Stop the Destruction of Muthurajawela Wetland Sanctuary!

Muthurajawela Wetland Sanctuary, the most important urban wetland in Sri Lanka is currently under severe threat due to a proposed Golf course, Railway and Luxury city project approved by the Board of Investment (BOI) which has requested up to 600 acres or one third of the Wetland to be aquired from the Department of Wildlife and filled for this project. 

Muthurajawela is a critically important wetland and a bio-diversity hot spot and is home to over 178 species of reptiles, mammals, birds and fish. The golf course and other proposed constructions will destroy an important fisheries breeding ground, destroy an equally important flood mitigation system close to heavily populated region and the habitat loss will result in the death of countless numbers of wildlife and loss of Sri Lankas reputation as a top eco-tourist destination. Muthurajawela has faced many ecological issues recently due to high human demands and further filling of this wetland will create un-reversible damage. 

Sri Lanka requires a disciplined and well defined policy when it comes to tourism, we need branding. Sri Lanka has great potential for eco/wildlife tourism and we must make every effort to be branded as such. We must resist any offers that dilute Sri Lankas bio-diversity by damaging wildlife habitat. We must have the discipline to accept only tourist ventures that increase the size and quality of our wildlife habitat. People visit Maldives for coral reefs, we cannot compete with them for coral reef experience, but they do not have the Mangrove Swamps, Wetlands and Rainforests Sri Lanka still has.

Therefore, we request your excellency to take immediate steps to move the proposed project out of Muthurajawela Wetland and any other environmentally sensitive areas and provide Muthurajawela Wetland Sanctuary full protection it needs to ensure it is not destroyed or degraded to achieve Environment Sustainability as stated by Mahinda Chinthana.