally satisfactory, and there is a free flow of water during the North-east Monsoons. Fortunately, this free flow has not been impeded by engineering construction works gone awry as in the Western and Southern Regions. Where sand barriers form at tidal inlets the farmer organizations intervene and remove obstructions. the general nature of the barrier built lagoons and estuaries in this region is the entrapment of sediment and silt. this feature is particularly conspicuous in Batticaloa Lagoon.

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Figure 20. The coast of the Eastern Province showing geomorphology and ecosystems

Key:ED: Extensive and scattered distribution, therefore not marked.

1. Attractive beaches, bays, surf, coral reef patches with high tourism potential - ED

2. Broad beaches supplied by littoral drift from south - ED

3. Numerous small, medium and large estuaries and lagoons – supports livelihood - ED.

4. Tidal inlets important for drainage and flood protection - ED.

5. Numerous low-lying flood prone sites - ED

6. Dunes of varying age and size situated among tidal inlets - ED

7. Tidal flats with potential for aquaculture - ED

8. Extensive paddy fields – highly dependent upon natural drainage through tidal inlets - ED

9. Coastal belt highly exposed to hazards arising in the Bay of Bengal - ED

10. Numerous archeological sites - ED

11. Broader MCZ relative to south and southwest coastal – rich coastal fishery - ED

12. Tidal inlets highly sensitive to interference by way of engineering works – susceptible to waterlogging - ED

13. Trincomallee Bay – strategically significant deepwater port

14. Commercially exploitable ilmenite resources

15. Potentially high resource potential for offshore sand mining – ED.

16. Pigeon Island – MPA17. Wildlife protected areas

– Ruhuna National Park

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the ribbon-like form of Batticaloa Lagoon extends to a distance exceeding 30 km from Kalmunai to Manmunai. Along its trajectory it receives discharges from many minor rivers and distributaries of two major rivers, Mundeni Aru and Maduru oya which traverse an intensively cultivated tract of paddy land. Although much of the sediment and silt loads become trapped by the irrigation tanks and Maduru oya dams, the remaining part carried by the stream flow, deposits in Batticaloa Lagoon.

2.3.4 D�str�but�on and extents of Coastal ecosystems

the distribution of coastal ecosystems in the Provincial Council coasts are given in Figures 16 to 20. the collective extents of some classes of coastal ecosystems and the estimated extent of the MCZ are given in Table 6.

Table 6. The aggregate extents of beaches, dunes, estuaries lagoons, tidal flats (termed habitats in the CZMP) and the MCZ, bays (termed ecosystems in the NSAP) adapted from CCD, 2004. See text for explanations.

Ecosystem Class

Extent- ha (CCD, 2002; 2006)

Remarks

Estuaries:Barrier-built or basin, and riverine

90,9652,110

This is an underestimation since Puttalam Lagoon and Jaffna Lagoon (both barrier-built estuaries) total 165,000 ha.

Lagoons 36,000 Size ranges from 3 ha -7,589 ha. Eight are larger than 1,000 ha.

Tidal Flats 23,800 Tidal flats are the sites listed as Salt Marsh in CZMP 2004 (CCD, 2006)

Beaches No information

The beaches are segmented into more than 103 units. Each unit occurs between successive river outlets and tidal inlets. A beach unit is subdivided by distributaries. Each unit is mappable for individualized management.

Dunes No information

As for beaches. Each dune unit situated between two river outlets or tidal inlets is mappable according to precise criteria for individualized management

Bays No information Not included in CZMP 2004

Marine Coastal Zone (MCZ)

Estimated as 800,000 (coastline of 1,600 km and an average width of 5 km to the 30 m depth contour)

The MCZ is mappable using hydrographic charts, bathymetry and on the basis of traditional use boundaries. The MCZ is segmented by underwater canyons (Figure 4)

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2.3.5 Coastal ecosystems – S�ze matters!

the functional longevity of ecosystems is a scale effect arising from size, and maturity. Large ecosystems retain their structure and functioning for long periods despite relentless internal and external change (odum, 1971). Conversely, small ecosystems change rapidly as their structure is exposed to more stresses and are altered with greater ease by external forces such as sedimentation. sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems predominantly are in the ‘small’ category, especially the estuaries and lagoons, both in terms of surface area and their shallowness. therefore they require intensified management if their productivity and social value are to be made sustainable. The ‘smallness’ is an outcome of geomorphology - sri Lanka, although consider a large island possesses only a narrow strip of land where coastal ecosystems physically can develop (Cooray, 1982).

the MCZ is the largest class of coastal ecosystems. It has a total administrative area of about 800,000 ha (estimated thus: 1500 km coastline with an average width of 5 km, up to the 30 m depth contour). It is segmented into eight sub-MCZs, situated between successive marine canyons, ranging in coastline length from about 20-500 km. It is also an open system being coterminous with the sea overlying the continental shelf. therefore, it is resilient and bounces back after a range of disturbances such as storm surges, sand dredging or even a tsunami. However, because of the meagre surface relief (swan, 1983), any activity that depletes the bottom topography undermines fishery productivity. MCZs are situated also in bays. these are more impacted by land use than the MCZ in the open sea. MCZs situated in bays are resilient because of their openness and being connected with the sea.

the estuaries and lagoons are the smallest and therefore least resilient among ecosystems that support fishery (Figure 21). the tidal inlets of estuaries are the gateways for nutrient exchange as well as biological migration. Apparently large estuaries, Jaffna, Puttalam, and Batticaloa Lagoon are shallow and heavily disturbed. the nutrient discharges from the relatively small negombo Lagoon (less than 1/10th the size of Puttalam Lagoon) during the rainy seasons entrains both planktonic growth and small pelagic fish populations - herrings and sardines in the MCZ (Jayakody, 1986). In parallel, the significant shrimp fishery in the MCZ of negombo is linked to the life cycle of penaeid shrimps which

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require the sheltered waters of Negombo Lagoon (Samarakoon and Van Zon eds. 1991). the inference is that small estuaries and lagoons despite their small size and low resilience perform a disproportionate economic function in terms of livelihood. During some years, estuaries yield exceedingly large catches (also see section 3.0).

2.3.6 Coastal Hab�tats: the Need to Reform Percept�ons

A distinctive feature of the ecosystem classification in the NSAP is that mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs and muddy bottoms are not reckoned to be ecosystems (Chapter 1, section 1.2). not classifying the mangroves in sri Lanka as an ecosystem is likely to be contested vigorously by the powerful ‘mangrove lobby’, which strongly advocates protecting and planting them on account of their multiple virtues (Vanucci, 1988; Miththapala, 2008; FAo, 2005). But mangroves exhibit these virtues only in particular geographic contexts not found in sri Lanka. nevertheless, diverse organizations (e.g. ADB), nGos and CBos obtain funds from international sources for planting mangroves under the rubric ‘mangrove conservation’. International generalizations are insensitive to the destructive behaviour of mangroves in sri Lanka’s reality of estuaries and lagoons functioning as micro tidal sediment traps. (samarakoon and Van Zon, 1991; CeA/euroconsult, 1994; samarakoon, 2007).

Improved ICM (GESAMP, 1996) requires the application of management measures based on strong inference (Kuhn, 1970). However, the perception of and attitude towards coastal entities such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses, have been driven by generalizations rather than inference from adequate scientific observations. In Sri Lanka, perceptions pertaining to mangroves have entirely ignored geographic settings. the majority perceive ‘mangroves, their planting and protection’ as a good thing. They are also regarded as ‘bio-shields’ following the impact of the tsunami of 2004. In sri Lanka mangroves do not exist as shorefront deltas to serve as ‘bio-shields’ except in a restricted area in Palk Bay. there, wave energy is low and alluvial deposition occurs at the coast (swan, 1983). elsewhere, mangroves occur entirely within the micro-tidal estuaries and lagoons. thus, the management attitude to mangroves is driven by ‘false analogy’, a foremost cause of environmental harm (Diamond, 2005).

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Planting and protecting mangroves within estuaries and lagoons carries a trade-off. The plants thrive, capture sediment and convert fishery habitat to land: thereby the spread of mangroves causes a loss to the fishery and reduces income of the poor who depend upon fish catches. The consequences of unintegrated mangrove planting are already evident in several economically significant estuaries and lagoons (Figure 22). Having stated that, existing old mangrove stands at the periphery of estuaries and lagoons must be protected where necessary in a manner compatible with hydrology for their essential contribution to the detritus-based food web both in these water bodies and in the linked MCZ.

A precautionary approach is required with respect to new planting of mangroves. This requires a code of conduct (and policy) which penalizes indiscriminate mangrove planting in sri Lanka without careful monitoring and adherence to strict guidelines. Removal of mangroves that have been newly planted in sensitive estuaries and lagoons is now an urgent necessity to arrest siltation within economically significant ecosystems such as Puttalam Lagoon, Batticaloa Lagoon, negombo Lagoon and Chilaw Lagoon. Post-tsunami 2004 mangrove planting under the misnomer ‘bioshields’ in many estuaries and lagoons along the eastern coast is now creating a chronic disaster by way of ‘creeping normalcy’ by progressively infilling these water bodies with trapped sediment (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2009).

(Photo: Kumudini Ekaratne)

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Figure 21. The bathymetry of Puttalam Lagoon, one of the largest but shallow estuaries, illustrates the sensitivity to infilling by sediment entrapmen. Only the shaded area is 3 metres deep. More than 50% is a metre and less (NARA/NARESA/SAREC, 1998)

In the geomorphological structure of the coastal area of sri Lanka, mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs and muddy bottoms are parts of ecosystems. Habitat refers to the place (address) where particular plants and animals may be found or where communities of organisms occur (odum, 1971). For instance, mangroves in sri Lanka are found on the loose soil of deltas, small sediment shoals and islands, and the intertidal edges of estuaries and lagoons where mixing of seawater and freshwater occurs, and where soil conditions are not suitable for typical terrestrial vegetation (Snedaker, 1984). Where these habitats are removed, mangroves cannot take root, as can be demonstrated experimentally by removing the fresh sediment shoals from estuaries and lagoons. Likewise, where such sediment patches emerge, naturally or artificially, and persist for an adequate period, they are colonized by mangroves. Mangroves as early colonizers of saline soil generally out compete plants that are typically terrestrial (snedaker, 1984).

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Figure 22. Instances of unregulated mangrove planting in Batticaloa Lagoon and in Rekawa Lagoon. The former have been planted as bio-shields by an NGO, the latter jointly by an NGO and a CBO. Sediment entrapment and loss of fishery habitat is inevitable. Mangroves should be planted only after removal of sediment shoals.

The board reads ‘Mangrove Bioshield Afforestation’. These have been planted in the higly sedimented channel that connects the lagoon to the sea. The view above shows how

mangroves have been planted in the most accessible fringes of Batticaloa Lagoon where sedimentation has already decreased the water area that could function as fishery habitat.

After some years this area could attract encroachment for housing.

Plant mangroves here after removing sediment

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seagrasses occur as underwater meadows in estuaries, lagoons and in the MCZ. They also require appropriate, loose soil such as freshly submerged silt deposits. silty or alluvial sediment deposits occur in estuaries, lagoons and in the MCZ where rivers discharge their sediment load. Like mangroves, seagrasses are early colonizers. their root systems enable them to spread rapidly on loose sediment deposits and to stabilize them. However, if sediment deposition occurs at short intervals colonization by pioneer seagrasses is suppressed by smothering. At such locations extensive mud deposits form. these deposits provide habitat for algae and micro-organisms. Both submerged seagrass beds and muddy deposits provide highly productive habitat for valuable bottom-living organisms such as shrimp.

An exceptional situation occurs in the Palk Bay. As the local rivers have small catchment areas the alluvial flow from land drainage is meagre. The alluvial deposits in this region, and along the coastline between Mannar and Jaffna, are composed mainly of material imported from the Bay of Bengal (swan, 1983).

Coral reefs occur, as patches and fringing formations, in the MCZ and in bays where turbidity is low. the corals, and their symbiotic algae, grow on hard substrates (bottoms) such as rock and sandstone.

Salt marshes, as per the scientific definition do not exist in the tropics. they are the temperate region counterpart of tropical mangroves. the terrain named as salt marsh in the CZMP corresponds to the definition of tidal flat and is renamed as such in the NSAP.

Rekawa Lagoon: Old clumps of mangroves in the background are fronted by newly planted seedlings. Impeded tidal exchange and reduced salinity enable grasses to colonize sediment shoals. Ideally mangrove planting where allowed should occur after removal of sediment shoals (left: area encircled by broken line). The ecosystem management approach requires that the hydrology should be modeled to enable monitoring of sedimentation impacts.

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the coastal ecosystem approach ensures that all habitats are included in a manner that reflects their interactions and consequences within ecosystems. the coastal habitats such as seagrasses, algal beds, mangroves and muddy bottoms are highly significant parts of coastal ecosystems and determine their productivity and especially the fishery carrying capacity. There is a significant difference in the productivity of a sea bed which is bare, and one that has coral reefs, algal beds, seagrasses, mud deposits, rock outcrops among others. these structures provide heterogeneity and become home to diverse minute plants and animals (aufwuchs), which become a part of the food web. For this same reason, a sea bed with a ship wreck becomes a rich fishery resource. Similarly, estuaries and lagoons that have seagrass beds, fringing mangroves, mangrove islands, mud and shell beds, among others are exceptionally productive.

Choosing an ecosystem-based ICM approach does not in any way diminish the importance of coastal habitats. A habitat specialist such as a coral reef ecologist or a mangrove ecologist is an essential contributor to a multidisciplinary view of coastal ecosystems. only the specialist will be aware of the subtleties and nuances of the specific subject matter. the challenge is in maintaining a balance between the behaviour of habitats and their contribution to the structure and functioning of entire ecosystems.

this balance is critical in the interrelations in the behaviour of coastal habitats, for example, seagrasses, mangroves and reed beds, and the two coastal ecosystems of which they are parts, viz. barrier-built estuaries and lagoons. Where sediment accumulation rates within these ecosystems are accelerated by the stabilization effect of vegetation, the victim is inevitably water depth, which is essential for fishery habitat. Parallel with sediment stabilization the hydrological processes become impeded and eventually sediment build-up becomes self-reinforcing (Figures 1, 21, 22). When a measurable and predictable threshold is exceeded, expensive engineering solutions become the only option. therefore, the spread of sediment stabilizing vegetation within small estuaries and lagoons may be more properly regarded as systemic ‘invasions’. In a human analogy, they would be termed ‘cancers’.

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2.4 Ecosystem - Catchment Relations: Defining the W�der env�ronment

ecosystems never exist as isolated entities (section 2.2.1). Coastal ecosystems are linked and coupled by water to both land and sea. A land catchment (also termed a watershed) is invariably associated with every ecosystem. The catchments of bays, estuaries, lagoons and tidal flats are definable, based on land contours. The most elevated contour defines the boundary of the watershed of one of these ecosystems. thus the watershed of negombo Lagoon includes the entire geography within the most elevated land contour of the Attanagalu oya-Dandugam oya river system, which covers an extent of 750 sq. km. All the material received in this watershed, e.g. rainfall, and generated within it by land use, travel directly and indirectly into negombo Lagoon. Material carried by wind and deposited within this catchment also gets washed by rain into negombo Lagoon. the material generated within the catchment is related to the range of land uses, the size of the human population and the infrastructure.

Negombo Lagoon is 30 sq. km. (3,000 ha) in extent and its catchment is 750 sq. km (75,000 ha) that is, the catchment is twenty five times larger than the ecosystem. therefore, depending on their respective sizes and interrelations, land use impacts arising within the catchment could be of greater management significance. In fact, the pollution and sedimentation impacts from the catchment are driving the most adverse changes in the structure and functioning of negombo Lagoon. of course, the problem gets aggravated when the coastal ecosystem such as estuaries and lagoons are shallow (Section 2.4.1), and tidal flushing is weak (Chapter 1, Section 1.9)

Relatively small human populations physically inhabit coastal ecosystems except in the case of Negombo lagoon where significant encroachment has occurred. there are temporary settlements such as fishing ‘wadiyas’ and illegal encroachments on beaches within the legal ‘Coastal Zone’. Some encroachments have permanent structures as in the case of Unawatuna Beach. Dune settlements however are substantial and occur mainly in Kalpitiya, Jaffna and along the eastern coastline (swan, 1983; Madduma Bandara, 1989). Human habitation is sparse on tidal flats. In the North-western Province significant shrimp aquaculture development takes place on tidal flats. Consequently, major impacts on coastal ecosystems arise from land use in the catchment and underline

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the significance of integrating catchment land uses into ICM. The MFF strategic planning and implementation framework recognizes this aspect under the ‘reef-to-ridge’ programme of work. Sri Lanka’s experience in this regard with particular reference to private sector participation in the framework of corporate social responsibility (CsR) indicates serious challenges (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003).

Private sector activities within catchments of estuaries and lagoons include small scale operations such as vehicle service stations which discharge waste oil, trading centers that generate substantial quantities of organic waste, domestic units which dispose raw sewage into waterways and medium to large scale industries. Whereas the medium to large scale industries have the capacity to adhere to waste management procedures within the scope of CsR, the others entities bypass investment in waste treatment. Many industrial units started operations prior to enactment of environment regulations in the 1980s, and do not have the capacity to upgrade their production systems. Hence, the intractability of the pollution problem.

2.5 mult�ple uses and Development trends of Coastal ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems and their resources, offer numerous opportunities for investment in economic development in diverse sectors, including fishery, agriculture, settlements, tourism, ports and navigation, mining and power generation, among others. Coastal ecosystems and resources also offer many lessons, from a wide range of development efforts and their political ramifications, on ‘how to better manage coastal development’. Figure 1 illustrates the complexity of relationships pertaining to sustainable development of coastal ecosystems. stress on coastal ecosystems emanates from the attributes of the 74 administrative divisions that constitute the coastal region (Box 6). Annex 2 provides the policy and legislative regime, and the supporting legislation, for the management of the Coastal Zone in particular and coastal resources in general. these, however, have only partial relevance to sustainable development of coastal ecosystems. the important considerations with regard to coastal ecosystems are:

Behaviour of coastal ecosystems is fundamentally influenced by geological, geomorphological and coastal processes. their

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complex influences at the interface between the land and the sea, as in estuaries, can be altered and maintained only with careful planning and with appropriate investment. Piecemeal and unintegrated interventions usually do more harm than good to ecosystem structure and functioning.

Coastal ecosystems are typically multiple-use components of the human environment (odum, 1971). single-use development interventions imposed upon coastal ecosystems therefore, result in negative externalities that create winners and losers, where the losers generally are the traditional resource users belonging to the poorer segments of society.

the productive capacity of natural ecosystems remains constant within limits of cyclical fluctuations. Increases are possible, such as with aquaculture, but only with the application of technology in balance with the biophysical limits of the resource unit.

Population increases, and parallel intensification of competition for resources, where limitation of access does not exist (open access resources), result in a diminishing share for each competitor, as the ‘tragedy of the commons’ overtakes and eventually leads to resource collapse.

some balance between resource extraction and regeneration is maintained where ‘common property resource’ regimes exist and a code of conduct operates to limit access, as in the case of beach seine fishing, and in the estuarine stake net fishery in Negombo Lagoon.

trends do not provide answers to resource use problems. they show how to search for more integrated and holistic ways of dealing with complex systems.

the coastal area of sri Lanka carries a legacy of development and management dating back to pre-historic times (Indrapala, 2007). During earliest times, strategic locations on the north-western, eastern and southern coasts, served as ports for trading craft plying sea routes from the east as well as the west. The significance and value of some of these ports increased with the onset of colonial rule in the 16th century and the construction of forts. Coral mined mainly from the sea was the material of choice for fort construction. that early legacy of coral mining and the resultant weakening of resistance to monsoonal wave attacks persist to this day along the sensitive south-western coastline. Coastal residents

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in earlier times simply withdrew to safer locations. today, such simple approaches are not feasible.

the beach ecosystems along some of the coastal segments have been effectively stabilized by the CCD, at substantial cost to the state. Although, the revetments and groynes constructed with rubble do protect communication infrastructure, they no longer allow the previous fishing practices. They also interfere with the normal sand movement by coastal processes and may aggravate erosion at contiguous beach sites (CCD, 2004).

Diverse development and resources management interventions, in post-independence sri Lanka, have directly and indirectly impacted all coastal ecosystems. the level of wellbeing of coastal populations therefore lies somewhere along a gradient that applies to the entire population in sri Lanka (World Bank 2006). As argued in Chapter 1, ICM is a people-centric development process. similarly, the MFF Programme is oriented primarily towards the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems

Box 6. The development attributes of the coastal administrative divisions (Olsen et al., 1992)

Comprises 74 divisions (Divisional Secretary Divisions) lying within 14 of the 25 administrative districts.

Accommodate about 4.6 million people (25% of the population).

Contains nearly half the municipal & urban lands in the country.

Contains 61.6% of all industrial units (situated mostly within 31 of the 74 divisions).

The marine fishery provided 91% of the total fish production in Sri Lanka in 2003, with coastal fishery contributing 64% of this share. The sector (including coastal aquaculture) provides direct employment to 150,000 people & sustenance to at least a million Sri Lankans. Contributed about 2.7% of the GNP (current factor cost prices in 2000).

Tourism the fifth largest income earner that netted US$ 211 million in foreign exchange in 2001, provides direct and indirect employment to 85,000 persons. The coastal region accommodates 70% of all registered tourist hotels.

Agriculture is less important than fishery and industry in the coastal region. Agricultural lands cover only 17% of the land area.

The four major ports Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee and Kankesanturai had 4200 vessels calling on them in 2000. There are 12 fishery harbours in operation.

An ongoing study on “Economic significance of the coastal region” estimates that 44% of the GDP originates in the coastal zone. The estimate has been obtained by disaggregating the National GDP.

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as an essential part of development infrastructure that contributes to human wellbeing. therefore any understanding of the future potential of coastal ecosystems, to serve as ‘development infrastructure’, depends upon the manner in which they have been already impacted by national and regional development interventions in post-independence sri Lanka.

not all impacts of development on the coastal ecosystems are covered. Only those that have immediate relevance to the Programmes of Work (PoWs) in the MFF Strategic planning and implementation framework are addressed, namely:

Rehabilitation and restoration (PoW #2).

Reef-to-ridge approaches to land management (PoW #3).

Environmentally sustainable livelihood, fisheries and aquaculture (PoW #8).

Long term sustainable financing strategies (PoW #10).

Development of business partnerships among nGos, private sector, government and communities (PoW #15).

exhaustive treatment of impacts, of the various development plans implemented by different sectors, on coastal ecosystems is not possible in the NSAP. The development sectors briefly examined are: (i) fishery; (ii) agriculture; (iii) aquaculture; (iv) housing and settlements; (v) industry; (vi) tourism; (vii) mining; and (viii) biodiversity, e.g. marine protected areas –MPAs.

the impacts from the many uses of coastal ecosystems may be broadly separated into three classes:

Low intensity traditional uses that are small scale, and which have persisted over long periods of time, sometimes centuries, e.g. fishing using non-mechanized methods and mechanization on a small scale such as outboard motors.

High intensity uses, technologically modernized, mechanized uses including modern trawling, purse seining, mineral mining, shorefront constructions, waste discharges, sand mining, etc.

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Benign uses, which have apparently neutral impact (or impacts that are self-correcting) on resources and ecosystems, such as integrated tourism and recreation

Four planning criteria were used to assess impact, and the resulting trend, of planned interventions by asking the questions:

i. Were development opportunities used optimally?ii. Were negative externalities addressed?iii. Did equitable benefit sharing occur, particularly delivery of

benefits to the poor?iv. Were safeguards introduced to prevent harm to ecosystem

structure and functioning?

2.5.1 Coastal F�sher�es

The coastal fishery as a large, complex system (Box 1) composed of the MCZ, the linked estuaries and the traditional fishing communities, interacting and evolving together (Joseph, 1993), demonstrates the emergence that impacted the entire political system of the country. emergence is used as a descriptive term (Box 2) that conveys the manner in which new skills, assets and leadership developed from within the complex system, in an unplanned manner, in response to opportunities spanning a period of about 200 years (Land, Hauck and Baser, 2009, Roberts, 1982). this complex system persists under the combined influence of population growth, technology and contradictory policy. It retains its vibrancy despite development efforts designed to discourage traditional coastal fishing as a livelihood activity (Raghavan, 1961; FAO, 1988). Aspects of the coastal fishery bear relevance to planning ICM for all coastal ecosystems, in as much as they are perceived as complex systems.

Fishery is the most significant coastal resource use in Sri Lanka, in terms of livelihood and food security. It is also the most reliable indicator of ecosystem health. This is because the magnitude of fish catches depends on the structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems combined with technology. estimates are incomplete, but available information indicates there are some 150,000 fishers; 30,000 persons in the secondary industry, and 700,000 people indirectly dependent on the fishing

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industry for their livelihood (including vendors, mechanics, other service providers). therefore, some 880,000 (about 12% of the working age population) derive direct or indirect benefits from the sector (FAO, 2006). the coastal sector provides 64% of the total production from the marine fishery (FAO, 2006).

The fisheries relevant to coastal ecosystems are those that exploit fishery stocks in the MCZ and linked estuaries and lagoons. The MCZ supports a major segment of the ‘coastal fishery’. The coastal fishery and its relationship to livelihood and coastal ecosystems, is the core of ecosystem-based ICM in sri Lanka, since it relates directly to ecosystem health and human wellbeing. The traditional coastal fishery, based on indigenous and simple motorized fishing craft, demonstrates its resilience by coexisting with modernized fishing craft, including trawlers and purse seiners, for the past 50 years or so. Resilience of the traditional coastal fishery has been ascribed to adaptations and specialization of fishermen, fishing craft and methods to the physical character of ecosystems and behavioural diversity of the many species of fish captured (Kurian 2004). The small-scale coastal fisherman is a skilled professional, with numerous trade secrets and mental maps of the distribution and abundance of different fish, crustacean and mollusc species. Thus traditional coastal fishery contributes to human wellbeing by maintaining a balance with well functioning coastal ecosystems, which retain both their physical and biological diversity.

the MCZ, bays, beaches, estuaries and lagoons, all contribute towards the catches that sustain livelihood in the traditional coastal fishery. Coastal fishermen know the secrets of the sea floor well, where the best fishing exits, and why. They have names for particular submerged spots and refer to them as rocks (gala). They position their fishing precisely by triangulation using landmarks. the beaches serve in net operations, landing of fishing craft and as sites of seasonal settlements. The estuaries and lagoons serve as anchorages. the mutual linkages between estuaries and lagoons as nursery areas and as nutrient sources for fish stocks in the MCZ are well documented (Blaber, 2000). Where the health of coastal ecosystems declines, poverty of coastal communities is unavoidable, unless adequate alternative income opportunities are available. A descriptive model of causal relationships reveals the many variables that contribute to interactions among coastal ecosystems and fisher wellbeing (Figure 23).

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Prior to colonial rule, the coastal fishery supplied processed fish to the king, under the supervision of a designated minister, in a hierarchical social structure (Pieris, 1949; 1956). In the colonial period, some of today’s ruling political elites emerged from the cultural and anthropological traditions of coastal fishing, particularly beach-seine fishing and associated skills (Roberts, 1982) Some of these lineages continue to retain their power and position today. Wealth accumulation by way of beach seine fishing and the application of boat-making skills created novel opportunities (e.g. making carts used for transportation). This enabled some leading families to acquire upward social mobility and access to political power, consolidated by high levels of education (Roberts, 1982; Jayawardena, 2000).

Fishing, behaviourally and culturally, symbolizes private endeavour at a high level of free competition. A good fisherman keeps his trade secrets, where, when and how to fish, and returns with the best catch possible. the highly perishable product is traded in the open market and the vagaries of supply and demand will determine the mood of the operator. At the national level the skill and enterprise of the coastal fisher contributes to food security.

A minister of fisheries, in successive cabinets, has guided policy and development support for the fishery sector, for six decades since 1948. The decline of the coastal fishery and the increasing poverty among the coastal communities that depend upon coastal fishery for their livelihood (FAO, 1988; 2006) is a damning statement of the inadequacies of the framework of policies, incentives and regulatory mechanisms that has been in operation over the years. the minister’s role in imparting sustainability to the coastal fishery and its foundation – coastal ecosystems – is a matter of continuing debate and discussion.

The significance of fisheries to national wellbeing was recognized since independence. the initial intervention for the planned development of fisheries was in 1948 under the Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries (Government of Ceylon, 1951). that legacy and values have continued. the Ministry of Fisheries and ocean Resources states its purpose thus (http://www.fisheries.gov.lk):

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Vision: sri Lanka becomes a leader in the south Asian Region in sustainable utilization of fisheries and aquatic resources.

Mission: Directing the utilization of fisheries and aquatic resources for the benefit of the current and future generations.

Policy Objectives:

to improve nutritional status and food security of the people by increasing the national fish production

To minimize post-harvest losses and improve quality and safety of fish products to acceptable standards

To increase employment opportunities in fisheries and related industries and improve the socio-economic status of the fisher community

To increase foreign exchange earnings from fish product exports

To conserve the aquatic environment

It is evident that conservation management of the coastal environment converges with the overall purpose of the MoF.

Fishery status at independence (1948) in the MCZ

In the early post-independence period the fishing effort was entirely traditional, non-mechanized, and confined to the MCZ and was made up (John, 1951; Kesteven, 1951) as follows:

Fishing craft: Catamarans (log rafts) - 6,000 outrigger canoes - 4,350 Beach seine boats - 1,900 Total: 12,250 Gear: seine nets - 3,500 Drift nets - 5,400

Around 40,000 people (0.6% of a population of about 7 million) were involved in the fishery. The total annual production was 38,000 metric tons. Beach seine fishery accounted for 80% of this production. To meet the demand, the government imported 23,500 tons of dry and salted fish,

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2,800 tons of Maldives fish and 300 tons of canned fish. The estimated maximum requirement at that time was 71,000 tons of fish to supply 15 kg/person/year (35 lbs/person/year).

Fishing in the MCZ was seasonal as it was not safe to use traditional craft and operate gear during the monsoon seasons. When the sea was rough the marine fishers resorted to fishing in estuaries and lagoons for their food and income.

Estuaries and Lagoons:

Estuarine and lagoon fishing (brackish water fishery) was mainly a subsistence activity until international markets opened for shrimp and ornamental fish. A variety of gear was used including rod and line, nets and kraals among others. Few statistics were collected during earlier times for brackish water fishing. Brackish water fisheries attracted the attention of planners when the scope for aquaculture was recognized (Pillay, 1965). Community-managed fisheries based on limitation of access and territorial rights existed in some barrier-built estuaries, e.g. negombo Lagoon, Chilaw Lagoon, Puttalam Lagoon, Batticaloa Lagoon, etc.

Post-independence Planning

Diverse plans were formulated to develop marine fisheries with advice from international experts. Statistical information was inadequate for proper planning based on scientific data. Experts from the European countries, drawing on their experience, recommended investing in modern trawlers, up to 10 units. At that time sri Lanka had access to both the Wadge and Pedro Banks for operation of trawlers, while the rest of the continental shelf is too narrow and rough for trawling. Although the recommendations focused mainly on introduction of modern technology, even at that time, the coastal fishery was regarded as ‘saturated’ and approaching a ‘depletionary’ condition. Therefore, some experts recommended diversification of fishing methods, accompanied by improved management (Kesteven, 1951).

the expert from India, more realistically, recommended that investment be confined to two trawlers (John, 1951). He predicted ‘Thus the entire position crystallizes down to one fundamental fact, namely, that

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the development of inshore fisheries is the only practical method for increasing the fishery resources of the country. It will not only help to solve the food problem in the quickest and the surest possible manner but also stimulate the economic prosperity of the fishing community. In other words any encouragement given to inshore fisheries is “like the quality of mercy”; it blesses not only the recipient but also the giver’ (John, 1951). He recommended development of the inshore fishery by way of diversification of methods aimed at optimal utilization.

Figure 23. The causal relationships that link drivers, stressors, ecological effects, attributes and measures into interacting and interdependent relationships, within an estuarine ecosystem, is depicted in the upper half of the figure. The lower part of the figure shows the linkage with relationships in the MCZ. Attributes and measures are not shown comprehensively. Construction of models of causal relationships enables identification of measures and monitoring indicators that contribute to effective integrated management for ecosystems. The key at the bottom explains the symbols.

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the Government of sri Lanka opted for investment in trawlers. However, trawling, as practiced in europe, failed despite several attempts. In the 1980s, the Law of the sea Agreement and the declaration of territorial use rights by signatory countries resulted in exclusion of sri Lanka from the trawling grounds in the Wadge and a part of Pedro Bank (Pieterz, 1978). this situation starkly reveals the problems of planning for an uncertain future, where priorities and agendas are discordant with the interests of the people. It also brings out the sagacity of the comment of John (1951). A redeeming feature, however, is that the decision was made about three decades prior to the Law of the sea Agreement.

Modernization of the Fishery

The modernization of the marine fishery in general was initiated in 1958 with the launching of the first 3 1/2 ton wooden boats with inboard engines, introduction of synthetic fishing gear, and ice supply for fish preservation. During the following two decades further technological change occurred with the introduction of small fiberglass boats fitted with outboard engines. These boats continued to fish mainly in the MCZ. Thereby, traditional fishing craft and gear had to compete with modernized fishing methods for the same stocks (Figure 24).

The objectives of fishery development during the advent of modernization were similar to those stated in 2007, particularly in regard to the wellbeing of fishers and supply of fish protein (MOFAR, 2007 http://www.fisheries.gov.lk). the exception was addition of “management and conservation of the coastal environment” (Pierterz, 1978). nevertheless these objectives did not give consideration to the stock positions and impacts on fish habitats. The relationship between the MCZ carrying capacity i.e. the optimal number of fishing units that could be supported by the fishery stock at a particular level of wellbeing for fishermen, and the regulation of new entrants into the fishery were not seen as important considerations. However, even in 1951 the ‘depletionary’ state of the coastal fishery was already acknowledged (Kesteven, 1951).

Two decades after the onset of fishery modernization, in 1978, during a review of the status of the fishery and development prospects, the secretary, Ministry of Fisheries (Piertersz, 1978) commented “the improvement and expansion of the coastal fishery are selected as the first

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priority in the development strategy in view of the fact that the coastal fishery contributed about 90% of the total fish catch and offers the best prospect for a rapid expansion of the fish supply. It is the main source of employment and income in the coastal areas. As compared with other sectors, it has the lowest input cost per ton of fish produced and the minimum foreign exchange cost per job created”. At that time, the local fish production was estimated as 137,000 metric tons of which 90% was taken from within the MCZ. Production loss was estimated to be about 50,000 tons from underutilization of existing capacity (Pietersz, 1978).

the FAo (1988) Fishery sector study provided insights into the status of coastal fisheries, in the decade following liberalization of Sri Lanka’s economy in 1978. During this period total fish production peaked at 220,000 tons in 1983 and declined to an average of 176,000 tons in the following years. During this decade the number of fiberglass boats with outboard engines increased sharply, while motorization of indigenous craft also was stepped up. Liberalization of imports was an important driver in the expansion of fishing capacity mainly in the coastal seas. The expansion in craft and gear was supported by expansion of fishery infrastructure, fishery harbours and anchorages. Some anchorages were located within estuaries and lagoons. The total size of the fishing fleet in 1988 was 26,400, including, 4,000 indigenous craft operating in brackish water bodies, (Table 7; FAo, 1988).

Even in 1988, the vast majority of fishing craft operated in the coastal waters extending to the edge of the continental shelf, except those boats in excess of 10 m. this is roughly the same area in which 12,250 fishing craft operated in the 1940s (Government of Ceylon, 1951). The significant point here is that the traditional fishers operating indigenous craft and beach seines acquired a diminishing share of the available stock as they competed with motorized boats (Table 8). Increased poverty within the ‘traditional’ category of fishing households was predictable. Poverty among traditional fisher households surveyed in Mirissa, a traditional fishing village, increased since the onset of fishery modernization (Marga, 1981). the causes were complex, but they could be traced directly and indirectly as stemming from fishery modernization and the manner in which it was implemented.

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FAO (1988) commented that the continuation of the shrimp fishery in estuaries and lagoons using cast nets, traps and trammel nets, and expansion of the trawl fishery in the sea (MCZ) for a component of the same penaeid shrimp stock, had created problems of interactive and competitive fishing. This has caused damage to the resource. Improved data collection (research) was identified as a requirement for enhanced management to prevent further damage. However, global demand for shrimp and attractive prices, compensated for depleting catches and drove intensified effort.

Table 7. The existing status of the marine and coastal fishing fleet, including beach seine fishing (FAO, 2006). Note: *An estimated 50% operate in estuaries and lagoons while the other 50% operate in coastal waters. **A minimum of two persons engage in an operation, sometimes three. Monetary values are US$ 2002 equivalents.

Fishery Category

No. Vessels 2002

No. Fishers 2002

Catch & Value (US $)

2002 1997 1992

Commercial

Multiday boats 1,614 9,684 87,360 tonnes;

$ 17,400,00062,000 tonnes; $ 15,400,000

22,000 tonnes; $12,000,000

Longline Not available (n.a.) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sub-total 1,614 9,684 87,360 tonnes; $ 17,400,000

62,000 tonnes; $ 15,400,000

22,000 tonnes; $12,000,000

Small scale coastal fishery (artisanal)

FRP 18’ & 23’ boats (OBM)

8,334 16,668** 90,330 tonnes; $ 60,000,000 n.a. n.a.

Traditional craft*

15,044 (50% motorized) 38,088 35,132 tonnes;

$ 20,000,000 n.a. n.a.

Beach seine 1,328 39,840 19,920 tonnes;

$ 10,000,000 n.a. n.a.

Sub-total 25,405 105,027145,382 tonnes; $90,000,000

n.a. n.a.

Total 27,019 114,711 232,742 tonnes $ 107,000,000

62,000 tonnes; $ 15,400,000

22,000 tonnes $ 12,000,000

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A decline in lobster production was also noted. six species of lobsters are fished wherever reefs and rock areas exist in the MCZ. Lobster fishing is done with nets and diving to a depth of 20 m. owing to overexploitation in response to strong tourist and export demand, production declined from 2,559 tons in 1977 to 608 tons in 1986. The quantity exported declined from 385 tons in 1977 to 64 tons in 1985 (FAo, 1988).

The fishery sector assessment (FAO, 1988) concluded that:

Despite the weaknesses in relevant data, the inshore coastal fishery (in the MCZ) is approaching the upper limit of the economically sustainable yield level, while some areas and species are already overexploited;

Fishery policy must aim at managing the fishery so that production levels and net benefits can be maintained in the future;

Incentives which have been offered in the past to expand fisheries must be discontinued.

Based upon the above conclusions one of the underlying principles for future policies was identified as:

Fishery resources, which include both living resources and their habitat, have to be conserved and protected against over-exploitation and destruction.

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Table 8. Composition of the fishing fleet in Sri Lanka in 1988 including 4,000 indigenous, non-motorized craft operating in brackish water bodies (estuaries and lagoons).

Fishing CraftNon-

motorizedMotorized Mechanized Total

Indigenous craft (including 4,000 craft in estuaries and lagoons) 13,500 2,820 -- 16,320

Introduced craft

5.2-6.2 m boats -- 7,230 -- 7,230

8.0-10.2 m boats -- 2,750 -- 2,750

10.4 m boats (11t drift netter) -- -- 70 70

10.4 m boats (11t trawler) 9 9

14.0 m boats (trawler/purse seiner) 12 12

19.5 m boats (trawler/drift long-liner) 2 2

Total 13,500 12,800 93 26,393

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Figure 24. Stemming from modernization of the coastal fishery without balanced management, motorized craft with modern, more efficient trawls, and indigenous outrigger canoes with traditional trawls now compete for the same shrimp stock in the MCZ in Chilaw, sparking frequent conflicts (Weerasooriya, 1977). The modern trawls are known to cause damage to the sea bottom structure.

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the recommended strategy of particular relevance to the MCZ includes:

The introduction of a licensing system for motorized fishing to provide the means of controlling further increases in fishing effort.

Application of economic disincentives in the form of substantial licence fees for purse seining and mechanized trawling, and of taxes on imported inputs.

strengthening of existing traditional management, and creating of new ‘territorial use rights for fisheries – TURFs’ for beach seine, stilt, lobster fishing and shrimp trawling.

More attention be given to securing the genuine participation of fishing communities in development planning and resource management.

Conclusion: The persistence of the coastal small-scale fishery during the past six decades has been an expression of the resilience of the MCZ. the coastal fishery, (i) provides livelihood to a significant coastal community dispersed in every administrative division, and (ii) is the mainstay of affordable fish protein supply to the national population. Policy driven by multinational financial agencies, bilateral donors and the minister in charge of the subject has been one of management by default. Policy has even sought to encourage the small scale fisher to seek alternative occupations (FAo, 1988). the trend reveals a distinct disparity between official policy supported by technical advice and the reality of the coastal fishery (Table 9). What does the status of estimated production in 1948 mean in relation to 2002? What are the ecosystem implications in the regional context? Deep cultural anthropological study in the regional (provincial) context is warranted, based on relevant theoretical concepts and ecosystem indicators, to understand the nature and evolution of the complex coastal fishery system.

the brief historical review, spanning 60 years, enables some understanding of the trend in the coastal fishery and their impacts on coastal ecosystems, particularly in the MCZ and barrier-built estuaries, to determine if mismatch exits between the societal values and goals pertaining to the ecosystem-based coastal fishery. A recent assessment of the situation of the marine and coastal fishery is presented in (Box 7).

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Table 9. The composition and performance of the coastal fishery, in 1948 and in 2002.

Fishery Category

2002(National population: 20 million)

1948(National population: 7 million)

No. Vessels (craft)

No of fishers

Production(metric tones)

No. CraftNo of

fishers

Production(metric tones -

estimated)

FRP 18’ & 23’ boats (OBM)

8,334 16,668** Did not operate

Not applicable

Not applicable

Traditional craft*

15,044 (50%

motorized)38,088 35,132

12,250(none

motorized)

Not available

About 8,000 (20% of total)

Beach seine 1,328 39,840 19,920 3,500 Not

available

About 32,000 (80% of total)

Sub-total 25,405 105,027 55,052 15,750 40,000 40,000

Box 7. Present Status of Sri Lanka’s Marine Fishery

“Total reported fisheries catch in volume for 2002 indicate approximately 232,000 tonnes taken by 150,000 fishers and some 26,000 fishing craft (Table 7). Sri Lanka’s management structure, infrastructure and data systems are being re-constructed to reflect the current situation through assistance from donor agencies. The legislative framework has just been re-assessed and is before Parliament for approval and the ADB and other donors are actively assisting in strengthening the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources management capacity. Despite the social and economic difficulties of the past two decades, Sri Lanka is taking steps to provide facilities for its fishers, encourage their participation and input into management processes, and implement international management and conservation agreements and principles to which it is a party. Further, Sri Lanka is taking action to establish new and effective management, licensing and conservation schemes for its internal fisheries as well as adhere to international principles and plans of action. Sri Lanka has been taking advantage of the FAO FISHCODE initiatives for training and enhancement of its knowledge base over the past few years” (FAO, 2006; based on assessment by Peter Flewwelling and Gilles Hosch, FAO Consultants, 2003).

2.5.2 Spec�al Area management

the concept of special area management (sAM) involves a collaborative, adaptive and flexible approach to resource management within a geographically defined area. It is now, an integral part of national coastal zone management policy. It was first introduced to Sri Lanka,

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in the 1980s, to address the adverse impacts of economic growth in environmentally sensitive areas such as coastal wetlands, which require new management tools and greater collaboration with other agencies (across development sectors) and the public (CCD, 2006). sAM, more than any other policy, provides the geographic scope to address complex ecosystems in relation to structure and functioning. sAM plans and processes have already been partially implemented at nine sites (Table 10).

special area management in sri Lanka, which has been practiced in several different ways, is the approach most confluent with ecosystem-based ICM. special area planning and management were conceived as practical approaches to addressing development issues where predominantly coastal resources come into play. It is also a practical way to deal with coastal resource problems, where the causes of the problem originate from outside the immediate boundary of the area in which the problem is situated. A familiar example is pollution within an estuary. the cause of the problem is unregulated waste discharge from industries situated in the catchment of that estuary. Clearly, the water quality in the estuary cannot be safeguarded without mitigating waste discharges from external industrial units. An integrated management technique is required in such situations.

sorensen and McCreary (1990) explained special area (also regional) planning and management, of which the distinguishing feature is geographic coverage, as follows. It requires:

• Boundary demarcation of a special area, which is larger than a local jurisdiction, e.g. LGA area, and smaller than the entire nation. It has two purposes:

(i) to ‘capture’ national resource or development issues that cross states or local government;

(ii) to encompass a significant natural resource, an embayment, estuary, watershed or a comparable hydrologic unit.

• special area or regional plans have a multi-sectoral perspective. sometimes a single sector such as tourism may be the focus, but interconnections are made with the other relevant sectors.

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special area management (sAM), as practiced in sri Lanka, falls into two different classes:

• special area management (sAM) as advocated by the CCD, which is a deviation from the conceptualization by sorensen and McCreary (1990), and fits into ‘community based natural resources management – CBNRM (CCD, 1997; White and samarakoon, 1994).

• sub-regional planning (sAM) more in harmony with its original conceptualization, and includes development issues of national significance (CEA/Euroconsult, 1994; Samarakoon, 1994).

the CBnRM variant of special area management in sri Lanka is highly limited in scope and therefore cannot become meaningful to the national development process. Clemett, senaratne and Ranaweera Bandara (2004) based on a comparative study reported “… in general it has not been demonstrated that SAM is a viable and effective tool for CZM as it has not achieved its desired objectives and has been time and finance consuming”. Perhaps the problem was the political nature of sAM implementation where it was assumed that a coastal community can drive a management process (White and Samarakoon, 1994).

CBnRM is an alternative to top-down approaches to management of natural resources (Community Based natural Resources Management network. http://www.cbnrm.net/). It has been highly effective where enabling conditions have been provided by way of adequate legislation, advocacy and awareness. Philippines is an example where CBnRM in coastal settings has contributed significantly to the sustainable uplift of livelihood as well as maintaining the health and quality of coastal resources by way of appropriate laws and participatory mechanisms (eisma et al., 2005, oracion et al, 2005).

the notion of “community based natural resource management” is most appropriate when examining the community level aspects of the micro-macro continuum. the closely related concept of “co-management of natural resources” on the other hand, may be more appropriate when it is necessary to emphasize more evenly the various components of the micro-macro continuum, including non community-based stakeholders. CBnRM does not take place in a vacuum; communities operate within policy and legal frameworks, and can exert some influence upon it.

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Perhaps, in sri Lanka the challenge is to establish the enabling conditions for co-management for coastal ecosystems. the most basic and necessary condition for this is equitable law enforcement and a public aware of its legal rights, (UnDP, 2008, also see section 1.7).

The CZMP 2004 lists twenty five potential sites for SAM in the coastal area (Annex 3). In the event that implementation processes are initiated for all sites, a major contribution towards development of a more comprehensive knowledge base for ecosystem based ICM, would become possible. the nsAP advocates support for contributing towards implementation of already prepared sAM plans through its small grant (sGF) and large grant funds (LGF).

Table 10. Sites at which SAM processes are being implemented (CCD, 2006).

District Site References (partial)

Colombo Lunawa Lagoon CCD/CRMP, 2003a; CCD, 2005a

Galle

Madu Ganga EstuaryHikkaduwa National Park & surroundsUnawatuna Bay and Koggala Estuary

CCD/CRMP, 2003bCCD, 2005bCCD/CRMP, 1995aCCD/CRMP, 2003c; CCD, 2005c.

Hambantota

Coastal stretch in HambantotaMawella LagoonKalmetiya LagoonRekawa Lagoon

CCD, 1994, 2005f.CCD, 1995b

Gampaha Negombo Estuary & Muthurajawela Marsh

Samarakoon & Van Zon, 1991; GCEC/Euroconsult, 1991; CEA/Euroconsult, 1994; CEA/Arcadis, 2003; CCD, 2005d

Puttalam Puttalam Lagoon & Mundel LagoonBar Reef

NARA/NARESA/SIDA, 1997CCD, 2005e

the earliest sAM planning and implementation initiatives revealed the diverse facets of public-private partnership building. these underlying tensions need to be addressed adequately if the appropriate balance between the social component and the biophysical processes is to be achieved. Lessons from early experience are covered more exhaustively in reports and documents dedicated to the particular processes (e.g. negombo Lagoon & Muthurajawela Marsh: CeA/euroconsult, 1994; CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003). experience suggests that studies in cultural anthropology at sAM sites may set the best foundation for planning for these complex systems.

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H�kkaduwa SAm Process (1991-1997): the CCD sought to protect and conserve the Hikkaduwa Marine sanctuary through its CRMP/UsAID programme based on principles of CBnRM (Lowry et al., 1997). The collaborating organizations were the Wildlife Conservation Department and the National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency (nARA). During the planning process diverse aspects of coastal tourism surfaced, which undermined efforts to build a partnership among civil society, private sector, central regulatory authorities and the local authority. An important facet of the relationship between the formal private sector hoteliers and the informal service sector, composed mainly of local residents, emerged during the planning – commandeering of local resources. the formal sector hoteliers developed the infrastructure utilizing all incentives provided by the government such as tax holidays. Most investors were members of the entrepreneurial class with their roots in Colombo.

the informal service sector preceded the advent of formal tourism hotel expansion. It catered to budget travelers in the 1960s, and had already developed low cost infrastructure and a market for such travelers. In parallel with the expansion of the formal sector, supported by international advertising, opportunities expanded also for the informal sector. By the 1990s, about 50% of rooms and allied services in the Hikkaduwa tourist area were provided by the informal sector. the relationship between the two sectors was underscored by resentment of the formal hoteliers who estimated that a proportion of profits due to them was being leaked out by the informal sector who undercut tariffs. this tense relationship severely undermined collaboration with regard to implementation of safeguards for the coral reef sanctuary, which served as a core tourism attraction.

the locals, who engaged mainly in the informal sector activities, included the glass bottom boat operators for coral viewing. the formal sector subsequently encroached into this market segment by introducing its own boats: competition instead of coexistence ensued. As the share of income of the original glass bottom boat operators declined they engaged increasingly in tactics to attract customers, which also were damaging to the corals. Conflict resolution was seen by the informal sector investors as biased toward the formal sector, which enjoyed more status and power. the eventual outcome was the doubling of glass bottom boats in operation with a concomitant increase of the stress on the coral habitat, as local politicians exploited the situation to their own advantage.

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A similar relationship developed, with different political implications, with regard to the establishment of tourism infrastructure at Kalkudah and Passekudah on the eastern coast. the style of operation of the formal sector created deep resentment in the local population. With the onset of the ethnic conflict in the 1980s, the local population were bystanders as the hotels belonging to ‘aliens’ from Colombo were destroyed (samarakoon, 2006).

the major lessons that emerge are:

the sustainability of coastal ecosystems and habitats, on which tourism depends, may not be realized where private sector investors are seen as ‘intruders’.

Private sector investors generally do not pay the full cost of land allocated to them for development, since a major part of that land, which serves as ‘open access resources’, is under government jurisdiction.

Land allocation for development to the private sector sometimes takes the form of expropriation.

Planning and development of tourism, in areas where beach frontage is scarce, may still be feasible with mutually beneficial results to local populations and the private sector, if meaningful participation is practiced. A form of equity participation may become feasible, if measures are implemented to transfer collective property rights over open access resources to local communities.

the important stakeholders must be trained to recognize that compromise is required for sustainable natural resources use, and that others’ gains do not come at their own expense

3.5.3 Agr�culture and L�vestock

Diverse agricultural activities, commercial and subsistence, are carried out where the drainage is adequate. Dunes are desired sites since they generally have accessible freshwater lenses for irrigation In the south-western coastal area, large-scale drainage and flood control programmes for low lying land, caused severe environmental damage, including harm to coastal lagoons.. Commercial dune sand mining carried out illegally is

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undermining the agricultural livelihood of residents at locations such as Kalpitiya (http://lankawatchdog.org/sand-dunes.htm).

Dune Agr�culture: Coconut and Palmyrah: Coconut is the most conspicuous agricultural crop in the coastal belt of the Dry Zone, particularly in the Districts of Puttalam, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa, Hambantota and Mannar. Puttalam has the highest extent and Mannar the least (Table 11). Coconut is mostly cultivated on the stable dunes. Coir production, an industry linked to coconut cultivation, commonly has an impact on the brackish water bodies since they are sites for retting (seasoning prior to fiber extraction). In the Jaffna Peninsula, palmyrah palms replace coconut (Madduma Bandara, 1989).

A wide range of cash crops are grown on suitable dunes. the dunes in Kalpitiya have been used for commercial cultivation of gherkin cucumber.

Goats are the livestock of choice of communities residing on dunes. Dune migration in Ampan and Manalkadu, Jaffna District was partially attributed to the denudation of dunes by untended goats. Removal of creepers and shrubs binding the sand, and hoof tracks that facilitate wind erosion, may have contributed (swan, 1983).

District Extent (acres)

Puttalam 50,000

Mullaitivu 27,000

Batticaloa 12,000

Hambanthota 10,000

Mannar 4,000

Table 11. Coconut acreage in the main coconut-growing coastal districts

Paddy Cult�vat�on - Dra�nage and Flood Control: Significant impacts on coastal water bodies, both estuaries and lagoons, have stemmed from major development programmes designed to expand paddy cultivation in the Wet Zone. Draining land for agriculture is generally upheld as a desirable intervention, which produces many benefits when done in an environmentally sustainable manner (Shand, 2002). In south-west Sri Lanka, numerous flood protection and drainage schemes implemented in low-lying coastal areas between +1m and +3m

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MSL, in the 1960s with World Bank support, have resulted in impacts opposite to those intended (tennakoon, 1982). About 10,000 hectares, which were briefly brought under paddy cultivation following drainage schemes implemented in the 1960s, today lie abandoned with water control structures in various states of state of abandonment and disrepair (Figure 25). these lands, privately owned, are unproductive assets in the coastal area. they cannot be converted to capital for productive investment since patterns of ownership and inheritance are not favourable. Furthermore, the existing laws do not allow the conversion of paddy land into other uses.

the development of low-lying land for paddy cultivation in the densely populated Wet Zone of Sri Lanka was a post-independence political promise to landless constituencies. the prevailing caste relations placed cultivators in a politically favoured position. As a consequence, the adverse externalities on less favoured constituencies were ignored or received inadequate consideration. The carelessly planned engineering interventions contributed to the progressive collapse of fisheries stemming from hydrological and ecological dynamics. the improper design of salt-exclusion structures was inexplicable. screw gates were installed where flap gates were required and salt intrusion persisted through these structures. Groynes and revetments constructed to maintain the functional integrity of the salt exclusion structures, partially or entirely failed. In an unanticipated manner these same structures aggravated coastal erosion.

the University of Moratuwa (UoM) conducted a pre-feasibility study for rehabilitating 4,510 hectares of land associated with this scheme at Dedduwa, Madampe, Moragoda and Koggala, for ADB support in 1994. this land was to be developed under the newly constituted southern Development Authority. the UoM pre-feasibility study was reviewed by euroconsult (1995). the review recommended that the ecological and socio-economic changes since the original intervention were not favourable for re-investment in rehabilitation. However, alternate development possibilities did exist. Discussion with the authorities revealed that political commitment was strong for ‘… doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result’ (see Box 3).

The sequence of events: fishery depletion in the associated lagoons and estuaries, inefficiency of engineering structures and eventual loss of soil fertility to salinization and waterlogging, stemmed from a fragmented

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view of coastal ecosystems. the watersheds were seen as entities that could be isolated from the estuaries and lagoons. the possible impact of semi-diurnal tides on water control structures seems to have been disregarded by irrigation engineers, more accustomed to designing control structures for flowing freshwater. Perhaps, the desired result may have been achieved by way of a very high level of engineering efficiency.

Figure 25. A salt exclusion structure at an estuarine tidal inlet in Ambalangoda (left) associated with the major flood control and drainage project of the World Bank in 1960s for development of paddy cultivation in coastal land at + 1 to + 3 ft MSL. The project resulted in waterlogging and abandonment of a vast extent of coastal land with drastic consequences for associated coastal lagoons in the southwest of Sri Lanka (Tennakoon, 1982).

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Cost-benefit relationship ultimately determines the level of investment. today the affected estuaries and lagoons languish under both a changed ecology as well as continuing pressure from poor fishers. Additionally, they obstruct drainage and contribute to flooding, resulting in loss of property and ‘creeping’ waterlogging (this chapter section 2.8). The productivity of these estuary and lagoon ecosystems may be improved by way of major investments in ecological restoration. However, restoration for whose benefit emerges as a serious question, given the absence of rigorous anthropological research that may reveal the aspirations of the present generation and their demand for continuing with lagoon fishing and with paddy farming (section 2.7.4, this chapter)?

the actual number of coastal lagoons and estuaries affected by drainage and salt exclusion schemes under the World Bank project, from Udappuwa in the Puttalam District to tangalla in the Hambantota District, has not been inventoried and adequately mapped. The foundation for any attempt at restoration has to be established by way of mathematical and causal models to enable balanced economic analysis. eventual decisions must be based upon hydrological models that incorporate the behaviour of tidal inlets, littoral drift, catchment discharges and community needs confirmed through anthropological research.

A similar intervention was carried out in Kalametiya in the 1970s, which transformed the Kalmetiya Lagoon into its present state with diminished productivity. the redeeming feature was the richness of the marine fishery in the Kalametiya Bay (CCD, 2004). Interventions to transform thondamanar Lagoon in the Jaffna Peninsula into a freshwater body were partially implemented. Perhaps, the latter combined with a supplementary freshwater supply from Karagarayan Aru may have been more warranted since agricultural production in Jaffna Peninsula is severely constrained because of the absence of natural rivers (Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management, 2003).

the major lessons that emerge, from this development activity, for coastal ecosystem based ICM in sri Lanka are:

Development activities driven purely by a political agenda, which seek to transform coastal ecosystems, have a high probability of failure.

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Anthropological research must confirm the need for investment in restoration of estuaries and lagoons affected by drainage and salt exclusion schemes.

A comparable intervention for drainage and flood control must not be implemented along the eastern coast from Batticaloa to Panama.

A careful assessment is required for all existing drainage and flood protection works in the northern part of Batticaloa Lagoon.

The frequent floods in this area (Eastern Province), which is a significant contributor to food security in Sri Lanka, is suggestive of ‘creeping normalcy’ (Diamond, 2004) that may aggravate in association with predicted increase in rainfall probably linked with climate change.

All existing projects being implemented by the government, inGos and nGos, particularly in regards to mangrove planting, require urgent inventorying and assessment, to ensure that they adhere strictly to drainage requirements of coastal ecosystems based on measurable hydrological indicators.

2.5.4 Industr�al Development

Major investment in industrial development in sri Lanka, was initiated in the 1960s, by establishing dedicated industrial estates in Ja-ela and Ratmalana. Industrial expansion continued in the 1980s with trade liberalization and the establishment of Investment Promotion Zones under the Greater Colombo economic Commission (GCeC). In the succeeding decades, industrial expansion continued under the Board of Investment (which replaced the GCeC) with few restrictions on the siting of industries. A majority of these industries were situated in close proximity to the coast. Centralized waste treatment was provided in the investment promotion zone initially set up in Katunayake (vicinity of Negombo Lagoon). Subsequently, little or no regulatory safeguards were implemented against emissions into open access resources such as lagoons and estuaries. Where regulations existed, their enforcement was weak and enabled rational behaviour of the private sector to dominate. environmental regulations, including eIA, did not exist prior to 1989. The consequences were severe contamination of ground water in the immediate environs of the industrial estates, and pollution of coastal ecosystems, e.g. negombo Lagoon and Lunawa Lagoon. the former

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continued to support livelihoods of about 3,000 fisher families in 1990, despite ulcerative skin disease of fish caused by pollution, and severe eutrophication as expressed by blooms of filamentous green algae (GCeC-euroconsult, 1991). Lunawa Lagoon was a dead water body by the 1970s (CCD, 2005).

Comprehensive coverage of the problems of coastal pollution in sri Lanka is available in a wide range of reports (olsen et al., 1992; CCD, 2006). the nsAP focuses on the experience directly related to catchment-based approaches to pollution mitigation and ecosystem restoration. solid waste dumping into coastal wetlands is a serious problem (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, 2003). Collaboration with local authorities and effective partnership building may be a part of the search for the answer, as shown by the experience in Weligama (Pilapitiya, personal communication).

Lunawa Lagoon Restorat�on: Lunawa Lagoon, a relatively small water body with a surface area of 27 ha, and a closed tidal inlet is presently being restored by the sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (sLLRDC). Dredging was completed under ADB’s CRMP (CCD, 2005). this lagoon is about 1.3% of the size of negombo Lagoon which is an estuary with a functional tidal inlet. An initial planned output of restoration of Lunawa Lagoon, now rejected, was the construction of a functional tidal inlet - lagoon outfall (Kirthi Jayawardena, personal communication).

the actual cost of this intervention indicates the scale of investment required for restoration of other lagoons and estuaries in Sri Lanka. The cost-benefit analysis is positive for this small lagoon situated in a highly urbanized setting where property values are high. It is not based on ecosystem productivity resulting from the restored structure and its functioning. the total estimated investment in 2002 was about Us$ 5 million – sL Rs. 500 million (Jayawardena personal communication). on a direct linear conversion, the investment required for Rekawa Lagoon - 270 ha - would be about Us$ 50 million (Table 16). the relevance of this estimated cost for a rural setting requires careful assessment.

A missing factor is the control of industrial and municipal waste emissions at their source, in spite of a licensing procedure under the Central Environmental Authority. Whereas, the need to address

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pollution at source is normative (CCD, 2005), little information is available on the measures to ensure compliance.

Catchment-based Pollut�on Abatement: the Integrated Management Programme (IRMP) in Wetlands, implemented by CEA, addressed the challenge of incorporating the ekala Industrial estate into integrated management of the negombo Lagoon (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, 2003). the intervention lasting several years included:

Land use mapping to position industries in a database shared among the community organizations-environment Protection Committees (ePCs), regulatory authorities and the private sector;

Initiation of the Ja-ela Industrialist’s Forum and linking it to the Cleaner Production Programme of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of sri Lanka (FCCIsL) within the framework of Corporate social Responsibility (CsR), and connecting them to community-based environmental Protection Committees of nGos;

establishment of a Cleaner Production and environmental Awareness Center sponsored by an industrial leader ‘champion’;

Linking the environmental Protection Division of the CeA and Local Authorities to operation and monitoring.

the high level of collaboration among the industry leaders, community leaders and the regulatory bodies suggested the possibility of advancing the initiative to a more mature state since several private sector partners already had ISO Certification as exporters. They were interested in more effective environmental management in the entire industrial estate. However, continuity withered in 2003 at the termination of IRMP and attempted transfer of the process to CCD under its ADB-supported CRMP project.

the important lessons that emerged were (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, August, 2003):

Both industry and communities are interested in collaboration, instead of confrontation, to manage industrial pollution impacts (e.g. contamination of groundwater, toxic emissions, etc) since

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the latter were interested in the positive externalities such as employment, enhanced property values etc.the regulatory bodies are severely cash-strapped with regard to all aspects of monitoring and implementation of standards.the non-exporting industries were not interested in investing in cleaning their production process in the absence of appropriate incentives.the political authorities rarely promoted community interests since the power gap between the private sector and community members is wide.Communities when organized as EPCs acquired credibility and access to industrial premises in order to understand the production process.the task of waste treatment to eliminate negative externalities on water quality in Negombo Lagoon will be an uphill task until government commitment is made towards investment in central treatment systems.economic valuation may provide persuasive argument for central treatment systems.Inter-agency collaboration between the CCD and CeA, the regulatory bodies for the coastal zone (downstream catchment) and the upstream catchment, respectively, is partly the key to viable solutions for industrial pollution (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, 2003; CCD, 1997, 2006). Winning the cooperation of Negombo Lagoon fishers, the lowest step in the economic ladder, to refrain from destructive fishing practices, encroachment etc.is almost impossible, due to their perception that regulatory bodies are unable to address a root cause of ecosystem decline – industrial pollution.

2.5.5 Coastal tour�sm Development

Impacts of tourism on coastal ecosystems are numerous and diverse. negative impacts stemmed from unregulated beach-oriented tourism at most locations, including negombo, Hikkaduwa, Pasekudah, and Kalkudah. the negative impacts arose due to the disregard of one or more of the development planning principles (see section 2.1). the adverse impact on the beach ecosystem at negombo was corrected through

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grant investment in the 1980s. similarly, the impact of municipal and hotel wastes on the coral reef ecosystem (Hikkaduwa national Park) was partially corrected with the support of donor assistance in the 1990s. Impacts of tourism on coastal ecosystems reveal a trend of mixed consequences arising from a combination of ineffective planning (e.g. negombo and Hikkaduwa), effective planning (e.g. Bentota), violation of regulations (e.g. Unawatuna, Habaraduwa), political patronage and inadequate integration with existing SESs, (Box 2) among others. tension arising from conflicting demands among the private sector for beach frontage for large scale hotel development, traditional beach use by local communities, and small-scale tourism development erupted starkly in the period following the Indian ocean tsunami of 2004, particularly at Arugam Bay (samarakoon, 2007; Klein, 2008).

The prevailing relationship between tourism and coastal fisheries is summarized thus (CCD, 2006): ‘Available data and information indicate that tourism can have several negative impacts on fisheries. For instance, traditional rights of public access to fish landing places on the beaches and lagoons, enjoyed by the local fishing communities, have been denied to them, at several places, due to various tourist related activities. this has led to disputes between fishermen and hoteliers at various places’.

efforts are being made, in recent years, to integrate tourism with environmental management through community-based ecotourism with direct income flows to local communities. A visitor centre was established recently at Madu Ganga within the framework of sAM (CCD, 2005). Previous interventions based on this concept, include:

• establishment of the Muthurajawela Visitor Center as a community supported intervention within the framework of the Conservation Management Plan for the Conservation Zone of Muthurajawela Marsh and negombo Lagoon (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003a, January 2003)

• Harmonization of coral habitat conservation and tourism ventures within the framework of ‘community based natural resources management –CBnRM’ advocated by UsAID and implemented as a part of the special Area Management component of the CRMP for the Hikkaduwa Marine sanctuary (Lowry et al., 1997, 1999).

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Lessons learnt from operating the Muthurajawela Visitor Center (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, January, 2003) were, the need for:

political commitment and systematically generated public awareness for development of eco-tourism;professional management with service conscious staff;recognizing that donor-based financial arrangements artificially drive down actual costs because of a beneficial exchange rate which undermines cost recovery and sustainability ;high investment in expensive public education facilities to entice repeat visitation;stronger support from the private sector with declared commitment to ‘green’ enterprise;strong service consciousness and dignity of labour in tasks such as ‘visitor guiding’ and ‘presentation’ which induce repeat visitation;strong government commitment to ‘privatization’ of services.Regulating visitation rate in keeping with ‘carrying capacity’.

2.5.6 urban�zat�on and Hous�ng Development

Scattered encroachment by poor coastal fisher families of the peripheral areas of estuaries and lagoons, despite the risk of floods, has been a tradition in highly urbanized locations along the south-western coastline. the head of the household supported by family members could rely on a subsistence income from fishing with only a small investment in low-cost fishing gear. With patience, and planned enrolment of support from the sediment trapping behaviour of mangroves (Rhizophora mucronata), the family develops a small platform, with a minor investment in scavenged fill material, on which eventually a lightweight temporary house could be built. Periodically, the house and all belongings will be swept away by floods. The house is usually rebuilt, with assistance from government flood relief, and the household returns and resumes life. Despite the persistent flood hazard, the most basic need of shelter was satisfied.

the events in negombo Lagoon illustrate the manner in which small ‘pin pricks’ become major settlement development programmes with little concern for the health of the ecosystem – politics, poor people’s needs and misplaced science took centre stage. In the 1980s the Prime

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Minister implemented the vision of a nation-wide housing development programme. negombo Lagoon was one of the selected development sites. Munnakkare Island in the narrow channel segment of negombo Lagoon was arguably the most densely populated urban site in sri Lanka. the pattern of housing expansion that occurred during the period 1956 to 1993 is shown in Figure 26. Various technical representations made to divert the housing programme away from the sensitive channels that connected the estuary to the sea were brushed aside for political expediency (see Section 1.2). Small-scale land filling for housing in this sensitive area continued in parallel with the large scale housing project. This activity since mid-1980s was greatly encouraged by the ‘mangrove lobby’ that promoted indiscriminate planting of mangroves, indicative of a lack of concern and understanding of complex ecosystem relationships (CeA/euroconsult, 1994; samarakoon, 2006). the hydrological relationships of the negombo Lagoon ecosystem are now endangered.

Mangrove planting by many inGos, nGos, CBos and multilateral financial agencies is continuing unabated in lagoons and estuaries at numerous locations (see section 2.3.6; samarakoon, 2006). this activity has spread to all estuaries and lagoons in urban settings - including sites such as Batticaloa Lagoon and Puttalam Lagoon where some internally displaced persons (from civil conflict areas) are forced to eke out a living. Encroachment into ‘mangrove-planted’ areas may soon become the unintended consequence that will threaten the hydrological functioning of these ecosystems. thereby, the intended objective of planting mangroves to enhance fishery productivity and income of fishers will be nullified.

2.5.7 Brack�sh Water and Shr�mp Aquaculture

Brackish water aquaculture - Commercial scale brackish water aquaculture in Sri Lanka is limited to shrimp farming. Milkfish culture had developed to some extent until the early 1980’s, mainly concentrated in the north-western and western areas with seed collected from the wild. since the early 1980’s, shrimp farming became popular, with the Government offering various incentives. A number of small-scale entrepreneurs and a few large multi-national companies ventured into shrimp farming. Due to its faster growth rate, larger size and export potential, the black tiger prawn Penaeus monodon was almost exclusively used in brackish water shrimp culture.

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Figure 26. Planned housing expansion into the channel segment of Negombo Lagoon as an outcome of the major low-cost housing programme in the 1980s. (CEA/Euroconsult, 1994).

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the coastal area between Maha oya and Puttalam/Kalpitiya, in the north-western Province, has become the hub of the country’s shrimp farming industry. the Dutch canal and the lagoons serve both as the source of water for these shrimp farms as well as ‘sinks’ for their waste/effluents (NARA/NARESA/SIDA/Stockholm University, 1997). the shrimp farming industry in the north-western Province recorded a phenomenal growth after 1990, in terms of the number of farms as well as the extent of land brought under shrimp culture. this period also saw the proliferation of a large number of unauthorized farms, set up in mangrove areas/tidal flats, lagoon and canal reservations, and on any available state land. the total number of farms increased from about 60 farms with a total pond area of 405 ha in 1990, to nearly 1350 farms with a total pond area of around 4,500 ha in year 2000 (CCD, 2006). the high percentage (76%) of small farms, of less than 2 ha, indicates that it is now a predominantly small-scale activity. nearly 48% of all the farms are unauthorized or illegal, which means they have not been subjected to a proper technical appraisal (siriwardene, 1999).

