Sri Lanka marked International Biodiversity Day on 22 May at the Horton Plains National Park, involving a multi-stakeholder engagement event. Themed ‘Be Part of the Plan,’ this year saw the active involvement of the communities that reap the benefits of the country’s rich biodiversity.
“This is a historic day where we gathered not only ministry officials and our longstanding partner organisations but also the youth and the communities that live on the borders of the Horton Plains National Park in this ceremonial activity of removing an invasive plant species.
“Protecting and conserving the biological diversity of the environment around us is not only the responsibility of the State but is also the responsibility of the citizens. In keeping with this year’s theme of being part of the plan, the Ministry of Environment decided to involve personnel representing all stakeholders,” Ministry of Environment Secretary Prabath Chandrakeerthi told The Sunday Morning.
According to the Environment Ministry, the rapid spread of invasive alien species is one of the threats to biodiversity. Moreover, habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation of the environment, overexploitation of biological resources, loss of traditional crop and livestock breeds, pollution, human-wildlife conflict, and increasing human population density also contribute towards the increased threats posed in conserving Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity.
Sri Lanka became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in June 1992 and ratified the convention in March 1994. The CBD had three basic objectives: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable benefit sharing.
“Although the Ministry of Environment is the national focal point of the convention, over the years we have collaborated with the local communities in every region along with environmental organisations as well as the corporate sector to ensure that we are on track to achieve the targets set by the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP).
“Take for instance the removal of the Ulex europaeus – commonly known as gorse, an invasive plant species – that we undertook at the Horton Plains National Park. This is something that the park warden and his staff alone could not do given the large area it has spread across,” Chandrakeerthi added.
Continuous efforts
During the field activity at the Horton Plains National Park, The Sunday Morning observed that the removal of the fully-grown gorse shrubs was quite a difficult task. While seedlings are easily uprooted by hand, gardening tools are recommended to remove a fully-grown shrub. Therefore, even the removal of the invasive plant species had to be done by individuals who had been properly briefed on the process.
Horton Plains National Park Warden R.M.S.K Rathnayaka joined the group of volunteers and before heading out to the field, briefed those present regarding not only the invasive plant species but also about the designated zone we were to set foot in during the field activity.
“Everyone here gets special permission to walk outside the trekking route we have set for visitors of the park. On a normal day, if you decide to head away from the trekking path, you would be fined. Therefore, even if it is tempting to pluck a flower, remove a leaf, or pocket a seed from a plant, I urge you to not do so. Be very mindful of the fact that you are in a National Park, which is a Protected Area (PA), so whatever tools and personal protective gear, such as the rubber gloves that are provided and the tarps that we are taking to collect the removed shrubs to the incineration area, need to be brought back with us,” Rathnayaka reminded.
Various efforts to remove the invasive plant species have been carried out since the 1990s, however Rathnayaka explained that it was the Federation of Environmental Organisations with the funding of MAS Holdings and other contributors that carried out a routine removal and maintenance of the identified zones of plant invasion.
National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS) Plant Taxonomy and Conservation Research Professor Siril Wijesundara meanwhile explained that many of these alien invasive plants were from the Royal Botanical Gardens in most instances, as visitors tended to take parts of the plants to grow in their gardens.
“Take for instance the Lantana plant species; although grown in the wild, you may notice that these plants adorn the hedges of many households of the wet zone and the intermediate zone. Similarly, the Ulex europaeus plant was introduced to the Horton Plains National Park by human activity when the potato plantations were established in the peripheries. The plan was to act as a deterrent to steer the cattle and other foraging animals from eating the seedlings on the plantation. Ulex europaeus was grown as a hedge surrounding these cultivation plots as well as dairy farms. The seeds that were dispersed mixed with the manure that was transported to Horton Plains National Park and the seeds of Ulex europaeus were introduced to the ecosystem,” Prof. Wijesundara elaborated.
