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Wetlands need to be protected to prevent floods in Colombo – PM

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Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said yesterday that wetlands should be considered as a resource and protected in order to reduce the future challenge of preventing floods in Colombo.

Therefore, we must collectively bear the responsibility of protecting urban wetlands, he said.

The Prime Minister said this addressing the gathering at the inaugural ceremony of the First Wetland Link International (WLI) Asia-Oceania Conference 2024 held at Water’s Edge recently.

He suggested to the academics who attended the conference to focus on reaching common solutions regarding wetland management considering the common nature of the problems faced by every urban wetland.

“This conference is of utmost importance at the moment as wetlands are fundamental to the well-being of the people residing in any major city and our commercial city of Colombo is not an exception. All of the wetlands, even the most degraded ones, provide a range of benefits which contribute to human well-being in the city. The Colombo wetlands complex falls under six local authorities including the Municipal Council of Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Colombo MC, Kaduwela MC, Kolonnawa UC, Maharagama UC and Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia MC.

“Urban wetlands falling under these Local Government areas have been mainstreamed in the city’s development planning. The 150-year old wetlands have been reclaimed and managed to ensure it will last another 150 years. As the Minister of Local Government, in addition to being the Prime Minister, I take a special interest in this subject,” the Premier said.

The First Conference of WLI Asia-Oceania commenced at Diyasaru Park on June 16 and will continue until June 22 under the theme ‘Wetlands and Wetland Centres for Ecotourism’.

Members representing wetlands centres in over 15 countries including the members of Ramsar Regional Centre East Asia (RRC-EA), and members of Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT), UK are participating in the event.

The conference was organised by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), in collaboration with the Western Province Tourist Board and the Climate Change Office of the Presidential Secretariat.

The post Wetlands need to be protected to prevent floods in Colombo – PM appeared first on DailyNews.

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