In 1998, a total of over 8,000 persons were engaged in the shrimp industry: 6,388 in farms, 652 in hatcheries and 1,010 in processing factories (Hettiarachchi, 2000). In more recent years, export of cultured shrimp has contributed over 50% of the total export earnings from the fisheries sector. The MFOR Statistical Unit database shows that the industry has consistently earned well over Rs. 2,000 million per year in foreign exchange since 1995, with a peak of Rs. 4,027 million in 1998, equivalent to 60% of the foreign exchange earned by the fisheries sector in 1998. the shrimp farming industry in the northwestern Province is currently in decline. the impact of illegal farms, pollution of waterways and the spread of diseases has been fatal for the industry. the area under cultivation declined by 2002 to 39% of the extent in 1998, and further to 17% in 2003. According to Perera (2003), only about 25% of the farms are operating at present and of the 12 processing plants, only 4 are functioning. the average yield per hectare per annum has also gone down from a peak of 6,175 kg in 1994 to an all time low 650 kg in 2002.

Government has started closing down illegal farms; 15 court cases have been filed. Reportedly in six months, courts have ordered 7 farms to be closed down. In Batticaloa district (where shrimp farming in sri Lanka originated in late 1970s but was abandoned due to the civil unrest) shrimp farming has recommenced in recent years. Unpublished data with the Regional Aquaculture Extension Officer of NAQDA in

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Batticaloa reveals that over 60 farms, with a total pond area of 155 ha, were in operation at the end of 2002. A major concentration of these farms is situated toward the mid-section of Batticaloa Lagoon. Farm effluent is trapped in the water body.

nAQDA is now monitoring and implementing improved adherence to environmental standards. A proposal for improving water quality and reducing the risk of disease included the restoration of a tidal inlet at the southern end of Mundel Lake (Galappatti, personal communication). But, the cost of construction had discouraged this intervention although it is the only viable solution. Meanwhile,,wastes loaded with nutrients are discharged through the Dutch Canal into Puttalam Lagoon which is now eutrophic – having permanent blooms of filamentous green algae (Chaetomorpha sp.).

the situation in Batticaloa Lagoon is becoming increasingly serious because of persistent implementation of ‘biodiversity conservation’, ‘bioshield’ and other conservation projects which ignore the sedimentation and nutrient entrapment consequences. Shrimp aquaculture appears to be contributing to this growing problem by way of nutrient discharges. It is timely for the FAo, Green Coast, ADB, IUCn sri Lanka, and other nGos to review their own contribution to the growing problem by placing their activities in the context of systemic hydrological relationships as they actually occur in micro tidal brackish water bodies.

The following lessons emerge from background knowledge acquired over almost three decades:

expropriation of open access resources for private sector investment, without adequate compensation and livelihood support for local populations, creates social conflict.

Inequity in development backfires ecologically. Private sector and community based shrimp aquaculture enterprises were initially envisaged, during the 1980s, as parallel and equitable development processes. It was subsequently hijacked by the political leadership (consequent to withdrawal of state support for aquaculture to appease Buddhist religious sentiments) and expanded without participation by residents of the area or local investors. When the local entrepreneurs picked up the technology, suitable land

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was no longer available. this stimulated illegal encroachment into reservations and sensitive areas causing severe negative externalities including water pollution and flooding. Restoration of Mundel and Puttalam Lagoons to support shrimp aquaculture as a sustainable export industry in the coming decades, requires carefully planned ICM, based on the ‘ridge-to-reef’ approach.Potential exists for expansion of shrimp culture in the eastern coastal region. Any attempt to develop it on a large scale must be done with adequate flood protection and drainage schemes (avoiding mistakes made in the south-western coastal region) to safeguard rice cultivation from problems of progressive waterlogging (‘creeping normalcy’ - Section 2.8, this Chapter).

2.5.8 m�neral m�n�ng

Mineral mining in the Coastal Zone of Sri Lanka has been confined mainly to coral, ilmenite sand and limestone. Limestone, dating from the Miocene era, was quarried from the Jaffna peninsula and used in the manufacture of cement. In the dry zone coastal areas, salt was manufactured by solar evaporation of seawater.

Miocene Limestone

Jaffna Peninsula and islands such as Delft are composed mainly of Miocene limestone. the reserves at Kankasanthurai supplied the Kankasanthurai Cement Factory for many years. the factory has not been functioning during the recent past due to the conflict situation.

Coral

Mining of coral reefs for large scale constructions date back many centuries. early archeological remains in Jaffna, were constructed with coral blocks. Clearly, these were either extracted from the sea and processed into uniform shapes, or obtained from terrestrial fossil coral. During the Dutch colonial period coral was extracted on a large scale for the construction of the forts. Major segments of the walls in the Jaffna, tangalla, Matara and Galle forts were constructed with boulder corals. some part of this material may have been obtained from terrestrial quarries while the rest was mined from the sea.

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A survey conducted in 1984 by the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) in the south-western and southern coastal areas revealed that 18,000 t of coral was supplied annually to the lime industry. A major portion (42%) originates from ancient, inland coral deposits beyond the coastal zone, 16% is mined on land within the coastal zone and another 30% comprises coral debris illegally collected from the shore. the balance 12% is coral illegally mined from the sea (Hale and Kumin, 1992). A survey carried out by the Coast Conservation Department in 1990, from Ambalangoda to Hambantota, revealed that nearly 2,000 persons were dependent on inland and offshore coral mining activities (Ranaweera Banda, 1994). Coral mining in the sea is also reported from the east coast around Kalkudah and Passikudah Bays. Coral mining from the sea has resulted in severe coastal erosion in all these areas, where the government has spent millions of rupees to build coast protection structures.

Mineral sand (www.perc.gov.lk/rfp.pdf)

Beach mineral sands represent perhaps the most valuable future resource for sri Lanka. Concentrations of beach mineral sands are found in the northeast, south, and southwest coastal stretches. the main deposit is located at Pulmoddai some 60 kms north of trincomalee. this deposit is 6 km in length with an average width of 100 meters and is estimated to contain about 4,000,000 Mt of mineral sands with an average composition of 70% Ilmenite, 10% Zircon and 8% Rutile. About 15% of the renewable resource based at Pulmoddai is replenished annually during the northeast Monsoon season. the reserves are anticipated to last for over 25 years if utilized at a rate of about 150,000 tons per annum at an upgraded plant. this deposit rates among the best known in the world, especially due to its heavy mineral content of 60% to 70%.

At present, Lanka Mineral sands Limited, a state-owned company extracts four minerals. Historically, the Ceylon Mineral sands Corporation was established in 1957, under the state Industrial Corporations Act of 1957. the Corporation located its plant for processing Ilmenite at Pulmoddai and the first export of Ilmenite to Japan took place in 1962. A new plant was commissioned in 1967 at China Bay, to process the more valuable minerals – rutile, zircon and monazite, using the tailings of the Pulmoddai Ilmenite Plant. In 1976, the Corporation established an integrated Ilmenite, Zircon and Rutile

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processing plant at Pulmoddai. In 1992, the Corporation was converted into a Government owned Company under Act no. 23 of 1987 and re-named Lanka Mineral sands Ltd. the company also established a facility for bulk loading into ships at Pulmoddai. Cod Bay in the trincomalee Harbour, is a station for its floating craft of tugs and barges. The sales and marketing office is in Colombo.

Ilmenite and Rutile are used to produce titanium dioxide and in the manufacture of titanium metal. Zircon is used in the ceramic industry as a refractory in the manufacture of mouldings.

Apart from ilmenite sand, garnet sands have been reported along the southern coastline stretching from Dickwella to Hambantota, in varying quantities, suitable for commercial exploitation (www.minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2002/cemyb02.pdf). some efforts have been made to mine the dune sand in Hambantota in the vicinity of Karagan Lewaya. It is significant that the tsunami in 2004 penetrated the dune precisely where it had been weakened by sand mining and caused several deaths.

silica sand; River sand Mining & offshore sand

substantial silica sand deposits occur in the sand dunes extending along the north-east coast of the Jaffna Peninsula. Commercial exploitation of these reserves require extreme care since these dunes have a recorded history of instability when disturbed (swan, 1983). settlements occur along the entire length of this dune. sand is mined from dunes in the Vadamarachchi, Ampan and Manalkadu areas for the construction sector. this activity accelerated during 2002-2005 period when a temporary peace agreement prevailed. It is likely that dune sand mining on a large scale may occur for reconstruction following termination of hostilities in the civil conflict. A rigorous EIA should precede large scale sand extraction.

numerous efforts have been made to discourage river sand mining along the south-western and southern coastal areas of sri Lanka backed by legal interventions. owing to increased vigilance in heavily mined rivers, sand extraction on a commercial scale has shifted to sand dunes at more remote locations such as Kalpitiya. Both livelihoods of local residents and dune stability are increasingly threatened at these locations.

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2.5.9 Power and energy

neither power plants nor hydrocarbon extraction (or test drilling) projects are found in the coastal area. The first large scale coal-based power plant is now being constructed at norochcholai, a coastal village in Kalpitiya Divisional secretary Division, Puttalam District. It is expected to be operational about 2010 when the 300 MW coal-fired thermal power plant, with the associated infrastructure, is completed. An eIA has been approved by the CCD. It is premature to predict impact trends that may be entrained. the lead up to construction was beset with hostile public agitation including violence.

2.5.10 Anchorages, F�shery Harbours and Ports

Traditionally, the coastal fishers, from some 1,000 fishing villages situated along the coastline, kept their craft at anchor outside of the surf zone, landed them on beaches, or kept them within estuaries, which provided safe anchorage. the estuaries in Jaffna, Puttalam, Chilaw, Negombo, Panadura, and Podawakattuwa were significant in this regard serving a large number of users. Progressively these same sites became anchorages for mechanized fishing craft. From the 1980s onwards, as mechanized fishing craft increased in size and capacity as offshore fishing fleets, they continued to use these same locations to benefit from the already developed infrastructure including marketing, ice factories, fuel stations and repair workshops, among others.

Integrated management was lacking and the consequences include severe oil pollution, conflicts with traditional fishers and depletion of estuarine fish stocks. It is estimated that 40,000 liters of dumped waste oil and 13,000 liters of oil from service stations contaminate negombo Lagoon (FAo, 1988; CCD, 2006; CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003). The consequences for these estuarine ecosystems from unmanaged use by mechanized fishing craft will aggravate in future because of inimical policy. It flows from a policy decision made in the 1980s, by the Ministry of Fisheries, to halt construction of new fishery harbours (to reduce the cost to the state), and instead develop anchorage facilities within estuaries and lagoons.

Fishery harbours with infrastructure are situated at Colombo, Beruwela, Mirissa, tangalla, Kirinda, Valachenai and trincomallee. the associated

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breakwaters that project into the sea have affected coastal processes in various ways resulting in unbalanced erosion and accretion. the long term trends entrained by construction of harbours have not been monitored as their construction predated eIA regulations.

new major coastal construction projects have been initiated based on eIA approvals, namely:

• Colombo Port expansion (Colombo south Harbour),• oluvil regional port development,• Galle regional port development, and• Hambantota sea Port.

new trends created by these projects that impact coastal ecosystems, particularly the coastal fishery, may emerge as monitoring proceeds.

2.6 Coastal ecosystems and Natural Hazards: Vulnerab�l�ty, exposure and Res�l�ence

Coastal ecosystems situated on land, including beaches, estuaries, lagoons and tidal flats, regularly protect human settlements from floods by serving as conduits for seasonal storm water flow to the sea and water retention areas. Unimpeded flow, across beaches and through tidal inlets, determines how effectively these ecosystems provide security to life and property. Beaches and sand dunes together provide security to life and property against wave action and storm surges. the MCZ and its seabed features also contribute towards reducing the force of waves, swells and storm surges. Coral reefs, rocky reefs, sandstone reefs (CCD, 1990) and coastal bathymetry in general contribute towards the site specific diversity of wave and storm surge action, and above all the reduction of their severity.

the relationship of coastal ecosystems to normal coastal processes and land based influences such as drainage, serve as the reference baseline for assessment of their behaviour during natural hazards. Diverse spatial and temporal aspects should be measured, in order to reproduce the normal state of these ecosystems as scientifically testable models of change under different conditions. this has been attempted to some extent for negombo Lagoon and for Batticaloa Lagoon (University of

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Moratuwa, 1994; santharuban and Manobhavan, 2005). the normal state implies a rate of change that occurs slowly, such that it does not disturb the multiple uses of coastal ecosystems. Impacts of natural hazards generally imply changes that exceed the normal state. since an essential characteristic of coastal ecosystems is dynamic stability (see this chapter section 3.1), change that reverses after a period of time, seasons, years and decades, also belongs within the normal state. therefore, the relationship between coastal ecosystems and natural hazards is best understood in terms of how the latter changes the relationship between people and ecosystems. these relationships include aspects of security to:

• life and property• food and other goods • services such as sanitation, flood protection, communications,

etc.

The terms ‘vulnerability’, ‘exposure’ and ‘resilience’ have been analyzed and debated intensively as attributes of socio-ecological systems (Box 2), because of the worldwide trend in the loss of biodiversity, social consequences, and possible impacts of climate change, including increased frequency of hazards (Gallopin, 2006). These concepts, including the socio-ecological system (ses) were introduced in Chapter 1. the meaning of these terms must be clearly understood to ensure consensus building and appropriate planning:

• Vulnerability: this is the potential of a socio-ecological system to undergo change when affected by a disturbance. Vulnerability can be negative or positive depending on its relationship to livelihood associated with the system. For example, a storm surge may transport and deposit sediment at the tidal inlet of a barrier-built estuary and thereby block tidal exchange resulting in the decline of livelihood. this would be negative vulnerability. Conversely, the same storm surge may remove sediment that blocks the tidal inlet of a lagoon to restore tidal mixing and thereby improve fishery productivity. This would be positive vulnerability.

• Exposure: this is the duration for which a socio-ecological system is in contact with, or subjected to, a disturbance. For example, a beach ecosystem in the Western and Southern Regions is subjected continuously for about five months to

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wave attack during the South-west Monsoons and affects fisher livelihood. the beaches in the northern Region do not pass through a similar interaction during the same period. exposure is determined by many factors including geography and evolutionary history.

• Resilience: this in its simplest form means the ability of a ses to bounce back to the normal state after a disturbance.

the relationship between natural hazards and ecosystems, therefore, is meaningful when examined in the context of actual disturbances. Natural hazards exist and cannot be wished away. In Sri Lanka, floods are the most frequent natural hazard, cyclones and storm surges are less frequent; the 2004 tsunami was a rare and extreme event. Therefore in the context of the nsAP, the most fruitful approach would be to extract lessons from past hazard experience to manage coastal ecosystems in a manner that provides uninterrupted security.

The only scientifically rigorous information available in Sri Lanka for understanding the relationship of coastal ecosystems to natural hazards, in terms of vulnerability, exposure and resilience, is from the ‘Rapid Assessment of the Impact of the Tsunami of 2004 on the Coastal ecosystems (also known as the Rapid Green Assessment – RGA: MenR/UneP, 2005a; UneP/MenR, 2005b; samarakoon, epitawatte & Galappatti, 2008; 2009). the RGA provides reliable datasets and benchmarks because of the method of assessment (Figure 27), namely:

• systematic collection of the same relevant information at intervals of one kilometer along the entire impacted coastline, irrespective of whether the site where measurement was made had suffered damaged or not

• the systematic sampling ensured randomized encounter with sites of tsunami impact. Because of the extent of coastline assessed five classes of ecosystems, except the MCZ and tidal flats, were included

• the randomization of measurements across the form and character of the tsunami wave: direct, reflected or diffracted.

The findings provide a foundation to plan for the management of coastal ecosystems to face multiple hazards including those arising from climate change (but not for a future tsunami comparable in magnitude to the

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2004 event). UNEP/MENR, (2005b) commented that the RGA ‘ … is recognized by government as the only comprehensive, science-based and official assessment of environmental issues raised by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, upon which all future environmental remediation work will be based’. some questions emerge.

Figure 27. A part of the form of representation of site specific benchmark datasets from the RGA. These datasets could serve as references for preparation of vulnerability and risk atlases for the entire coastal area.

Question: Why did the 2004 tsunami not yield lessons to prepare for the next tsunam�?

Answer: 2004 tsunami was a rare and extreme event generated by a subduction. experts estimate that more than 400 years must pass before adequate tension is developed at the same line of contact between the eurasian and Indo-Australian Plates to cause the next subduction. even if the next occurs at the same line of contact as in 2004, the likelihood that a tsunami wave would radiate in exactly the same directions is too low to warrant planning for it (sieh, 2006, 2007. In 1882, the Krakatoa Volcanic eruption occurred, at a point between sumatra and Java.

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the tsunami wave propagated by it struck the Calcutta Port (about 80 north of sri Lanka). In 2004, when the tsunami wave was propagated at a nearer point Calcutta (Kolkata Port) was not impacted.

Question: How can it help in planning management measures against more frequent hazards?

Answer: sri Lanka astutely conducted a rigorous assessment of the impacts on ecosystems, measured and mapped them. these can serve as the geo-referenced benchmarks for planning vulnerability and risk-based coastal land use as adaptation to future hazards.

2.6.1 Post-tsunam� l�vel�hood support

The tsunami impact on coastal fishers, the relief response and its consequences for the ecosystems, are livelihood aspects germane to the NSAP. A total of 4,870 fishers were reported dead while an additional 136 were missing. some 16,434 houses were destroyed while 13,329 were damaged. Coastal fishing craft destroyed amounted to 16,456 and 5,707 were damaged. As human nature took command and expectations of relief mounted, the number of boats reported to have been destroyed and damaged far exceeded the number of registered fishing craft (GOSL/FAo, 2007). Aid agencies distributed material assistance supported by a ready flow of funds. Fisheries authorities are concerned that the ‘aid whirlwind’ led to over-capacity of the coastal fishing fleet, which could result in excessive pressure on the MCZ, estuaries and lagoons. they contend that eventually the fishing effort will stabilize at the pre-tsunami level (GosL/FAo, 2007). In the interim, however, considerable damage could be done to the ecosystems.

2.6.2 tsunam�-2004 & Post-tsunam� trends

the RGA (MenR/UneP, 2005a) revealed that some landforms (ecosystems) at specific geographic locations provided protection. It also revealed that community capability to pick up the threads of economic activity and to weave them into the fabric of survival is interlinked to the productivity of associated ecosystems. the lessons from the tsunami episode suggest that diverse adaptation measures need careful attention

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in the face of future hazards including sea level rise impacts which will be generated gradually but progressively (HM treasury, 2006). In this context, the Regional Mangroves for the Future Programme (RMFF) provides an opportunity for strategic planning, which incorporates immediate and long-term goals within the framework of integrated coastal management (ICM). the emerging challenges in ICM in the tsunami-affected Asian Region are complex (samarakoon, 2006: follow the link from www.fao.org/forestry/site/tsunami/en to www.fao.org/forestry/site/35734/en).

2.6.3 Interpretat�on of Impacts on Coastal ecosystems and Lessons

The diversity of impacts is classified under ecosystem classes (Table 12). It is necessary to note that there were interactions among the ecosystems. the diversity of impacts revealed that the risk factors had combined in various ways resulting in damage or the absence of impact. the foremost lessons that emerged from the RGA for management of coastal ecosystems were the need to prepare:

• ‘vulnerability maps’ based on risk factors • ‘risk maps’ which combine the socio-economic factors with risk

factors

These maps would enable site classification based on risk factors to enable priorities for risk mitigation. such maps would be indispensable for purposes of adaptation to future impacts of climate change. It is necessary to recognize the difference between risk factors and risk (Annex 4) in order to prepare meaningful maps that could guide policy (samarakoon, epitawatte and Galappatti, 2009).

2.7 Soc�etal Dependence on Coastal ecosystems and Resources: Do trad�t�onal Coastal Commun�t�es ex�st?

the purpose of this section is to explore the dependence of sri Lankan society on coastal ecosystems. Again diversity is the character of this dependence. the CZMP 2004 in regard to historical changes in the coastal zone states “… this region reveals fascinating layers of the country’s rich cultural heritage, ranging from prehistoric sites and artifacts of

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monarchical rule to elegant colonial architecture. not surprisingly, the varied external influences on the Coastal Zone have had social, cultural and economic implications, as well as undeniable environmental impacts. notably, human settlement patterns during the colonial period have resulted in a high population density in some coastal areas, and a consequential concentration of development activities and urban growth, as well as a varied and cosmopolitan society engaged in diverse economic pursuits that use or have an impact on coastal resources” (CCD, 2006).

Ecosystem Class

Range of Impacts

Bays i. Embayments concentrated tsunami wave flow resulting in increased wave height and inundation distance (Hambantota Bay, Thennadi Bay, Passekudah, Kalkudah)

ii. Settlements at the periphery were decimated.iii. Damage to life and property was high where ‘risk’ had been already created by inhabitation.iv. Where risk had not been created, damage to the physical structure could be categorized within the normal, seasonal range of change.

Beaches i. Damage to beaches across a wide range of situations did not reveal irreversible damage and change exceeding what occurs normally during seasonal influences.

ii. None of the highly sensitive beaches situated in small bays were dislodged since the efficiency of headlands was high

Estuaries i. Diverse changes occurred at tidal inlets including removal of sand barriers as well as fresh depositions. These changes fell within the range of restorable seasonal changes.

ii. Habitats such as fringing mangroves were partially damaged, seagrasses were smothered in patches.iii. The changes that had occurred in relation to existing trends were marginal.iv. The most prominent consequence was the onrush of the tsunami wave

through tidal inlets causing massive damage to life and property in high risk areas (e.g. Batticaloa Lagoon). Considerable change occurred at tidal inlets during the outflow, due to the higher speed.

Lagoons i. Similar to changes in estuaries.

Dunes i. Damage to dunes was highly variable depending upon specific sites Settlements destroyed where the tsunami wave made landfall earliest, Viz. east coast of Jaffna Peninsula, since at that time the wave front was at its highest and overtopped the dune

Tidal Flats i. Areas with low gradient or decline inundated. Low risk since inhabitation generally sparse

Table 12. The main impacts that were identified in the RGA.

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The term ‘coastal community’ persists in the literature including the MFF strategic planning and implementation framework, e.g. ‘More integrated development and conservation actions which serve to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience among coastal communities’. ‘Coastal community’ has anthroplogical implications. studies on traditional coastal communities and their customs reveal a style of ‘fixation’ to a place and diverse forms of tenure rights that extend from the land to the sea (Ruddle and Akimichi (eds), 1984; Ruddle and Johannes (eds), 1985, 1989). It is therefore important to explore whether such entities exist in sri Lanka. Answers cannot be found except through cultural anthropology research to support ICM.

Members of permanent and migratory coastal settlements in sri Lanka have engaged in activities that are directly and indirectly dependent on goods and services available from coastal ecosystems for centuries. For the purpose of planning, populations that have depended economically upon coastal ecosystems for several generations may be assumed to be ‘traditional coastal communities’.

traditional coastal populations depend upon coastal ecosystems for livelihood. However, this label does not in any way imply inter-generational perpetuation of values or spiritual cohesiveness within a changing wider economic environment. Where education is adequate, income from traditional occupations is marginal, and youth migration is significant. Where access to alternative employment is available, the predictable outcome is the departure of successive generations from traditional coastal livelihood.

