The Kirila Kelle wetlands are found a short distance inland from the southern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n city of Matara. The

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

are a part of the Nilwala River basin. They comprise some 750 acres of wetlands. Canals were built by

Portuguese Colonialists The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

to mitigate flooding of the Nilwala river into Matara township and aid in the cropping of a further surrounding 6000 acres of rice and other farming. A failed attempt at

flood mitigation In environmental engineering, the flood mitigation involves the management and control of flood water movement, such as redirecting flood run-off through the use of floodwalls and flood gates, rather than trying to prevent floods altogether. It a ...

in the early 1990s has meant that the once arable 6000 acres has now become un-farmable. This reduction in historically arable land has resulted in widespread poverty and associated social and environmental problems for some 35,000 people. KirilaKelleWetlands 3

The Kirila Kelle Wetlands are the focus for a sustainable Environmental Conservation Community Development program. This is being developed through

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

and

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

, by way of a provincial integrated development strategy, that is managed and implemented by the community for the community.

References

External links

Department of Wildlife Conservation Sri Lanka

Ministry of Environment Sri lanka
{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Wetlands of Sri Lanka

See also

References

External links