The first meeting of the mangrove ecosystem and livelihood group under the Commonwealth Blue Charter was held in Negombo recently.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2018 in London, Sri Lanka was chosen to hold the conference after realizing the importance of conservation of mangroves. Sri Lanka is one of the 12 Commonwealth countries that are working under the Blue Charter to provide robust, innovative solutions to address maritime sensitive issues.

Sri Lanka joined Australia, Bangladesh, Vanuatu, The Bahamas, Nigeria, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the UK on August 2019. The project aims to conserve and sustain sustainable utilization of mangrove ecosystems, categorize the ownership of the mangroves and transfer data and knowledge on biodiversity, technology.

At this conference, steps were taken to enhance the ecosystem by strengthening mangroves in coastal areas.

Mangroves are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems today. Twenty percent of the entire mangrove ecosystem has been destroyed in the last two decades. Mangroves provide many benefits to humans.

Inaugurating the conference, Acting Secretary of the Mahaweli Development Ministry Mapa Pathirana stated that Sri Lanka has already taken necessary steps to protect and restore the mangroves.

The Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment joined hands with the Ministry of External Affairs to sponsor the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Sisiro Research Organization in Australia.