However, it may be argued that two types of traditional coastal communities may be perceived: coastal fishers and coastal farmers. the economic lifestyles of these communities are such that their impact on the coastal ecosystems is characterized by low intensity and by gradualness. therefore, these traditional coastal livelihoods have persisted for centuries. In contrast, the non-traditional coastal development activities tend to more intensive resource use, accompanied by the application of advanced technology, leading to rapid ecological change. these sectors of society do not depend on coastal ecosystems for livelihood but exploit them at a commercial level. this approach stems both directly and indirectly, from the ongoing process of national development. these traditional and non-traditional dependencies are loaded with conflict, contradictions and also potential harmony.

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2.7.1 “trad�t�onal” Coastal Populat�ons

traditional here means coastal residents who are descendents from households, which had livelihoods based on diverse economic activities that depend on the productivity of coastal ecosystems, and who have chosen to continue, entirely or partially, with the same lifestyle by choice or because of the absence of other economic opportunities (Stirrat, 1988). As national development planning proceeds conflicting demands emerge for lands that have been customarily used by long term coastal residents. the demand for these lands generally arise from potential investors whose interests are not anchored in the productivity of coastal ecosystems. Invetors in coastal tourism certainly require clean attractive beaches, but they accord slight significance to customary beach uses. They assume that coastal fishers may choose a more modern lifestyle as employees in the hotel sector. However these assumptions are generally invalid. Therefore some attention is required to aspirations of traditional coastal populations.

Coastal fishers: the direct coastal resources dependent activities include extraction of renewable material for food and fibre (fish, plant products), non-renewable material such as fossil coral and shells, and water transport. These coastal resource users, mainly fisherfolk, may or may not own homesteads. the ecosystems and associated land on which they depend are ‘common property resources’ and legally belong to the state. the Constitution, however, provides traditional use rights to them.

Coastal farmers: the indirectly dependent population includes those engaged in agriculture in lands contiguous with coastal ecosystems and whose cultivations depend upon effective drainage and protection from salinity intrusion. some members of these agricultural populations depend directly and indirectly on coastal ecosystems for food, fibre, trade and services. the majority of the farmers own the cultivated land. However, some members of the expanding coastal agricultural populations have encroached on state land and cultivate them without freehold use rights. Increasingly coastal farmers who have no access to land tend to become coastal fishers by way of a small investment in fishing gear such as a cast net.

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The traditional coastal populations defined in this manner, exclude investors and entrepreneurs who have recently (post-independence) engaged in land uses entirely or mainly for profit, e.g. tourism, shrimp culture, and large scale construction projects, mineral mining among others. the investors may live in cities and commute to the site of commercial activity for purposes of management. the state (government) is frequently involved in such typically private sector activity. These are stakeholders.

the coastal ecosystems support a variety of activities of traditional coastal communities. they include:

(i) Marine Coastal Zone (MCZ): traditional fishing for income and food security, coral mining, salt production, navigation related to tourism;

(ii) Bays: traditional fishing, safe anchorage of fishing craft, coral mining, salt production, tourism related navigation;

(iii) Beaches: landing of traditional craft, storage and operation of beach seines, temporary settlements (wadiya), beach sand extraction, mineral sand extraction, tourism, traditional sanitation and waste disposal;

(iv) Estuaries and Lagoons: traditional fishing for income and food security, housing and settlements, anchorage of traditional and modern fishing craft, municipal and industrial waste discharge, tourism and recreation, extraction of mangrove products, salt production, drainage and flood protection;

(v) Sand Dunes: agriculture, livestock grazing, sand extraction, tourism and recreation, domestic and agricultural freshwater extraction; and

(vi) Tidal Flats: livestock grazing, aquaculture, ground water extraction.

An important characteristic of these activities is the low intensity of resource extraction, the application of traditional technology, and simple modern technology (outboard motors and synthetic fibre nets) in a manner that does not seriously harm the resource base (Figure 24).

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2.7.2 Non-trad�t�onal Coastal Populat�ons

the non-traditional coastal populations are mainly investors and their employees who reside in the particular locations where the investment has been made. their direct and indirect interest in the coastal ecosystems stem from economic opportunity:

- Modernized fishing. the interest of this population in three classes of ecosystems, viz. beaches, bays and estuaries is associated with beach landing, anchorage, fishery harbours and infrastructure. A qualification here is necessary. Most participants in the earlier modernization period, from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, were descendents of traditional fisher households who benefited from diverse government programmes that provided incentives (stirrat, 1988). As the coastal fishery diminished, there was a shift to fishing in offshore waters. Initially the single-day boats stayed longer at sea. Progressively the fishing craft increased in size, parallel with government incentives. Thus the multiday boat fishery is today mainly an enterprise of investors and entrepreneurs, including politicians with ministerial credentials, who do not participate in the fishing activity. The original participants in the modernized fishery are now providing wage labour in multiday boats.

- Tourism. the interest of this population is focused primarily on beaches, and sites with access to beaches and eco-tourism. tourism infrastructure, including hotels, is owned mainly by the private sector. they enjoyed incentives provided by the government, including extended leasehold of ‘state land’ and tax benefits. These lands previously served as customary use lands of traditional fishers. The tourism sector ranked fifth in terms of contribution to the national GDP, until 2006 and provided about 70,000 jobs. Tensions persist among traditional fisher populations who have customarily used the beaches as access to the sea, and the tourism interests (CCD, 2006).

- Mining. three types of commercial mining are associated with coastal ecosystems: beach mineral mining, e.g. ilmenite in Pulmodai, dune mining for garnet sand, and mining for construction material e.g. Hambantota, Kalpitiya, Ampan, Manalkadu, etc (CCD, 2006), miocene limestone in Aruakalu, Puttalam, Kankasenthurai. Both local and multinational corporate interests are involved.

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- Shrimp farming. the shrimp farming population is primarily interested in tidal flats and abandoned paddy lands. The majority of investors (individuals as well as corporates) are from outside the local area.

2.7.3 open Access Resources and Common Property Resources

Most coastal ecosystems in sri Lanka serve as open access resources – meaning that whoever has the means may engage in extraction of resources. This is largely the case with fishing in the MCZ, except where in some locations access is limited by traditional management practices or by intimidation. some of these ecosystems or parts of them also serve as common property resources. Access to some beaches where beach seines are operated, are regulated by law to licensees. The ‘stake net fishery’ in Negombo Lagoon also operates as a common property resource system. traditional livelihoods of coastal populations included harvesting of diverse products from open access resource systems both on a subsistence and commercial scale.

the traditional coastal populations generally have permanent ownership of residential land, based on ownership deeds. However, they do not have rights of ownership over open access land resources, but may have customary use rights. Karunaratne (pers. com.) asserts that customary use would be held as a legal right in litigation. However, the government has frequently dispossessed traditional coastal communities of open access land resources in diverse allocations for commercial development activities. Thereby, coastal communities have ‘lost’ collective land assets without any opportunity to convert them to capital (De soto, 1989, 2000).

some extents of these open access land resources have been declared as protected areas by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, and others as forest reserves by the Forest Department and still others as reservations, and marine protected areas. these declarations have been carried out in the public interest and for safeguarding biodiversity. exclusion of local populations from livelihood resources, rarely includes the provision of alternative sources of income, or compensation. Law enforcement, however, is weak and conflict between the local populations and the government is common.

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2.7.4 Inferences

Populations that depend upon coastal ecosystems for livelihood are residents in the coastal area mainly because of tradition and economic opportunity combined with cultural, spiritual and resource tenureship bonds (Alexander, 1975, 1977),

second generation members of these coastal populations readily migrate to locations of alternative economic opportunity in keeping with career and lifestyle aspirations. they maintain lasting links with ancestral households where property interests exist (Roberts, 1982). A considerable part of the political leadership of the country emerged from coastal socio-ecological systems but subsequently severed all links with the original occupational relationships (Roberts, 1982, Jayawardena, 2000).

second generation members persist in coastal resources dependent livelihood, because of diverse career constraints such as low educational achievements, low trainability in skills with high market demand, early marriage and family responsibility among others (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult/MenR, 2003).

Serious cultural anthropology research is required to test the validity of assumptions about sustainable livelihood for ‘coastal communities’ based on coastal resources. Interventions based on such assumptions for an estuarine population previously did not produce meaningful results for sustainable management of negombo Lagoon (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003).

In the absence of ‘collective property rights’ coastal communities are not in a position to engage in investment partnership to conserve and sustainably manage ‘open access resources/traditional use resources’.

2.8 ecosystem Change – Problem of See�ng and understand�ng

An effort has been made in this chapter to reveal the diverse ways in which change occurs. Both ecosystems and dependent populations change (Figure 1, Box 2), sometimes in rhythm with each other but more frequently in divergent directions that cause harm to the natural productivity of ecosystems. Whereas change is persistent, do human beings see it? When it is seen do they understand the causes and

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consequences of that change? This section addresses the problem of seeing and not seeing change, the failure to sometimes understand the context in which change takes place, and not doing anything in the form of remediation. Clarity on this issue is crucial for meaningful ICM and planning. Change may not be seen for several reasons as explained by Diamond (2005). His examination of the causes of environmental damage in his landmark book ‘Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive’ is revealing. In no way is it implied that the coastal populations in sri Lanka are faced with societal collapse. nevertheless the book provides insights regarding the ease with which some societies fail to act in the face of danger.

Analyzing environmental damage and the response of diverse societies to impending socio-ecological collapse, Diamond shows that, in many instances, contrary to expectation, “…it turns out that societies fail even to attempt to solve a problem once it has been perceived”. Perhaps, Sri Lanka would find itself in a stronger position to find solutions to problems pertaining to coastal ecosystems if Diamond’s distilled wisdom is given consideration.

(a) Failure to anticipate a problem: the collapse of coastal ecosystem productivity has already occurred in sri Lanka e.g. Lunawa Lagoon (CCD, 2006). But prior experience does not guarantee proper action in future, if that experience has already been forgotten or is ignored. Degradation is now going on in most of the significant coastal ecosystems that provide livelihood support. nevertheless, while ‘paper solutions’ are available there is no action (CCD, 2004; CeA/euroconsult, 1994; nARA/sAReC, 1998 among others).

(b) Reasoning by false analogy: It is commonly argued that sri Lanka must plant mangroves as a natural coastal barrier, ‘bioshields’. since the mid-1980s much money has been spent on mangrove planting in estuaries and lagoons based on their role in enhancing fishery productivity. Following the tsunami, mangroves have again been brought into the environmental limelight as a natural barrier, going by the contribution that mangroves have made in other Indian ocean rim countries such as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, thailand and Indonesia. In sri Lanka the river systems, tidal amplitude, and alluvial sediment loads simply do not exist to support large extents of mangroves, as coastal protective

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barriers, at the shorefront or on deltas that form at the interface of tidal inlets and the sea. thus the case for shorefront mangroves (UsAID/University of Moratuwa, 2007) as a natural barrier against hazards in sri Lanka is based on false analogy. similarly, planting of mangroves by environmental nGos such as Mandru, sewalanka, sarvodaya and others (http://wikimapia.org/3927134/MAnDRU-an-environmental-nGo) within estuaries and lagoons in sri Lanka as bioshields is based on misplaced analogy.

(c) Failure to perceive a problem in the wider perspective: the failure to understand problems in an integrated manner, both in the short and long term, can result in wrong actions being undertaken. several factors contribute:

- Imperceptible progression. origins of some entrained problems are literally imperceptible: In the event that proper drainage is not ensured for paddy fields, water logging may very slowly and gradually increase. This happened in the case of the World Bank supported ‘Flood protection and drainage project’ for the South-west of sri Lanka (tennakoon, 1982).

- Distant management. Ineffectiveness of decisions being taken at the centre, without the participation of local populations affected by particular problems (Table 4) e.g. salt exclusion drainage canal implemented for Kalametiya Lagoon.

- Creeping normalcy. Frequently (as in the case of climate change) slow trends are concealed by noisy fluctuations. Take the case of declining fishery in some estuaries and lagoons: the year to year decline in fish catches takes place in small steps, but in some years the decline is reversed, e.g. shrimp catches in negombo Lagoon in 2008 ware exceptionally high, thereby creating an illusion that the ecosystem is functioning well while in reality the average catches are declining year on year. this gives the illusion that the situation is ‘normal’. As a result the decline may be allowed to proceed until the pollution and sedimentation crosses a threshold of irreversible change eventually causing fishery collapse. This situation prevails in Batticaloa Lagoon and negombo Lagoon.

- Landscape amnesia. This is a factor related to ‘creeping normalcy’. this involves forgetting how different the landscape looked in the past. Again two examples from water logging serve to illustrate

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this. Most people looking at the Muthurajawela Marsh north of Colombo or the marshy tracts of land in Udappuwa (Puttalam District) and tangalla (Hambantota District) situated between 1-2 meters MsL would not remember that they were the result of human blunder. Brohier (1982) and tennakoon (1982) describe these situations as planning gone awry.

(d) Rational behaviour: Diamond (2005) emphasizes that ‘rational behaviour’ arising from clash of interests among people in a society is the most significant cause of failure to solve environmental problems, even when they are perceived. ‘Rational behaviour’, so termed by economists and social scientists, refers to how some people advance their own interests by behaviour harmful to other people. the behaviour is termed rational by scientists because it employs correct reasoning motivated by self-interest, even though it may be morally reprehensible.

“the perpetrators know that they will often get away with their bad behaviour, especially if there is no law against it or if the law is not effectively enforced. the perpetrators feel safe because they are highly concentrated (few in numbers) and highly motivated by the prospect of reaping big, certain and immediate profits, while the losses are spread over large numbers of individuals. that gives the losers little motivation to fight back, because each loser loses only a little and would receive only small, uncertain, distant profits even from undoing the minority’s grab.”

examples abound such as those including government subsidies in fisheries and agriculture. One recent example in the coastal area of Sri Lanka is the uncontrolled development of shrimp culture in the north-western Province, stemming mainly from the ‘rational behaviour’ by Colombo-based investors which resulted in a massive loss of coastal ecosystems and land degradation. this situation also illustrates the ‘tragedy of the commons’ when the local population encroached into available land regardless of whether they were required as environmental safeguards. An impending post-tsunami problem could be coastal tourism in Pottuvil-Arugam Bay area and in the south-western coastal area.

Conflict of interest involving rational behaviour also arises, when the interests of the decision-making elite in power, clashes with the interests

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of the rest of society. this is a situation which has been intensively researched, explained and presented by De soto (1989; 2000) with regard to non-egalitarian law enforcement by bureaucrats who have knowledge of relevant regulations, while that same knowledge is denied to local communities. Such potential clash of interests is reflected in recent transactions of a meeting among the tourist Board, local community members and sewalanka, an nGo, with regard to Pottuvil and Arugam Bay held on 17th May 2005 at the Committee Room of the sri Lanka tourist Board. At this meeting, a 100 meter law is referred to without giving the specific reference to a Gazette Notification of the law. Thus coercion may proceed under the illusion of legality. similar emerging conflict of interest is suggested by the publication captioned “A People’s Process for Post-tsunami Rebuilding”.

(e) Irrat�onal behav�our. some examples above illustrate situations where a society fails to solve a perceived problem because prolonging that problem is good for some people. In contrast to the so-called rational behaviour, failing to attempt to solve problems could involve what social scientists term ‘irrational behaviour’. Such irrational behaviour arises when each of us, individually, is torn by a clash of values. space and time does not allow a lengthy explanation but an example may suffice. During the period of ‘ethnic conflict’, the tourist hotels in Passekudah-Kalkudah were destroyed. the skeletal remains still stand as a reminder of the local reaction to a development investment by ‘outsiders’ (mainly investors from Colombo). During the destruction of the hotels the local communities were mute bystanders. they silently witnessed the elimination of symbols of outside exploitation, which perhaps matched strongly held ethnic and cultural values, even though the destruction of hotels resulted in the loss of some employment and economic benefits.

this information serves as a reminder of the ease with which mistakes are made when dealing with ecological and environmental problems and the manner in which such mistakes may eventually lead to conflict and social unrest. When natural resources at the local level are pre-empted, and used by non-local interests without clear legal provision for adequate sharing of benefits, conflict must arise and even become violent to the extent that it undermines national security.

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2.9 Global Change and Sea Level R�se

Sri Lanka as an island nation makes little or no significant contribution to global change in terms of green house gases as a driver of climate change. Nevertheless, it must face the full consequences of global warming and the entrained sea level rise. there are seven almost incontrovertible facts concerning global warming (IPCC, 2001; stiglitz, 2007), namely:

(i) surface temperature of the earth increased by about 0.60 Celsius over the last century.

(ii) even small changes in temperature can have large effects.

(iii) Present rate of warming is unprecedented, even going back millions of years.

(iv) sea levels rose by 10-20 centimeters during the last century.(v) even small changes in the sea level can have large effects - a one

meter rise may inundate up to one kilometer of low lying areas.

(vi) the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been increasing especially over the last 20,000 years. the present rate of increase is estimated to be the highest in at least 20 million years.

(vii) small increases in the concentration of greenhouse gases could accelerate the rise in temperature leading to even larger changes in climate than in the recent past (positive feedback).

Projections made, with a very high level of confidence, for the coastal areas in the IPCC Report 2008 include (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report#Coastal_systems):

• Coasts will be exposed to increasing risks such as coastal erosion due to climate change and the rise in sea level.

• Increases in sea-surface temperature of about 1-3 °C are projected to result in more frequent coral bleaching events and widespread mortality unless there is thermal adaptation or acclimatisation by corals.

• Many millions more people are projected to be flooded every year due to rise in sea level by the 2080s.

other projections made by the IPCC (2008) also have relevance to sri Lanka’s coastal zone.

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Fresh water: It is projected with a high level of confidence that:

• Dry regions will get drier, and wet regions will get wetter. By mid-century, annual average river runoff and water availability are projected to increase by 10-40% at high latitudes and in some wet tropical areas, and decrease by 10-30% over some dry regions at mid-latitudes and in the dry tropics.

• Drought affected areas will become larger.

• Heavy precipitation events are very likely to become more common and will increase flood risk.

Ecosystems: It is projected with a high level of confidence that:

• the resilience of many ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by a combination of climate change and other stressors.

• Carbon removal by terrestrial ecosystems is likely to peak before mid-century and then weaken or reverse. this would amplify climate change.

Food: It is projected with a medium level of confidence (about 5 in 10 chance to be exact)

• that globally, potential food production will increase for temperature rises of 1-3 °C, but decrease for higher temperature ranges.

In planning for the coastal zone it would be prudent to give consideration to these projections, particularly since the changes will occur gradually. sir nicholas stern (HM treasury, 2006) in the analysis of the economic implications of global change recommends that adaptation measures need to be included in planning now in order to avoid unbearable cost burdens in the face of a crisis entrained by postponement of action. the MFF nsAP provides an opportunity to begin addressing adaptation to global warming.

2.10 Problems to be Addressed �n the NSAP

the problems to be addressed in the nsAP (Chapter 3) have their roots in the trends that have been partially described in this chapter. the relevant trends are summarized in Table 13.

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2.11 Coastal ecosystem Change trends - Synthes�s

the main coastal ecosystem trends, their direct and indirect causes (if known), and the relevant planning option are summarized in Table 13. Trends are generally classified into four classes which suggest the planning options available for addressing them (Box 8). All trends have multiple causes and cannot be reduced to simple cause-effect relationships.



Geomorphology

MCZ

Open access competition intensifies among traditional and small scale mechanized fishing. A period of respite and recovery ensued in the Northern and Eastern MCZs because of civil conflict. In 2003-2004 when a temporary peace prevailed and normal fishing resumed, before the tsunami, production in the North and East bounced back to a level higher than during the pre-conflict level. Resilience of the MCZ thus was demonstrated. Already by 1988 (FAO, 1988) the coastal fishery had reached the maximum sustainable level. Overcapacity in small scale fishing craft occurred following 2004 Tsunami. Consumer price escalation compensates for the diminishing returns on the unit fishing effort. Fishery management continues to lag. Some form of common property resources use rights are under discussion.

Multiple, inter-sectoral, organized interventions (MIOI) including law enforcement, property rights, changeover from open access nature, etc, regulated land use by way of processes such as ICM. Research & modeling where causes are unclear. Interventions require support from strengthened law enforcement

BaysOpen access competition persists. Bays that serve as anchorages face pollution problems from waste oil as well as material from land drainage.

As above.

Beach

Erosion along the Southern and South-western coasts increasingly under control (ADB, 2006). Conflicts between fishers and tourism interests are increasing. Eruption of conflict occurred at some locations such as Arugam Bay following the 2004 Tsunami.

MIOI. Consultation and research to identify options for beach sharing for multiple uses. Better law enforcement.

Table 13. The coastal ecosystem trends that need to be addressed in the strategic action plan (Key: MIOI – Multiple, inter-sectoral, organized intervention).

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Dune

Illegal sand mining from better endowed and remote sand dunes reportedly on the increase as in Kalpitiya. Sand mining in Ampan-Manalkadu area increased during 2003/2004. Limits of extraction not known.

Mapping and zoning of dunes for optimal use without destabilizing e.g. Jaffna. Research, MIOI

Estuary

Hydrology increasingly threatened by sedimentation, pollution, land fill, misconceived mangrove planting, diminishing fish catches. Periodic spikes in shrimp productivity, masked progressive decline.

MIOI. Research.

Lagoon As above, aggravated by closure of tidal inlet. MIOI, Research

Tidal Flats

Unregulated expansion in shrimp cultivation in Wayamba Province resulting in serious pollution in linked water bodies (Mundel, Puttalam, Dutch Canal). Sensitive tidal flats associated with brackish water bodies in the Southern and Eastern Provinces require zoning.

MIOI. Implementation of existing strategies, law enforcement.

Demography

Coastal Fishers

The population directly and indirectly dependent on coastal fishery resources has increased in proportion with the three-fold increase in the country population from 7 to 21 million in six decades. Catches have declined. Loss of income is compensated by rise in market prices. Migration and change in family structure is occurring.

Research – mainly cultural anthropology. The available studies (e.g. Stirrat, 1988) are limited and need widened scope. MIOI

Migration

Both male and female emigration has increased mainly to Europe (especially Italy) and Gulf countries. Significance in relation to MCZ carrying capacity unclear.

As above

Poverty, Vulnerability

Poverty among estuarine and lagoon fishers, and traditional coastal fishers has increased owing to depleted catches. Decline in wellbeing has been mitigated by remittances from female members of households who have obtained foreign employment.

As above coupled with urgent measures to promote employment and income generation. Research required to analyze poverty as resulting from deprivation.

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Tourism

Land use and conflict

Potential for win-win coexistence between traditional coastal land use and tourism exists. Appropriate models have not been developed.

MIOI, consultation with private sector on modalities of P-P partnerships. Research.

Fishery


Increasing emphasis on the export-oriented sub-sectors including deep sea fishing (multiday boats), shrimp aquaculture and ornamental fishery. Too little attention to integrated ecosystem-based fishery management.

MIOI. Research

Agriculture


Abandonment of low-lying coastal lands resulting from misplaced development efforts continue. Optimization of land use including P-P partnerships little explored.

MIOI. Research.

Waste Management

Pollution and health

Decline in coastal fishery and deteriorating health trend linked to water pollution, improper sanitation, excessive groundwater extraction, depleted catchment

MIOI, research, modelling

Global change: climate aberration & sea level rise

Adaptation

Impacts will aggravate over decadal and longer periods. Prioritization of hazard impact sites not initiated. Mapping based on risk factors and vulnerability indices is required supported by mathematical modelling. Aggravation of chronic disasters an uncharted territory.

Application of techniques developed during 2004 Tsunami assessment. Research. Establishment of risk maps to enable access to insurance.

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Responding to trends where divergence between societal values and environmental quality is recognised, and where the causes are known, requires organized intervention among multiple sectors (multiple-sector organized intervention – MsoI). As an example, estuary degradation has to be addressed through collaboration among fishery, industrial, housing and biodiversity sectors. Adverse impacts arising from each of these sectors are generally known. Addressing them in search of a viable compromise requires organized consultation, collation of relevant information, and identification of win-win situations. This requires adherence to standards and codes of behaviour by the participating sectors to ensure sustainability, supported by monitoring, incentives and penalties.

2.12 Future Research

The challenge is urgent for building a coherent and scientifically testable knowledge base about the coastal ecosystems and their role in development. Geomorphological and paleogeographic histories of the

Box 8. The four classes of general trends and suggested planning options to respond to such trends

Proposed planning options to manage ecosystem change trends:

(i) Maintaining the existing situation: if the ecosystem trends do not diverge from environmental values and development expectations, measures may be planned to ensure continuation of the existing situation with safeguards provided by appropriate policies, monitoring of key indicators, and by proactively addressing imbalances.

(ii) Restoring equilibrium: if the ecosystem trends diverge from environmental values and development expectations and the causes are known, corrective measures may be implemented by way of organized societal behaviour, technology and appropriate institutions.

(iii) Knowledge acquisition: in the event that ecosystem trends diverge from environment values and development expectations, but the causes are not known appropriate research may be included to generate the required scientific understanding.

(iv) Environment impact assessment (EIA): New development projects will be planned and implemented as the nation seeks to reconstruct after the immense damage to life and property after three decades of civil war. Therefore it will necessary to anticipate unforeseen and new ecosystem change trends that may occur which diverge from environmental values and societal expectations and to incorporate precautionary safeguards. The legal mechanism is available through EIAs.

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seven classes of ecosystems and individual entities are sorely needed to build on available information (swan, 1983; Cooray, 1982: senaratne and Dissanayake, 1982: Katupotha, 1995b). this knowledge combined with findings from cultural anthropology and ecosystem trends can serve as the foundation for prioritizing management interventions and efficient application of financial resources. Interested members of the scientific community may need to step away from their own specialities and begin to collaborate in the task of testing and verifying the available knowledge in a ‘holistic’ perspective of integrated development. This may be done in the style of paradigm testing in the search for improved solutions to persistent problems (Kuhn, 1970). From the foundation thus established may emerge an outlook more precise and compassionate that closely matches reality.

(Photo: Dr Ranjith Mahindapala)

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tHe nAtIonAL stRAteGIC ACtIon PLAn (nsAP)

3. tHe NAtIoNAL StRAteGIC ACtIoN PLAN (NSAP)

3.1 the Structure of the Nat�onal Strateg�c Act�on Plan (NSAP)

the nsAP has been founded on the policies set out below. these policies and related actions are based on the facts, inferences and trends regarding coastal ecosystems, which were explained in Chapters 1 and 2. the plan is presented in the MFF Framework format (Annex 1). Justification, inter-linkages and mechanisms for integrating these policies and strategic actions to other national processes are explained in sections 3.6 and 3.9.

3.2 Pol�c�es

The NSAP policies are oriented towards managing coastal ‘ecosystems’ as development infrastructure so that the effective structure and functioning of the ecosystems would be safeguarded because of benefits derived. Generally, the policies underlying the nsAP and the CZMP 2004 (CCD, 2006) are in harmony with regard to habitat and special area management SAM (section 3.9); only a few, very specific to coastal ‘habitats’, are in conflict. Appropriate shifts in the CZMP 2004 and NSAP policies are required to make them compatible and, more specifically, to orient them towards ecosystem-based management. Compatibility between the nsAP and the CZMP 2004 is addressed in section 8.1. the nsAP policies, categorized under different subject areas, are as follows:

Implementation of sAM Plans

Policy 1. support the implementation of existing and future sAM plans in collaboration with CCD, with incentives provided through the MFF small Grant Fund (sGF) and the Large Grant Fund (LGF).

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sedimentation and Pollution

Policy 2. stop, discourage and penalize any land use, and activity in estuaries, lagoons and their watersheds that facilitates and/or increases existing sedimentation rates.

Policy 3. encourage and provide incentives to any individual and/or group that undertakes physical removal of sediment from estuaries and lagoons, including vegetation (e.g. filamentous algae, grasses and reeds, mangroves) that contributes to sediment stabilization and spread of stabilized shoals.

Policy 4. stop, discourage and penalize the haphazard discharge of sewage, municipal waste and industrial effluent, directly and indirectly, into estuaries, lagoons, bays and the MCZ, and generally in the wider environment of coastal ecosystems.

Policy 5. encourage and promote incentives for sanitation and waste treatment in the wider environment of all coastal ecosystems.

Fishing

Policy 6. Switchover from open-access fishing in the MCZ, bays, estuaries and lagoons to ‘closed fishing’ based on a combination of licensing and tenure rights supported by meaningful incentives for co-management and alternative employment for those excluded (closure implicitly recognizes that ‘tradable licensing’ cannot work in an environment where alternative employment is not readily available).

Policy 7. stop, discourage and penalize the use of mechanized trawls in the MCZ in waters shallower than 30 meters (extending to about 10 kilometers from shore) – to enable meaningful enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

Policy 8. Stop, discourage and penalize methods of ‘artificial aggregative’ fishing within 10 kilometers from shore, e.g.

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‘light course fishing’ – to enable meaningful enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

Land development

Policy 9. Progressively zone and demarcate all coastal land with the goal of enrolling coastal communities, who are losing economic opportunities in ‘traditional practices’, to benefit from new opportunities based on community tenure rights to common property resources (CPRs).

Participation in Development

Policy 10. Promote participation of coastal communities in development decisions based on their own economic interests, and sharing of coastal resources by way of political advocacy and lobbying, without becoming dependent upon political and corporate patronage that fragment coastal ecosystems.

education and Awareness

Policy 11. educate and create awareness at all levels about coastal ecosystems based on their actual geographic character, vulnerability and low resilience, and potential contribution to local economic growth.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Policy 12. Promote commitment to achievement of the MDGs at the level of Provincial Councils with particular focus on MDG 7: ensure environmental sustainability.

Disaster Management and Hazard Mitigation

Policy 13. ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘risk’ assessments and maps must set the foundation for land use interventions related to hazard mitigation and adaptation to impacts of global climate change, and be clearly directed at enhanced resilience of local communities.

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Policy 14. All interventions that seek to mitigate hazards must be accountable for long-term consequences and receive certification by the CDM and local authorities so that ‘risk’ will not be increased as an unintended consequence (negative externality).

3.3 Strateg�c Act�on Plan (SAP)

The national priorities identified through a process of studying trends and collective analysis of consequences established the foundation for the nsAP (Table 14). the contributions from the national and regional processes are presented in section 3.6.

Table 14. Strategic action plan (SAP) in the MFF Strategic Framework format- Programmes of work, actions/outputs and contribution to results.

Programme of Work

Actions/OutputsContribution to

Results

ACTIONS TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE


Sri Lankan reality:Limited knowledge about the actual state of ecosystem trends.

Problems:A. Misconception of ecosystem development and evolution & CZM practiced more as conservation rather than a development process. Livelihood aspects discounted.

1.1 Redefine and map coastal ecosystems using geological (paleogeographic) criteria to reveal ‘habitats’ as parts of ecosystems:

- Build awareness through media addressing existing decline in productivity of coastal habitats as an economic and socio-cultural problem.

1.1.1 Prepare an ‘Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems’ linked to a GIS database by way of inter-disciplinary study including: Three boundaries:

- Area encompassed by the definitive character of an ecosystem (e.g. water surface area of an estuary);

- Wider social environment (immediate impact area where a majority of resource users dependent upon natural productivity reside);

- Watershed.

Demography:- Population density, trend, migration.- Land use and ownership:- Especially land ownership by the state in the

wider social environment.

R Developing regional networks on processes which demonstrate integrated ecosystem-based coastal development (e.g. Kung Kraben Bay Royal Development Study Center, Thailand, others). Acquiring greater participation from the SAARC ICM Centre.

N1.3 Realistic appreciation of the limitations and opportunities for coastal development.

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Programme of Work


Results

B. A heavy burden of unintended consequences (negative externalities) of fragmented development undermining ecosystem structure and functioning.

C. Mismatch between actual structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems and popular perception resulting from confusion with coastal habitats.

D. Absence of integrated information: sociology, topography, economics, politics, developmental attributes of coastal ecosystems.

E. Fragmentation of projects under the rubric ‘CZM’ which is incompatible with and harmful to ecosystem structure, functioning and livelihood, e.g. unintegrated mangrove planting

Developmental history:- Engineering, other interventions, their intended

and unintended consequences.

Development opportunities:- Indicative sites associated with the ecosystem

for diverse classes of investment.- Indicative positive and negative externalities;

Hazard risk – based on quantitative coastal vulnerability and risk atlasesInstitutions and regulatory framework;Climate change implications.

1.2 Establish an interactive website linked to the GIS database of the ‘Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems’ for participatory acquisition of information, discussion of development topics, promoting awareness on land assets and development opportunities, and building community awareness on the burden of unintended consequences.

1.3 Establish a website supported with up-to-date photos for interaction with the media to maintain a flow of information on relevant problems and issues to generate sustained national attention. This would enable management of coastal ecosystems to be perceived as a ‘national problem’ since Sri Lanka is a ‘large island nation’ in which coastal processes have implications for entire catchments:

- Enable advocacy based on strong technical information

1.4 Develop animated models (descriptive and mathematical) for key coastal ecosystems, supported by research. The models will demonstrate progressive change in structure, functioning and economic value (e.g. topo-chronological models, see Action 2.1). This may be feasible immediately for Puttalam Lagoon, Negombo Lagoon and Batticaloa Lagoon, which now display persistent and serious signs of decline (eutrophication). These models are also needed for Programme of Work 3 (Reef-to-ridge decision making).

C2.1 Coastal community understanding of opportunities for attracting private sector investment and economic uplift.

P1.2 Private sector awareness of investment opportunities in coastal development in partnership with coastal communities whose equity contribution is traditional-used land

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Programme of Work


Results

F. Absence of a unifying technical foundation for ICM based on a definition of ecosystems

1.5 Lobby for establishment of a ‘parliamentary select committee’ (or some other mechanism which includes legislators) which would guide policy based on knowledge transferred to the legislature from Actions 1.1 to 1.4. - Create a ‘champion for ICM’ among legislators.

1.6 Initiate an ‘adult education’ short course in a university/universities to disseminate knowledge on ecosystem-based ICM using Sri Lankan case histories (including local language) supported by visual models to demonstrate long term trends. - Ecosystem change is always long-term –

“creeping normalcy” requires to be addressed (section 2.8)

2. Designing ecologically and socio-economically sound coastal ecosystem rehabilitation and management.

Problems:A. Gap in perception between community recognition of significance of coastal ecosystems to livelihood and national coastal managers/planners. Ecosystem rehabilitation for whom?

2.1 Review all development and restoration work, completed or underway, and assess their impacts:- on the definitive characteristics and

productivity of the ecosystem. e.g. in the case of estuaries and lagoons, the assessment must focus on the long-term impact on the hydrological volume, tidal prism, tidal inlet width, surface area, depths;

- in relation to scientific principles;- contribution to livelihood enhancement

of community and the next generation (community perception);

- applied governance principles including equity, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, subsidiarity among others:

- potential for competitiveness of restored productivity in globalized markets;

- relate actual costs e.g. Lunawa Lagoon restoration to potential costs for other estuarine ecosystems such as Negombo, Puttalam, Batticaloa, Kokkilai, Nanthikadal, Jaffna before rehabilitation is attempted.

2.2 Conduct research (3 months) that can link to Action 1.1.1 and to 1.4, and provide analytical case histories for selected coastal ecosystems deserving of rehabilitation. The case histories would reflect topographical change with time (topo-chronological models) and causes of change:

R1. Develop a network for regional comparison of coastal ecosystem rehabilitation using actual case histories (e.g. Segara Anakan Cilacap, Indonesia, etc,).

C1.1 More environmentally sustainable livelihood among aware coastal communities, dependent on estuarine fishery stock, by preventing misplaced rehabilitation (particularly mangroves), which diminish fishery stock.

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Programme of Work


Results

3. Provide decision support for ridge-to-reef approaches to land resources management.

Problems:A. Increasing frequency of flooding in the Eastern Province (perhaps linked to climate change?), impeded drainage and crop damage, increased social conflict predicted to aggravate as post-conflict investment in development escalates.

B. Failure to recognize land use & downstream obstructions to drainage as interlinked and significant contributors to flooding of cropland.

3.1 Establish a GIS database for coastal water bodies and their catchments in the Eastern Province incorporating (see 1.1.1):- coastal geomorphology,- coastal development activity;- catchment land uses;- drainage pathways;- pollution loads;- flood scenarios;- classification of sub-catchments based on risk,

using participatory techniques to identify weak links;

- long-term predictive rainfall scenarios associated with climate change;

3.2 Inventorize, map and classify all coastal management (rehabilitation) projects within particular catchments and sub-catchments, based on implications for hydrological volumes of associated estuaries and lagoons.

- Identify activities that impede drainage, assist with redesigning and correcting inappropriate interventions.

- Identify engineering interventions required for maintaining drainage pathways and entrapment of sediment.

3.3 Promote and implement diverse interventions to enhance coral reefs as recreational viewing and ornamental fish collection sites, in bays along the Southwestern and Southern coastline, while engaging in land use planning in the catchments to mitigate negative externalities that threaten coral health, and to add value.

3.4 Develop land zoning and mitigating measures for reducing immediate land use impacts such as from coastal tourism on coral reef habitats in a manner mindful of carrying capacity.

R1. Develop a network for regional comparison of coastal ecosystem management using actual case histories to demonstrate ‘ridge-to-reef’ approaches (e.g. Segara Anakan Cilacap, Indonesia; Kung Kraben, Thailand, etc) and to assist in designing planning processes.

N1.3 Including all political authorities (Provincial Councils, LGAs) and district administration bureaucracies in formulating policy to effectively manage the weakest links.

C1.3 Inclusion of rice farmers in sub-catchments most sensitive to flooding and linking them with land use planning decisions.

P1. Enrolling the support of private sector ‘rice industry’ interests in maintaining drainage infrastructure

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Results

including adaptation to climate change.

4. Integrating coastal ecosystem economic values in development planning and appraisal.

Problems:A. The coastal ecosystem goods and services acquire relatively marginal importance in national economic planning since impacts of negative externalities are not included.

B. Absence of valuation of coastal ecosystems in the context of local government authority (LGA) & Divisional Secretary Division (DSD) economies where significance is higher.

C. Coastal resources dependent communities have acquired financial security through windfall profit from land sale associated with urbanization rather than from harvesting natural productivity.

4.1 Develop ecosystem valuation models for diverse ecosystems. An appropriate model is urgently required for a larger estuarine system, which accounts for impacts on linkages within a catchment:

- sink value for catchment land uses (domestic and industrial effluent);

- nursery function for the marine shrimp fishery;- nutrient source for entrainment of small

pelagics;- flood protection;- amenity for urban property development;- infrastructure for marine fishery;- partnership building for shrimp culture,

tourism, etc.- etc.

4.2 Land titling, land identification, and land allocation for landless coastal communities is ‘regarded’ as a necessary planning intervention to address poverty. Valuation of land zoning, in the context of upmarket urbanization, may reveal the manner in which economic drivers may be used to address poverty.

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Programme of Work


Results

5. Learning from the evaluation of environmental effects of coastal management initiatives, including post-tsunami response.

Problems:A. The official CCD outlook on CZM during the past two decades was confined to a narrow coastal belt which excluded consideration of causes of ecosystem consequences. The ‘big picture’ continues to be missed.

B. Absence of models for ecosystem-based (SES-based) ICM which incorporate livelihood enhancement of local communities as planned, long-term development outcomes.

C. Lack of assessment of CZM as a development process incorporating livelihood enhancement. Little learning from experience

5.1 Evaluate development consequences of:

(i) Beach ecosystem management (CCD/DANIDA; CCD/ADB/Dutch Aid);(ii) Special area management (CCD/USAID; CCD/ ADB/Dutch Aid)(iii) Muthurajawela Marsh-Negombo Lagoon IRMP (CEA/Dutch Aid)

A key requirement for this evaluation of coastal management, implemented over three decades, is more precise understanding of the relationships to sustainable livelihood benefits stemming from the management of coastal ecosystems, with particular regard to their contribution to:

- empowering institutional aspects;- participation in development decisions;- integrated land use and property rights;- entrainment of corporate social responsibility;

5.2 Develop guidelines on project planning and formulation for ecosystem-based ICM, which target contributions to livelihood enhancement with clearly quantified baseline socio-economic indicators and predicted outcome from the project.

5.3 Develop measures to integrate coast protection and other engineering works, implemented by CCD and other executing agencies of the MOF, into ecosystem-based EIA.

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Results

D. Absence of information on best economic allocation of resources in CZM.

ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EMPOWERMENT

6. Promoting civil society awareness and participation in coastal decision making

Sri Lankan reality:Unorganized coastal communities whose relatively small numbers are ignored within the existing political power structure except in urban settings.

Problems:A. Development planning based on inadequate understanding of diversity, constraints and opportunities, and thereby fails to acquire public participation.

B. Inadequate recognition of the relative smallness of some of Sri Lanka’s watersheds and coastal linkages, leading to a fragmented national outlook on coastal management.

6.1 Promote a nationwide media campaign on regional development opportunities linked with coastal ecosystems and potential for economic growth supported by the MDGs, and accelerated satisfaction of expectations of the 2004 tsunami victims. The campaign would highlight land use problems in sensitive watersheds, inappropriate land use and impeded drainage. The media campaign may promote a systematic long-term study of flooding risk, based on probabilities and consequences associated with climate change, to build confidence on security to life and property. This would link with Action 1.5 to demonstrate the need for integration among national, provincial, LG authorities and relevant bureaucracies focusing on policy.

6.2 Conduct studies on flooding risk for most sensitive catchments in the Eastern Province, to highlight long-term adaptation measures associated with increased flooding frequency linked to climate change, identification of the weakest links, safeguarding food security and the role of women.

6.3 Conduct studies on integration of labour force and land reforms (to mitigate land fragmentation) to support economic activity based upon ecosystem-based ICM. Land reforms may be based on the feasibility of collectively owned property rights. Existing national policy promotes labour migration (e.g. temporary foreign employment), while the civil conflict stimulates Tamil emigration.

6.4 Promote public awareness campaigns within coastal communities linked to development opportunities, to enable group organization, activism and lobbying to establish dialogue with LG authorities and national agencies.

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Programme of Work


Results

C. Absence of predictive studies and management recommendations on flooding risks for sensitive catchments.

D. Diminishing labour force to support economic activities based on ecosystem based ICM.

6.5 Generate a process of advocacy and activism related to multiple uses of coastal ecosystems.

6.6 Explore ways and means of promoting gender rights especially along high risk (hazard vulnerability) areas – learn from the marginalization of women in relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation

6.7 Promote learning from ‘best practices’ in ecosystem utilization by way of study tours.

7. Building the capacity of professional coastal managers for integrated coastal management.

Sri Lanka has a substantial number of internationally trained coastal managers, especially in the CCD.

Problems:A. Inadequate skills among the professional coastal managers to apply ecosystem-based planning and adaptive management techniques.

B. Lack of a mapped knowledge base for training professional coastal managers (see Programme of Work No. 1)

7.1 Initiate a university-based training programme for imparting skills in ecosystem-based planning and adaptive management. This would include mainly ‘training of trainers’ with the support of regional expertise. The trained coastal managers would possess:

- a understanding of ecosystem structure and functioning;

- skills to apply adaptive management techniques;

- field mapping skills including techniques of quantitative field survey techniques;

- skills to apply GIS to decision making;- modeling (descriptive and mathematical);- research.

7.2 Establish Coastal Planning & Research Units (CPRUs) at Eastern, Southeastern, Ruhuna, Colombo, Sri Jayawardenapura, Kelaniya and Jaffna University to serve in collaborative training and as the sources (public domain repositories) of technical information for central and regional planning.

7.3 Build capacity of coastal community leaders to access public domain information, and professional coastal managers in promoting sustainable development through lobbying and political activism.

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Programme of Work


Results

8. Supporting environmentally sustainable livelihoods among coastal communities

Problems:A. Mismatch between parental career expectation for their children, youth expectation and assumptions of coastal planners (national and international). B. Absence of research information on career expectations of coastal community members.

C. Absence of planning information on the land opportunities, investment requirements, infrastructure, policies and labour force expectations that would make livelihood sustainable.

8.1 Initiate an awareness and motivation campaign, to re-orient career expectations and urban migration of the youthful segment of coastal communities, and urge them to seek sustainable livelihood based on effective management of coastal ecosystems. This would include:

- engaging in political activism to induce the government and its corporate partners to strengthen interventions for achieving the MDGs (also see Action 6.3);

- analysis of livelihood rights issues, particularly in relation to land.

8.2 Promote research through the CPRUs to fill information gaps (see Action 7.2).

8.3 Inventorize regional examples and case histories on policies and measures that have arrested the exiting emigration trend from coastal (rural) settings to locations with lucrative employment. How may economic choices be influenced in an economically globalized environment.

8.4 Formulate a process to licence fishing, closing access to the MCV and transferring collective property rights to coastal fishers, despite interventions that have resulted in a vast increase in coastal fishing effort through post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation.

8.5 Establish land use zoning, collective property rights to tidal flats and investment in infrastructure to develop coastal aquaculture by way of P-P partnerships, in keeping with corporate social responsibility (CSR).


9.1 Complete the analysis of data collected during the MOENR/UNEP ‘Rapid assessment of the impact of the 2004 tsunami on coastal ecosystems’ and prepare a preliminary ‘Atlas of Coastal Vulnerability – Negombo to Keerimalai’. This would provide a scientific basis for constructing Coastal Vulnerability Indices (CVIs) and risk maps.

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Programme of Work


Results

Problems:

A. Absence of scientific information on the relative exposure of coastal communities to multiple hazards.

B. The lack of self-confidence within an ‘at risk’ coastal community to bounce back through organized self-help

9.1.1 Then train communities located at sites with higher CVIs to explore the 4 factors that contribute to resilience:

- robustness of infrastructure;- resourcefulness;- rapid recovery – doing things quickly to get

back on their feet;- absorb lessons learnt including shifting to safer

locations.


Problems:A. Coastal communities lack assets to enter into P-P partnerships to engage in sustainable financing mechanisms such as eco-tourism centers

B. Coastal land use decision making is predominantly with the state although the constitution provides for ‘traditional use’ community rights of common property resources (CPRs).

10.1 Implement land titling and other property rights programmes that would prevent expropriation of coastal common property resources (CPRs) now belonging to the state.

10.2 Establish a legal assistance entity to enable public interest litigation to safeguard common property resources and to prevent land expropriation.

10.3 Support land surveys to identify and demarcate common property resources for inclusion in the Finalized Village Plans (FVPs).

10.4 Train coastal communities to prepare bankable business plans for sustainable development of coastal resources, where a long term lease of common property land resources (CPR) would be their equity contribution.

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Programme of Work


Results

ACTIONS TO ENHANCE GOVERNANCE

11. Supporting national integrated coastal management programmes

Sri Lankan reality:Exclusion of coastal communities from meaningful developmental decision making coupled with biased law enforcement.

Problems:

A. Regulatory and law enforcement mandates fragmented among separate government agencies and out of step with ecological processes

11.1 Assess regulatory institutions and their interrelations, especially to identify the ‘weak links’ in law enforcement, supported by actual case histories to demonstrate positive and negative consequences. This would reveal:

- sectoral conflicts;- deficiencies in the law;- relationship among power structures;- mechanisms for acquiring transparency and

accountability.

11.2 Raise awareness at the coastal community level, to reveal the consequences of weak law enforcement, and of the steps to be taken individually and collectively to safeguard against negative externalities on coastal ecosystems. This should lead to:

- public interest litigation leading to development of case law;

- prevention of land expropriation;- public attention on livelihoods.

11.3 Support for media campaigns based on the technical aspects of ecosystem decline stemming from weak law enforcement and improper land use.

N1.1 Clarity in the institutional weaknesses that need strengthening to support balanced and transparent law enforcement.

N1.2 Strengthened alliances and procedures to improve environmental law enforcement and compliance.

C1. Organized political activist cells that can link with media to gain public attention


12.1 Land reforms and collective property rights to tidal flats for coastal aquaculture.


Based on regional intervention

14. Promoting adaptive coastal management that includes ongoing

14.1 Comprehensive participatory assessment of the past interventions (Irrigation Department’s salt exclusion and drainage ecological projects, CCD/SAM processes, CEA/IRMP, NGO/iNGO

N2.1 Increased technical and methodological support for

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Programme of Work


Results

ecological and socio-economic assessment and monitoring

Problem:Repetition of similar interventions in CM without learning from past experience (doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result)

interventions, ongoing ADB/ECCDP, post-tsunami rehabilitation projects) with the objective of:

- synthesizing existing and new knowledge;- exploring alternative options;- making explicit predictions of outcomes;- selecting ‘best practices’ for implementation;

and- participatory monitoring to assess any

mismatch between predictions and outcomes in order to make timely adjustments to future plans.

practice of ICM at all governance levels.

C2. Strengthening the role of coastal communities in participatory monitoring.


Problem:

Inability of majority of SMEs to adhere to environmental standards and retain profitability.

15.1 Inventorize, map, identify ownership and classify all private sector entities (SMEs) that are located in close proximity to coastal ecosystems, with the eventual objective of acquiring adherence to the ‘triple bottom line’ and application of corporate social responsibility. This would reveal the financial, technological and investment obstacles to comply with environmental standards.

15.2 Establish a funding mechanism, in collaboration with the respective business chambers, to support business entities to comply with environmental standards.

15.3 Organize coastal communities to lobby against non-compliance by SMEs.

P2.1 Support for ‘greening’ business practices to be jointly managed with regulatory bodies.

C2. Enhancement of ‘watchdog’ responsibility of coastal communities.

3.4 Relat�onsh�p between Planned Development and Coastal ecosystems

Chapters 1 and 2 explained the process of changing over to ecosystem-based coastal resources management, the problems of coastal ecosystems, and their trends. the inferences were summarized at the conclusion of Chapter 2. some major impacts on coastal ecosystems have stemmed from implementation of planned development while others flowed from unplanned, chaotic development (e.g. urbanization). Planning for sustainable development implies adherence to four principles (Box

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9). the coastal habitats and ecosystems are recognized as being in a state of decline (CCD, 2006). the relationship between outcomes of some planned development and the planning principles is examined in Table 15. non-adhgerence to one or more is revealed. nevertheless, development opportunities also continue to exist. By implication then, the four planning principles need to be applied with care in order to achieve optimal development results.

Faced with this reality, the legitimate question for planning is “… can anything be done to improve the situation …”? the answer is “… many things need to be done…”. the challenge for planning is to choose what is possible. In regard to choices, three (3) questions require answers.

Box 9. Planning principles for sustainable development

Four planning principles have been applied in ecosystem based integrated coastal management in Sri Lanka (Samarakoon & Van Zon, 1991; 1997) based on an extensive literature (Friend and Hickling, 1988; Faludi, 1987), namely:

• Optimal utilization of development opportunity;• Equitable distribution of benefits from plan implementation;• Minimization of negative externalities;• Preventing adverse impacts on ecological structure and functioning.

3.4.1 Some Plann�ng Quest�ons and Answers

Certain doubts and questions emerged during the discussions leading to the development of the NSAP. These are pertinent questions that warrant answers. The questions and answers are:

Question 1: What can the country gain by investing in changing over from management of coastal habitats to management of coastal ecosystems, when there are other priorities?

Answer: the change over will safeguard future development opportunities that would otherwise be lost forever.

Question 2. Can the country afford it?

Answer: the country is not in a position to invest on the scale required for comprehensive restoration and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems. But it must find ways and means to stop their continuing decline (i) to retain present and

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future developmental opportunities, (ii) to safeguard livelihoods of households with limited options. the country cannot afford not to make this investment.

Question 3. By investing in coastal ecosystems can natural hazards be prevented, especially another disaster like ‘Tsunami 2004’?

Answer: sri Lanka cannot prevent adverse impacts of natural hazards by investing in coastal ecosystems. But it can certainly minimize the loss of life and property by integrating useful interventions that reduce exposure, vulnerability and risk by way of coastal ecosystem management. However, management measures must ensure that ‘risk’ is not increased as an unintended consequence of human behaviour, particularly interventions by external agents, based solely on good intentions. strong technical arguments must support all interventions. In regards to the probability of the next tsunami arising from a sumatran Megathrust Fault subduction see section 2.6.

3.4.2 Val�dat�on

The answers above are briefly validated in relation to emerging development opportunities and actual costs incurred in ecosystem restoration (Table 16). A feasible option for sri Lanka is to focus on preventing the further decline of coastal ecosystems to ensure that their resources retain development potential for the present and the future.

3.5 Development opportun�t�es

Many opportunities exist and they are recognized in national development plans, e.g. fisheries, aquaculture, tourism (MOF, 2007; Ceylon Tourist Board, 2007). Coastal tourism and aquaculture offer immense scope for development, and both sectors depend on the sustainable functioning of the relevant coastal ecosystems. Private sector participation in public-private-community (P-P-C) investment programmes is feasible based on appropriate incentives and environmental safeguards against the downward spiral that is usually associated with global markets. Appropriately planned, location specific integrated ICM is the key.

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Coas

tal E

cosy

stem

State of the Ecosystem and its Development Potential

Inte

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Dec

line

Dec

line

Stab

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Impr

oved

Dev

elop

men

t po

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al

Remarks on Relationship to Planning Principles & Development Opportunities

MCZ X Y

Productivity declined since the mid-1960. Poverty of populations dependent on traditional fishing increased. Post-tsunami relief aggravated existing stresses. Planned rationalization of resource use is feasible based on tenure rights. Fishery modernization ignored equity, prevention of negative externalities and adverse environmental impacts. Balanced planning required for optimal results in future.

Bays X YBroadly as in the case of the MCZ. Entrapment of pollution from land-based sources including tourist infrastructure, and inadequately managed fishing infrastructure.

Beaches X X X Y

Erosion along the most sensitive coastlines is now under control. Erosion caused mainly by negative externalities and absence of equity. Competition for unintegrated beach development for tourism is likely when peace returns. Contribution to human wellbeing and MDGs feasible with P-P-C partnerships. Most tourism infrastructure development ignored equity, prevention of negative externalities and adverse environmental consequences. Balanced planning could optimize development opportunities.

Estuaries X X Y

All planning principles ignored. Productivity decline from pollution severe. Potential exists for small scale aquaculture combined with improved hydrodynamics. Tidal inlet management as in Negombo Lagoon could contribute to improved flusing of pollutants and sediment. Linkage to MCZ requires safeguards.

Lagoons X X Y

Planning principles ignored. Productivity increases possible only with massive restoration. Unpredictable consequences for sustainable hydrodynamic improvement. Tourism and aquaculture opportunities exist on the basis of P-P-C partnerships. Can ‘Lunawa Restoration’ be replicated?

Dunes X X Y

Settlements on dunes ignored planning principles. Sand extraction from dunes in Jaffna feasible based on sound management. Mineral mining in dunes may be possible. Dune tourism holds promise. The mature dunes (Pleistocene & early Holocene) are effective barriers against hazards. Incipient and immature dunes increase risk. Illegal sand mining on the increase.

Tidal Flats X X X Y

The decline is confined to Northwestern Province. Planned development based on planning principles has potential to contribute both to the national economy and to rural poverty reduction. Equity considerations and participatory planning needed.

Table 15. The present condition of the coastal ecosystems as an outcome of planned development in the past. The existing potential for development is indicated under remarks (Key: X – the observed state; Y – continuing availability).

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the existing socio-economic position of essentially rural, coastal populations in Sri Lanka (World Bank, 2007) justifies the need for safeguarding the productivity of ecosystems on which their livelihood partially depends. since the general decline of coastal ecosystems is acknowledged the feasibility of investing in ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation is commonly suggested. However, the economics of restoration are not given serious consideration when suggestions are made (Table 16). Unrealistic optimism prevails.

3.5.1 ecosystem Restorat�on & Rehab�l�tat�on

the extent of coastal ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation possible may be assessed from actual experience (Table 16). Significant investments in coastal ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation in sri Lanka have been made with bilateral aid, or multilateral bank loans co-financed with bilateral aid. the scale on which bilateral aid was previously available may not be forthcoming in the future (Reality of Aid, 2004). A very rough calculation of investment required for restoration and rehabilitation of lagoons and estuaries based upon the actual per hectare cost for Lunawa Lagoon (27 ha) is possible (ADB, 2008). Lunawa cost is Rs. 130,000 per ha. The investment required on this basis for restoration of three coastal ecosystems (viz. Batticaloa Lagoon - about 40,000 ha), negombo Lagoon - about 3,000 ha, and Puttalam Lagoon – about 40,000 ha) may exceed the total amount of foreign assistance (multilateral bank loans and bilateral aid) received by sri Lanka in 2002 (Central Bank, 2004). therefore investment in ecosystem restoration is a highly illusive proposition. However, numerous well planned, site-specific, interventions are feasible to slow down the existing decline trends until favorable conditions return for increased investment on a cost recovery basis.

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3.6 Background to the Nat�onal Strateg�c Act�on Plan

the nsAP was developed from three independent but inter-related activities (Table 17). the national and regional contributions are summarized in Table 18.

Table 16. Indicative costs of a range of interventions related to ecosystem-based ICM, spanning a period of three decades

Ecosystem Class

Period ActivitiesCost-Rs million

Remarks

MCZ -- No experience --Positive externality from DANIDA project

Bays -- No experience --

Beaches 1986-1988Beach restoration, offshore breakwaters, sand nourishment at Negombo.

200 Bilateral aid under DANIDA.

Estuaries (barrier-built estuaries)

1989/1991

Strategic ecosystem-based plan preparation for Muthurajawela Marsh and Negombo Lagoon, including mapping and technical studies, Kerawalapitiya land development

3.8

Dutch bilateral aid.GOSL logistics and infrastructure support

1993-2003

Participatory conservation management planning for Muthurajawela Marsh -Negombo Lagoon Conservation Zone plan implementation (CEA/Arcadis-Euroconsult, 2003)

225Dutch bilateral aid

2002-2006SAM implementation for Negombo Lagoon (ADB, 2007)

200?ADB loan/Dutch aid co-financing

Lagoons

1991/1997Special area management (SAM) for Rekawa Lagoon

?Bilateral aid (USAID)

2002-2006Madu Ganga Lagoon, etc. (ADB, 2007)

?ADB loan/Dutch aid co-financing

2002-2008Lunawa Lagoon restoration (not tidal inlet)

500 ADB loan

Dunes 1970sDune stabilization through afforestation: Hambanthota, Manalkadu (Jaffna)

?

Tidal Flats -- No experience --

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Table 17. The NSAP development process

(i) National study and consultation• An analysis of the existing situation and trends pertaining to Sri Lanka’s coastal

ecosystems;• A consultation process to assess and prioritize the findings.

(ii) Regional studies and consultation The regional studies focused mainly on

• Gaps in knowledge required for coastal management;• Simple ecosystem valuation tools;• Training needs;• Sustainable funding mechanisms;• Institutional mechanisms required for sustainable governance; and• Role of and expansion of protected areas.

(iii) Integration Combining findings from (i) and (ii) above in consultation with the NSC.

Table 18. The fifteen (15) MFF Programmes of Work (PoWs) and the requisite contributions at the national and regional levels.

PoW National Priority Regional Contribution Remarks1. Improving the knowledge base for ICM

• Redefine coastal ecosystems

• Develop guiding framework to support integrated ‘project’ planning

• Capacity building with knowledge

• Action, supported by science, to arrest degradation

• Clear benefits to poor communities

• Knowledge development at local level for ‘income’ enhancement

• Strengthen CBOs with livelihood- based knowledge

• Strengthen awareness among legislators

• Media support

• Exchange programmes to better understand ‘reef-to-ridge’ land management (e.g. Kung Kraben, Thailand); ecosystem restoration (e.g. Segara Anakan Cilacap, Indonesia)

• Strengthen CCD as focal agency for ICM awareness & education

• Media support is a cross-cutting priority for all aspects of ICM

2. Designing ecologically & socio-

• Free ICM from the ‘business as usual’ project approach

• Exchange programmes to observe ecosystem

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PoW National Priority Regional Contribution Remarks

economically sound rehabilitation

• Categorize project targets into short, medium and long term for coherent ICM

• Media support

restoration (also under PoW1)

3. Promoting decision support for ‘reef-to-ridge’ land management

• Regional exchange programmes to better understand ‘reef-to-ridge’ land management (see PoW1)

4. Integrating ecosystem economic values into development planning & appraisal

• Exercise community political power to promote incorporation of ecosystem values into development plans

• Prevent expropriation of CPRs by elites

• Media support

• Strengthen existing capacity with standardized valuation tools in the Sri Lankan context, enable calibration and standardization of values from individual studies

5. Learning from environmental effects of CM including post-tsunami response

• Assessment of all ecosystem-based CM interventions of CCD and CEA

• Develop assessment models for climate change related hazards

• Support fine tuning of vulnerability and risk atlases

• Vulnerability and risk atlases are already being planned based on tsunami-impact, geo-referenced baseline data

6. Promoting civil society awareness and participation in coastal decision-making

• Provide adequate longevity to ICM institutions, at all levels

• Exercise community political power to promote incorporation of ecosystem values into development plans

• Prevent expropriation of CPRs by elites

• Communication strategy meaningful in local context

7. Building capacity of professional

• Strengthen law enforcement and ‘moral competence’ of

• Exchange programmes for learning from actual

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coastal managers for ICM

bureaucrats• Provide adequate

longevity to ICM institutions, at all levels

• Strengthen ‘rule of law’ through balanced law enforcement

case studies (also under PoW1)

8. Supporting environmentally sustainable livelihoods of coastal communities

• NSC to ensure incorporation of livelihood aspects

• Promote tenure rights to CPRs

• Provide adequate longevity to ICM institutions at all levels

• Strengthen SGF and larger projects clearly aligned with poverty reduction and MDGs

• Gender issues are well addressed and supported with legislation or incorporation into ICM.


• Disaster management measures incorporated into ICM

• Strengthen Disaster Management Center and linked agencies in hazard prediction and knowledge dissemination

10. Sustainable financing mechanisms for ICM

• Develop financing mechanisms for the long term (including community equity)

• Conduct audits to ensure transparency at national, regional and local levels

• Enable best value to be obtained from seed money invested by GOSL for P-P partnerships

• Mechanisms for establishing business partnerships with community tenure rights as equity investment

11. Supporting national ICM programmes

• Media support • Support for CCD in inter-agency collaboration in ICM, including law enforcement for safeguarding ecosystem structure and productivity

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12. Strengthening integration and enforcement of environmental and social safeguards in coastal land use planning

• Zoning of ecosystems• Mapping to reveal

externalities (positive & negative) to support integrated land use

• Incorporate archeological sites in land use plans

• Link available information at Survey Department to community-based land management as CPRs

• Promote tenure rights to CPRs

• Support for institutional integration in ICM including law enforcement for safeguarding ecosystem structure and productivity

• Strengthen civil society as ‘coastal environmental watchdog’

13. Building national systems of MCPAs that contribute to regional networks

• Potential MCPA definition based upon coastal ecosystems in Sri Lankan context

14. Promote adaptive CM that include ongoing ecological and socio-economic assessments

• Provide adequate longevity to ICM institutions, at all levels

• Media support

15. Encourage environmentally sustainable business practices in coastal areas

• Media support as ‘watchdog’

• Support Sri Lanka to showcase achievements in building private sector partnerships in coastal environmental management

3.6.1 Nat�onal Stud�es

Chapter 1: Introduction and Chapter 2: existing situation and trends, provide the national background to the nsAP. the nsAP is designed to be read and understood independently of Chapter 2, as explained in

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the Introduction. However, comprehensive understanding rests upon the real evidence from the field and the technical reasoning provided in Chapter 2. the issues addressed in the nsAP are cross referred to the relevant sections in Chapter 2. the executive summary would facilitate understanding the nsAP. It includes the planning caveats contained in the Introduction. the planning caveats themselves are drawn from relevant field experience in Sri Lanka and from international experience. the drafting of the nsAP was supported by highly experienced specialists who guided the development of the draft at a national Workshop convened on 19th november 2007.

3.6.2 Nat�onal Workshop – 19 November 2007

the initial draft of the nsAP was discussed at the national workshop convened on 19 november 2007. the list of participants is provided in Annex 5. they focused attention on Chapter 3: the nsAP. the analysis of the draft nsAP was preceded by a presentation which drew on the contents of Chapter 2: existing situation and trends. Little or no major disagreement emerged in relation to the content of this overview presentation which focused on:

• ICM as a development process

• the emergence of winners and losers in the major coastal resources-based development projects, implemented in diverse sectors during the past about four decades, and the rarity of coastal communities being the long-term winners

• The significance of the very high level of professional skill and technical knowledge of ICM in sri Lanka and its potential contribution to balancing decisions between the public interest and demands of politically motivated decision-makers.

3.7 Implementat�on

the nsAP is oriented to national needs pertaining to the structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems. the strategic content of Table 14 must be interpreted and translated into tactical action plans for implementation through participation at the provincial and ecosystem level.

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3.7.1 Part�c�pat�on

Participation and transparent decision making are the most important factors that will contribute towards meaningful ecosystem-based ICM. the guiding principles at the tactical level are:

• Do no harm• ensure there are no losers • Adhere to the ‘subsidiarity principle’

the sri Lankan coastal communities have been progressively dulled by the many proffered promises by diverse political leaderships, government agencies, nGos and CBos (CeA/Arcadis-euroconsult, 2003). therefore every effort to engender participation is met with cynicism and the practical question ‘what’s in it for me’. Commitment to the common good is rare and difficult to draw on. Special interests tend to dominate in the guise of genuineness. therefore slow progression based on awareness and education is desirable. the responsibility for ecosystem-based development must be made the responsibility of the stakeholders. A carefully planned process of stakeholder identification is a practical first step for the implementing agencies (Figure 28).

Studies - Trends

Policies

Strategies

Adaptation to Regional Diversity (Provincial)

Designing for Ecosystem Sites

Wider Environment Institutions Regional GlobalEcosystem

TACTICAL LEVEL

STRATEGIC LEVEL

Figure 28. The planning process from the strategic to the tactical level,,leading to implementation. Planning at the tactical level has to be precise and linked to results and indicators by way of logical framework analysis.

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Participation requires a combination of interventions, including mobilization of financial resources and commitment by local populations to management of coastal ecosystems, in their own self-interest as well as shared interests. This process requires cooperation among facilitating and funding agencies as well as catalysts (Figure 29). Good governance requires that the principle of subsidiarity be upheld – the idea that a larger and greater body at the center should perform only those tasks that cannot be performed at a more immediate and local level. Decisions thereby become anchored in consultation and consensus – the foundation for committed action.

3.8 mon�tor�ng & evaluat�on Strategy: Learn�ng and Adapt�ng

Monitoring and evaluation of the consequences of the management of coastal ecosystems, and the manner in which decision makers and coastal managers use that information, will determine success or failure of the nsAP. the information from monitoring and evaluation may pass into a document that remains unused and thus become useless history. or the same information may be used as an opportunity for extracting lessons from actual experience, and for applying them towards improving future endeavour. the latter constitutes learning and adapting and serves as a tribute to the continuing effort of human beings to enhance their wellbeing (see Annex 1, MFF Programme of Work No. 14).

selecting appropriate indicators is key to meaningful monitoring and evaluation (Table 19). Carefully selected and measured indicators reveal the manner in which coastal ecosystems contribute, as development infrastructure for human wellbeing. the most appropriate approach to select indicators is to prepare ‘causal models’ for the site targeted for the nsAP activities. Chapter 2 provides an example of a causal model (Figure 23) which enables identification of the key indicators for monitoring. Brief reflection on the ICM learning cycle (Figure 30) sets the foundation for the NSAP monitoring and evaluation strategy. When the ICM learning cycle is in harmony with the corresponding policy cycle (Figure 30), the purpose of learning, and implications for coastal governance becomes clearer (olsen, 2003). the distinction between governance, government and management becomes necessary here:

180


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Governance: Governance is the process by which human societies negotiate the purpose, the rules and procedures by which they regulate their activities and distribute power, access to resources, and wealth. All governance systems are driven by the values that reflect what a society believes to be important (olsen, 2003). In its simplest form, governance is the process of decision-making (Lamy, 2006). the participation of all stakeholders including civil society, not only government, is needed to achieve balanced governance of coastal ecosystems.

Government: Government pertains to the administration and enforcement of laws, rules and regulations. thus, government may or may not be equitable depending on the manner in which decisions are made by those in positions of responsibility. Decisions may or may not be inclusive.

Management: Management is the process by which human and material resources are harnessed to achieve a known goal within a known institutional structure. Governance sets the stage in which management occurs by defining or re-defining the fundamental objectives, policies, laws and institutions by which societal issues are addressed (olsen, 2003).

Figure 30. The learning cycle associated with ecosystem-based ICM that establishes the foundation for adaptive management is best viewed in relation to the ICM policy cycle. The sequence of numbers reflect comparable behavioural attributes that may be associated with decision makers, coastal managers and stakeholders responsible who participate in each step (Olsen, 2003). Learning is inextricably linked to monitoring and evaluation. See text for explanation.

182


3.9 Compat�b�l�ty w�th CZmP 2004

the MFF strategic Framework and implementation programme in sri Lanka supports the inter-sectoral mechanisms for integrated coastal zone management through the Coast Conservation Department

Step Indicators

Step 1: Issue identification and assessment

Principal environmental, social and institutional concerns and their implications assessed.Major stakeholders and their interests identifiedIssues upon which the ICM initiative will focus its efforts selectedGoals of the ICM initiative definedStakeholders actively involved in the assessment and goal setting process

•

••••

Step 2: Plan preparation

Scientific research on selected management questions conductedBoundaries of the areas to be managed definedBaseline conditions documentedAction plan and institutional framework by which it will be implemented definedInstitutional capacity for implementation being developedSecond order behavioural change strategies at pilot scales testedStakeholders actively involved in planning and pilot project activities

••••

•••

Step 3: Formal plan adoption & funding

Policies/plan formally endorsed and authority necessary for their implementation providedFunding required for programme implementation obtained

•

•

Step 4: Implementation

Behaviour of strategic partners monitored, strategies adjustedSocial/ecosystem trends monitored and interpretedInvestments in necessary infrastructure madeProgress and attainment of Third Order outcomes documentedPartcipation of major stakeholder groups sustainedConstituencies, authorities and funding sustainedProgram learning and adaptations documented

•••••••

Step 5: Self assessment and external evaluation

Program outcomes documentedManagement issues reassessedPriorities and policies adjusted to reflect experience and changing social & environmental conditionsExternal evaluation conducted at junctures in the program’s evolutionNew issues or areas for inclusion in the program identified

•••

•

•

Table 19. Indicators that require monitoring, evaluation and measurement in an ecosystem-based ICM process (adapted from Olsen, 2003)

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(www.iucn.org/tsunami). the nsAP execution is by the national steering Committee (nsC) convened by the Ministry of environment and natural Resources (MenR). the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) is a pivotal member of the nsC. the nsAP was developed in consultation with the CCD and in harmony with CZMP 2004 (CCD, 2006). the intervention areas and actions that constitute the CZMP 2004, and their compatibility with the nsAP are presented in Table 20. Close collaboration of the partners implementing the projects supported by the small Grants Fund (sGF) and the Large Grants Fund (LGF), will ensure that the activities support the goals and objectives of the CCD. An important principle under which the nsAP operates (Policy 1) is integration with existing and future sAM processes.