National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan
In terms of measures that Sri Lanka is taking to ensure adherence to the guidelines and achieve the targets set forth by the CBD so far since becoming party to the convention in 1994, a National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan was developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Sri Lanka Country Office. This was followed by the preparation of a Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan (BCAP), which was approved by the Cabinet in 1998 and published in 1999.
The BCAP outlines conservation objectives and recommended action for four priority systems (forests, wetland, coastal and marine, and agriculture), as well as for priority crosscutting and intersectoral thematic areas, namely ex situ conservation; biodiversity information; biodiversity-related legal measures, research, education, and awareness; institutional support for biodiversity conservation; and valuation.
A review of implementation of 86 recommendations, concerning in situ and ex situ conservation of various ecosystems, found that implementation of 26 recommendations was seriously hampered due to inadequate capacities, while no action had been taken at all to implement nine recommendations. In 2003, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoENR) initiated the preparation of an addendum to the BCAP to review recommendations, which were acted upon, with new issues and priorities addressed.
The BCAP and the addendum were updated according to the guidelines of the CBD Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and national priorities. It was mandated that the Aichi Targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be incorporated when preparing the NBSAP for Sri Lanka.
As of 2022, 20 national targets had been set with the assessment of progress towards each national target being reviewed for the Sixth National Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity. This NBSAP had an operational period of seven years from 2016-2022 and provided the strategic approach needed to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity. It includes national targets that are synergistic with global targets such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and SDGs.
The NBSAP (2016-2022) included five strategic objectives and 12 national targets. Altogether, there are 87 actions covering all thematic areas from forests and wildlife, agricultural biodiversity, marine and coastal biodiversity, and invasive species, to biosafety and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biodiversity.
The NBSAP is also a guiding policy framework for provincial authorities of Sri Lanka, as well as civil society groups and private sector organisations in approaches to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. Therefore, during the NBSAP preparation, all these stakeholders were consulted to ensure that the proposed actions were acceptable to all stakeholders and could be practically implemented.
The NBSAP provides indicators for monitoring the success of meeting CBD objectives through the implementation of the NBSAP. Monitoring is carried out in consideration of the industrial discharge of effluents in waterways and in terms of air emissions and noise pollution in fisheries, forests, coral reefs, and other important marine systems. Nevertheless, monitoring activities need to be significantly improved.
Several surveys to identify and monitor trends in species diversity are institutionalised (e.g. biodiversity surveys have been piloted in seven Protected Areas to assess the status of biodiversity represented among mammals, birds, herpetofauna (mainly reptiles), freshwater fishes, and vascular plants.
In the future, the aim is to survey local biodiversity hotspots as identified by the National Red List 2012 database and upgrade, gazette these areas as Conservation Forests/Protected Areas/Sanctuaries, and instigate a regular system of biodiversity monitoring in Protected Areas managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Department of Forest Conservation (FD).
Table headline:
Assessment of progress towards each national target
Target No.
Title
Progress
1
By 2022, biosafety is assured
2018: on track to achieve target
2
By 2022, a mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising from biodiversity is established and implemented
2018: no significant change
3/4
By 2022, a system is established and ongoing for inventorising species and ecosystems
2018: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
5
By 2022, genetic diversity of crop wild relatives, cultivated species, and livestock is conserved
2018: on track to achieve target
6/7
By 2022, habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are significantly reduced
2018: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
8
By 2022, mechanisms are established to ensure sustainable use of biodiversity
2018: on track to achieve target
9
By 2022, sustainable agriculture practices are promoted and established
2019: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
10
By 2022, the capacity of ecosystems to deliver goods and services and provide protection from hazards is enhanced
2018: on track to achieve target
11-15
By 2022, the loss of species is significantly reduced
2019/2020: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
16/17
By 2022, the PA network is made representative of all critical ecosystems and species and managed effectively
2018: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
18/19
By 2022, the valuation of biodiversity is mainstreamed
2019: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
20
By 2022, traditional sustainable uses of biodiversity are promoted and established
2019: progress towards target but at an insufficient rate
Source: Sixth National Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity