[caption id="attachment_101771" align="alignleft" width="300"] Drone footage of Muturajawela marshland. Photo Dinusha Nanayakkara[/caption]

• Ja-Ela Divisional Secretariat to survey land

By Sarah Hannan Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera has instructed the Ja-Ela Divisional Secretariat to immediately survey the land area in the Muthurajawela marshland, so that the Ministry of Environment could gazette it as a “protected wetland sanctuary”. Amaraweera had arrived at this decision following his visit to the marshland after environmentalists had alerted him over the alleged illegal land acquisition that was taking place and the daily pollution caused by waste matter, wastewater, and other industrial solid waste being dumped into the marshland. “The Muthurajawela marshland is a sensitive ecosystem that is of extreme importance to Sri Lanka’s biodiversity and especially important to the Western Province’s ecosystem. I wanted to see for myself whether the reports were true, which is why I visited the area on Sunday,” Amaraweera told The Morning. For months, environmental activist groups have been sharing documented evidence of the continued destruction that had been taking place at the marshland. It was revealed that a businessman had earmarked a land extent of 126,000 perches within the Muthurajawela marshland by setting up signage which read “private property – do not enter”. Amaraweera said that during his visit, he observed the amount of waste that has been dumped and the wastewater that was being released from the nearby pig farms. Moreover, the Minister had also observed how industrial waste too was being dumped at the site. “I have instructed the Ja-Ela Divisional Secretariat to consider this as an emergency situation and launch a survey over the Muthurajawela marshland to differentiate the area that belong to the (Central) Environmental Authority and the parts that are privately owned,” Amarawera elaborated. Once the survey is done, the Muthurajawela marshland will be recognised as a protected wetland sanctuary by the Ministry of Environment through a gazette notification. The Minister also noted that following the survey, the Ministry will take necessary legal action against those who have encroached into the wetland, regardless of their social status.