3.10 Conclus�on

the nsAP has established the primary foundation for embarking on ecosystem-based integrated coastal management (ICM). Chapter 1 portrayed the high level of complexity of sri Lanka’s coastal ecosystems. Accordingly, it stressed the need to depart partially from the habitat-based approach of the CZMPs (CCD, 2006) and outlined a broad framework to address the complex socio-ecological issues, including aspects of climate change. Chapter 2 defined the structure and functioning of the coastal ecosystems and their use trends. Chapter 3 proposed policies and strategies that are required to begin the journey in search of sustainable development of coastal ecosystems as development infrastructure. Implementation of strategies in the nsAP, which are in harmony with CCD’s CZMPs, would be only the beginning to slow the continuing trends of damage. Implementation requires careful planning at the local level with the fullest participation of local communities, based on principles of subsidiarity and good governance.

184


Area Activity P TAgencies

Responsible

Remarks: Compatibility

with MFF NSAP

1. Coastal Erosion Management (Activities 1.2 – 1.10 omitted because of low relevant to the NSAP)

1.1 Study and identify the erosion trends and the critical erosion prone areas/sites and recommend appropriate protection measures

H L CCD,; F&CC *Aims at long term stability

1.11 Collect and analyze data on climate change parameters to predict impact of sea level rise on the coastal zone

M MMENR; CCD; Met. Dept.

Advocates monitoring risk factors, vulnerability mapping and updating

2. Coastal Habitats

2.1 Identify causes of coral reef damage through research and investigation and implement mitigating measures to preserve the reefs through inter-agency collaboration

H SNARA; CCD; IUCN; Unis

Views coral reefs as component of the MCZ

2.2 Study the impact of water develop diversion/irrigation on estuaries and lagoons and develop mechanisms to integrate with watershed management

M LIrrigation Dept.; CCD

Included in ‘ridge-to-reef’ programme of work.

2.3. Survey and demarcate boundaries of estuaries and lagoons, set up reservations & prevent encroachment, reclamation

H SDS; Survey Dept.; CCD; LB; F&CC

Included as maintenance of hydrology, tidal volume, etc. Preparation of Ecosystem Atlas.

2.4 Formulate and implement suitable management measures … conservation and rehabilitation of mangrove areas, salt marshes and seagrass beds

H LFD; CCD; IUCN; DS; F&CC

Included within ecosystem management considering role in sedimentation. Salt marsh = tidal flats

2.5 Regulate development activities in critical dune areas within framework of 2004 setback boundaries

H MCCD, UDA, LB, DS, F&CC

Attention drawn to diversity in dune stability and precautions for mining

Table 20. Compatibilty of the activities in the CZMP 2004 Action Plan (CCD, 2006) and the Programme of Work of the MFF NSAP (Key P - priority: H- high, M - moderate, L - low; T - time schedule: L – long term, M – medium term, S – short term).

185



Responsible


with MFF NSAP

2.6 Manage, regulate – exploration & extraction of minerals and mineral sand from barrier beaches, spits and sand dunes

H LGSMB, DS, CCD, LB

As above including mining trends in beach minerals.

2.7 Form management groups, protection societies among dwellers on beaches etc., to prevent pollution & biodiversity protection

M MDWLC, CCD, NARA, IUCN

Captured under interventions for community empowerment for ICM

2.8 Conserve areas important as nesting sites of sea turtles in collaboration with line agencies and communities

M MDWLC, CCD, NARA, IUCN

Indirectly addressed through community empowerment for ICM

2. Conduct awareness programmes focused on coastal habitats targeting on all stakeholder groups

H SCCD, NARA, IUCN, ED, NGO

Fundamental programme of work for building knowledge base

3. Coastal Pollution

3.1 Establish a coastal water quality data base to monitor water quality in coastal waters and capture high pollution incidents

M MCCD, CEA, MPPA, NARA, Unis.

Captured under environmentally sustainable business practices

3.2 Promote formulation of effluent disposal standards and ensure compliance by developers

M MCCD, CEA, NARA, Unis.

- As above -

3.3 Prepare plan for relocation of polluting industries, abatement of pollution, introduction of cleaner production technologies

M LMI, CC, CEA, UDA, LB, DS

- As above -

3.4 Approval of new development activities will be based upon ambient water quality of the site

M MCEA, CCD, NARA, Unis.

- As above -

3.5 Regulate disposal of solid waste encouraging the use of environmentally sound and economically gainful ways

H SMENR, CCD, CEA, LB

Not directly addressed, included in sustainable business practices.

3.6. Reduce pollution of ground water with inter-agency collaboration

H SWRB, CCD, NWSDB

- As above -

186



Responsible


with MFF NSAP

3.7 Conduct education and awareness on pollution and abatement

M MCEA, CCD, NARA, Unis,ED

Fundamental programme of work – building knowledge base

4. Archeological and Scenic Sites

4.1 to 4.5 Not addressed except indirectly where they constitute components of ecosystems

5. Coastal Fisheries & Aquaculture (Activities 5.4, 5.6 omitted because of low relevant to the NSAP)

5.1 Measures to reduce threats to biodiversity & damage to habitats, and environmental and resource user conflicts

H L

DFAR, NARA, NAQDA, CCD, F&CC, NGO, CBO

Incorporated as highly significant for MCZ and brackish water bodies with focus on fisheries and livelihood

5.2 Provide alternative livelihood, income enhancement, etc when adversely affected by management measures

H LDFAR, CCD, F&CC, PC

Both directly and indirectly addressed as a cross-cutting area

5.3 Adequate infrastructure facilities at fish landing sites to minimize problems of pollution

H MMFOR, DFAR, CFHC, NARA, LB

Captured under environmentally sustainable business practices

5.5 Integrated programme for rehabilitation of shrimp farming on an environmentally sustainable basis in NW

H S

NAQDA, CCD, MFOR, NARA, CEA, NEPC, shrimp farmers

Addressed under tidal flat ecosystems & sustainable business practices, model building for EPC

5.7 Introduction of sustainable shrimp farming to new areas

H L

MFOR, NAQDA, NARA, CCD, CEA, PC

- As above -

6. Special Area Management

6.1 – 6.5 Support for special area management (SAM) is a priority, cross cutting theme across several programmes of work. MFF small grants and large grant projects are encouraged to integrate with CCD’s SAM site activities. Collaboration with SAM Development Committees and multiple agencies including private sector

187

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Annexes

Annex 1

The Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Strategic Implementation Framework

Conserve and restore coastal ecosystems as key assets which support human well-being and security in the Indian Ocean Region

Strengthen the environmental sustainabilityof coastal development

Promote the investment of funds and effortin coastal ecosystem management

Regionalcooperation

Nationalprogrammes

Private sectorengagement

Communityaction


2. Designing ecologically and socio-economically sound coastal rehabilitation

3. Providing decision support for “reef to ridge” approaches to land and resource management

4. Integrating coastal ecosystem economic values into evelopment planning and appraisal

5. Learning from evaluation of the environmental effects of coastal management initiatives, including the post-tsunami response

6. Promoting civil society awareness and participation in coastal decisionmaking

7. Building the capacity of professional coastal anagers for integrated coastal management

8. Supporting environmentally sustainable livelihoods among coastal communities



11. Supporting national integrated coastal management programmes



14. Promoting adaptive coastal management programmes that include ongoing ecological and socio-economic assessment and monitoring


GOAL

OBJECTIVES

RESULT AREAS

PROGRAMMES OF WORK

Build Knowledge Strengthen Empowerment Enhance Governance

PROJECTS

Strategic and implementation framework

Stra

tegi

c Le

vel

Impl

emen

tati

on L

evel

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Annex 2

Laws Affecting Coastal Zone Management Main Status (CCD, 2006)

Core statutes:• Coast Conservation Act no. 57 of 1981 (CCA 1981)• Coast Conservation (Amendment) Act no. 64 of 1988 (CCA

1988)

Other key statutes:

• Marine Pollution Prevention Act no. 59 of 1981 which provides for prevention, reduction and control of pollution in sri Lankan waters and has provision for penal action for any form of marine pollution to live marine resources and wildlife.

• The Fisheries and aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1966 which promotes measures for the integrated management, regulation, conservation and development of fisheries and aquatic resources in Sri Lanka, and enables declaration of fisheries reserves.

• The National aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka Act. No 53 of 1988 which set up the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) to develop aquaculture and inland fisheries in Sri Lanka.

• The National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency Act No. 54 of 1981 which set up the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (nARA) for research and research application work on all living and non-living aquatic resources for the development and management of the fisheries and ocean resources sector.

• the fauna and Flora Protection ordinance no. 2 of 1937, and subsequent amendments including Act No. 49 of 1993 which provides for six categories of Protected Areas – among which are a Marine sanctuary and a nature Reserve. the Act also has a provision to protect certain categories of animals and plants wherever they are found, including threatened species of corals, fish, turtles and all marine mammals in Sri Lanka’s waters.

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• the national environment Act no. 47 of 1980, and the amended Act no. 56 of 1988 which empowers project approving agencies to obtain an eIA from any developer for prescribed development projects.

• the state Lands ordinance no. 8 of 1947 and its two amendments.

• The Forest Ordinance No. 16 of 1907 and its subsequent amendments.

• the Urban Development Authority Law no. 37 of 1978 that provides for the development of environmental standards and schemes for environmental improvement in areas identifies as UDA areas.

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Annex 3

Existing Special Area Management (SAM) Sites and Potential SAM Sites in the Coastal Area

Existing SAM Sites

District Site

Colombo Lunawa lagoon

GalleMadu Ganga Estuary; Hikkaduwa Nature Reserve and environs; Unawatuna Bay and Koggala Estuary

Hambantota Coastal stretch in Hambantota; Mawella Lagoon; Kalametiya Lagoon

Gampaha Negombo Estuary and Muthurajawela Marsh

Puttalam Bar Reef

Potential SAM Sites

DistrictSpecial area Management Site

– Level ISpecial area Management Site

– Level II

Ampara

• Periya Kalapuwa & Korai Kalapuwa (lagoons)

• Panama dunes; Arugam Bay & Arumugam Kalapu (lagoon)

• Kalmunai fishing area• Konawatte Lagoon a& Oluvil

fishing area• Komari Lagoon

Batticaloa

• Batticaloa Lagoon• Upper Panichankerni Estuary

(Vakarai)• Kalkudah-Passekuday Bays;

Vandeloos & Thennadi Bays; Valaichenai Estuary

• Punnaikudah, Kaluwankerni Bays

• Kaththankudi thona coastal area

• Verugal Aru

Colombo --- • Dehiwela-Mt Lavinia beach

Galle

• Beruwela coastal stretch & Bentota estuary

• Dodanduwa Lagoon (Ratgama Lake)

• Kosgoda Lagoon• Madampe Lake

Hambantota• Rekawa, Kalametiya &

Ussangoda cluster

• Rekawa Lagoon, Kalametiya Lagoon, and Lunama Lagoon complex

• Ussangoda headlands• Rekawa-Kalmetiya beach

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Annexes

DistrictSpecial area Management Site

– Level ISpecial area Management Site

– Level II

Jaffna

Jaffna (Contd.)

• Manalkadu Dunes• Jaffna Estuary (town area)• Thondamannaru Lagoon• Kankasanthurai and Keerimalai

coastal stretch• Mandativu, Delft, Nainativu

islands• Karainagar (including Casuarina

beach) coastal area• Navali coastal area

• Vadamarachchi coast• Thiruvadinilai-Sankanai

coastal area• Palitivu Island

Kalutara -- • Kalu Ganga Estuary

Mannar

• Gulf of Mannar• Thalaimannar coastal area• Silavathurai, Arippu and Aruvi

Aru coastal areaand Bay of Kondachchi

• Peria Kadai coastal area• South Bar coastal area• Erukulampidi coastal area• Manthai West coastal area• Pesalai coastal area• Vankalai coastal area

Matara • Weligama Bay • Polhena beach

Mullaitivu• Nathikadal Lagoon• Nai aru estuary

---

Puttalam

• Puttalam Estuary• Chilaw Estuary• Mundel Lake and Puttalam

corridor channel

---

Trincomalee

• Trincomalee Bay• Nilaveli beach; Pigeon Island• Periyakarachchi &

Sinnakarachchi Estuaries• Clapenburg Bay

• Kuchchaveli, Puduvakattu (including Pirate’s Coves) coastal area

• Thambalagam Bay• Pulmodai coastal area

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Annex 4

Glossary of Terms

Accretion: the built up of land over a period of time. on a beach this is usually by deposition of material carried by water and by air (wind). Accretion may be natural or it may be induced by humans.

Aquaculture: Production of plants and animals that involves intervention at some stage of their life cycle other than at harvest, and where ownership of the stock is legally ensured.

Aufwuchs: the encrustations of micro-organisms, animals and plants that encrust the surfaces of submerged objects.

Barrier-built estuary: An estuary which is partially separated from the sea by a sand barrier which may include beaches, sand dunes and beach rock (e.g. negombo Lagoon).

Bay: Partially enclosed indentation of the coast with a broad connection with the sea. the coastal processes in a bay are basically similar to those along an open coastline.

Beach: the unconsolidated material that extends landward from the low water line to the place where there is marked change in material or physical landform, or to the line of permanent vegetation.

Beach rock: A consolidation of beach sand by secondary deposition of calcium carbonate at about the level of the sea waterline. Beach rock is generally associated with coasts where sea level fluctuation occurs.

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Benthos: Plants and animals that are associated with the bottom of water bodies.

Brackish: salt containing water formed by the mixing of sea water and freshwater.

Coastal: Land associated with the interface between land and the sea. A strip of land of indefinite width that extends from the shoreline inland to the first major change in the land form (terrain) features.

Coastal stabilization: Interventions that prevent changes in the landforms at the coast.

Coastal vulnerability index: A numerical product of measured variables that have an impact on the coastal area including tides, waves, elevation, geomorphology, sea level rise, bathymetry among others. these measured variables are also termed risk factors in hazard management.

Continental shelf: the gently sloping submarine extension of the land to a point where it abruptly drops sharply to the ocean floor. Generally the sunlight penetrates to the floor of the continental shelf.

Crustaceans: A group of animals without a backbone, but with an outer hard covering such as shrimps and prawns.

Current: A flow of water within and relative to the larger body of water through which it passes.

Current – longshore: the inshore current moving essentially parallel to the shore, usually generated by waves breaking at an angle to the shore.

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Detritus: Decaying parts of animals and plants that have a significant role in ecological food chains.

Disaster: Harm caused by a hazard (natural and human-made) to life and property.

District: A land unit with a legally demarcated boundary within which the government conducts its administration under an officer termed District secretary.

Divisional Secretary: The government administrative officer in charge of the Divisional secretary Division to whom diverse regulatory powers have been devolved for the purpose of efficient law enforcement.

Division: A legally demarcated sub-unit of the District administered by the government through an officer termed Divisional Secretary.

Dune: A wind blown accumulation of sand that is distinctive in relation to the adjacent landforms. A dune generally occurs landward of the beach influenced by waves.

ecological linkage: Processes, living and non-living that connect ecosystems (ecological units) with the wider environment. Sea water flow at high and low tides, and freshwater from the land connect the sea to an estuary as well as land to that same estuary.

ecosystem: An entity formed by interacting physical and chemical components and biological communities (micro-organism, plant and animal groups that interact with each other).

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endemic: Plant and animal species which occur only within a particular country.

epiphytes: Plants and animals that live attached to other plants e.g. such as the plants and animals living attached to submerged seagrasses.

erosion: erosion is the process of removal of unconsolidated and consolidated material situated along a coastline by forces such as waves and currents. erosion, such as that of beaches, generally exposes life and property situated landward of it to potential damage.

estuary: A semi-enclosed body of water which has a free connection with the sea and within which sea water is diluted by freshwater from land drainage to form brackish water (e.g. Kalu Ganga estuary).

eustatic: Upward and downward movement of the sea level worldwide.

Eutrophication: Addition of nutrients to an aquatic water body resulting in excessive plant production by photosynthesis eventually resulting in the breakdown of the relationship between the plants and animals (that depend upon them generally for food).

exposure: the potential for an area of land to be affected by a hazard.

Fauna: Animals.

Flood buffer: the ability of a land area to receive and retain water in a manner that prevents flooding in adjoining areas.

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Flora: Plants.

Geomorphology: the study of the origin and diversity of landforms that have arisen by way of geological, climatic and other natural processes.

Governance: the process of decision making. Generally good governance includes participation of persons who may be affected by such decisions and incorporates mechanisms for transparency and accountability.

Groyne: An engineering structure that is placed at an angle extending from the beach seaward.

Hazard: natural and human-made processes (and objects) that have the potential to cause harm to people and property.

Holocene (epoch): the past 10,000 years during which the existing geomorphological systems became established.

Hydrology: the science and the study that addresses and treats of water.

Impoundment: To confine within a boundary structure such as a dyke.

Institution: An interacting collectivity of human and material resources organized for the purpose of achieving specific targets. In institutions the human element is the most important. Institutions may be formal such as government ministries and departments or informal as in the case of unregistered community-based organizations (CBos). Formal institutions are supported by various laws and regulations.

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Intertidal: the land area that is submerged during high tide and exposed during low tide.

Littoral: the (sea) shore, the inter-tidal area.

Littoral drift: the coastal processes that move material on the sore and in inter-tidal areas.

Littoral currents: Water movements that are associated with the shore and inter-tidal areas.

Local government (LG): An elected body of representatives who address the needs of a defined group of people living in a specified area. LGs usually address public utilities by way of collected taxes.

Longshore drift: the movement of material along the shore by waves and currents.

Mangrove: salt tolerant, woody, seed bearing plants which occur in association with brackish and saline water. they are characterized by special root systems, breathing roots, seed germination while attached to the parent plant. Although mangroves occur on saline soil, often acidic, they have the usual plant requirement of freshwater, nutrients and oxygen. on saline, acidic, dynamic soils such as in inter-tidal areas, they out-compete terrestrial plants.

Nutrients: The simple chemical substances required for plant growth released from soil and decaying parts of animals and plants.

offshore breakwater: An engineering structure constructed parallel with the coastline situated some distance away from the shore.

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Plankton: tiny plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) that occur in water with limited capability to travel under their own control and therefore are passively transported by currents.

Pleistocene: The first 500,000 years of the past one (1) million years constituting the Quaternary Period.

Pollution: Material discharged (emissions) into the air, water and the environment in general, which alters quality in an undesirable direction. noise is also a pollutant. Although it is not in the form of material it can be measured in ‘decibels’ of sound.

Poverty: A form of deprivation resulting in the inability of a person to satisfy basic needs. When the meaning of poverty is confined to the level of income it is termed ‘income poverty’.

Province: A defined land unit with a legally specified boundary where elected representatives constitute a ‘Provincial Council’ for its governance.

Revetment: An engineering structure situated on the beach for its stabilization.

Risk: the product of exposure to hazards, the frequency of such hazards (probability) and the potential intensity of damage to life and property. Risk does not exist where people and property do not exist. Risk increases proportionately with the density of population and property.

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Risk factors: these are measurable elements associated with the coast and coastal processes such as tides, waves, bathymetry, sea level changes, hazard pathways, hazard frequencies, land elevation, geomorphology among others. these elements may be measured and mapped.

salt water exclusion: engineering approaches to prevent sea water entering land units where its influence may damage diverse human activities. Generally engineering structures are constructed for the purpose.

seagrasses: Rooted, seed bearing, salt-tolerant plants that occur as underwater meadows ad provide prime living conditions for a wide range of organisms.

shoal: A shallow area formed by settlement of silt, sand and sediment.

Siltation/sedimentation: Settlement on the floor of a body of water of fine material (silt), and a range of materials (sediment) transported by water.

special area management: special area management is the administration of a defined land unity which is smaller than a national governance unit such as a province. the area is demarcated for purpose of addressing, in a more focused manner, issues related with the coast and coastal ecosystems.

sustainable: sustainable as it applies to management and/or development of natural systems (ecosystems) refers to the balance between demands placed upon a natural resource system, the inputs and extraction of products made by society and the continuing ability of that entity to support the demands.

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Tidal flat: A land area associated with the coast which is influenced by tides, salt spray, wind, prolonged periods of drought and characterized by special vegetation (xerophytes) which are salt tolerant and resist desiccation by wind.

tide: the pull (distortion) of surface water owing mainly to the gravitational attraction between the earth and the moon resulting in the rise and fall of sea level.

Vulnerability: the potential (probability) of being damaged or harmed by hazards. that potential may be given as a measured quantity by way of a ‘vulnerability index’.

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Stakeholder Workshop to Rev�ew the Draft Nat�onal Strategy and Act�on Plan

19 November, 2007 Hotel Renuka, Colombo

Name Organization

H P K Hewapathirana DFAR

Susil Liyanarachchi CARE International

A Rajasuriya NARA

H P C D Prasanna Green Movement of Sri Lanka

A W Amila Chanaka Green Movement of Sri Lanka

S C Jayamanne NARA

Darshani de Silva UNDP

Gayani Wickramarachchi Sewalanka Foundation

Nimal Chandraratne NAQDA

D M S K Dissanayake Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

Sarath Fernando Forest Department

H J M Wickremaratne Consultant

Ananda Wijesooriya Department of Wildlife Conservation

M A A N Hemakumara Central Environmental Authority

P Vinobaba Department of Zoology, Eastern University of Sri Lanka

R Galapatti Lanka Hydraulic Institute

W R M S Wickremasinghe Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

Parakrama Karunaratne Attorney-At-Law

Jayampathy Samarakoon Free Lance

Indra Ranasinghe CRMP

R Semasinghe Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

K S Fernando Kaludal Association

D S Epitawatte University of Sri Jayawardenapura

U W L Chandra DMC

Anil Premaratne Coast Conservation Department

Dr N Pallewatte University of Colombo

* 1. IUCn staff members who attended the workshop are not listed. 2. several other workshops were held in connection with the MFF Programmes

of Work, and the inputs form those workshops too were used in formulating this strategy.

Annex 5

Participants at the National Workshop Leading to the Preparation of National Strategy and Action Plan*

MFF builds on a history of coastal management interventions before and after the 2004 tsunami. It focuses on the countries most-affected by the tsunami; India, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. MFF also includes other countries of the Region that face similar issues, with an overall aim to promote an integrated ocean wide approach to coastal zone management.

Its long-term management strategy is based on identified needs and priorities that emerged from extensive consultations with over 200 individuals and 160 institutions involved in coastal management in the Region.

MFF uses mangroves as a flagship ecosystem in recognition of the important role mangroves played in reducing the damage caused by the tsunami, and the implications on livelihoods because of mangrove forest destruction. But MFF is inclusive of all coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, estuaries, lagoons, sandy beaches, sea grasses and wetlands.

Its vision is a healthier, more prosperous and secure future for all sections of the coastal population in Indian Ocean countries. It is a unique partnership-led initiative working in four key areas of influence: regional cooperation, national programme support, private sector engagement and community action.

The initiative undertakes collective actions to build knowledge, strengthen empowerment, and enhance governance through 15 broad programmes of work to address the current and future threats, and to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems. These are implemented through a series of on-the-ground projects, through small and large grant modalities.

MFF seeks more effective and inclusive institutions, policies and mechanisms for cooperation at national and regional levels by prioritising coastal ecosystem management across national development agendas, policies and budgets.

www.mangrovesforthefuture.org

Mangroves for the Future National Strategy and Action Plan

Documents

Transcript of Mangroves for the Future National Strategy and Action Plan