The Department of Wildlife Conservation has completed a coral reef survey covering the Kayankerni Marine Sanctuary and the neighbouring Pasikuda coastal area, assessing the condition of reef ecosystems on the east coast.
The survey was carried out by the department’s Marine Unit and examined reef health both inside the protected sanctuary and in nearby unprotected waters — a comparison that allows the effect of protection itself to be measured.
Alongside the health assessment, the team identified natural and human-induced threats to the reefs and gathered scientific data to support long-term conservation. The survey also looked at opportunities to develop sustainable tourism in the area without compromising the ecosystems it depends on.
Legal protection
Corals are listed as protected species under the Seventh Schedule of Sri Lanka’s Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.
Reefs are built by coral polyps living in symbiosis with microscopic algae known as zooxanthellae, which allows them to form the complex structures that support some of the richest marine ecosystems in the world.
Why the reefs matter
The department said coral reefs sustain marine biodiversity by providing habitat, shelter, and breeding and feeding grounds for large numbers of species. They also shield coastlines from wave action and erosion, underpin fisheries, and contribute to tourism and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
The findings will serve as baseline data for the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of reefs at Kayankerni and Pasikuda, the department said, and will guide future management decisions taken with other stakeholders.
Kayankerni lies in the Batticaloa district on Sri Lanka’s east coast, and the adjacent Pasikuda bay is one of the country’s busier beach tourism destinations. That proximity is what makes the survey’s comparison between protected and unprotected water directly relevant to how the coastline is managed.
Source: Daily Mirror.
