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Sri Lanka’s blue carbon ecosystems at risk as government seeks way out of economic crisis

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MANNAR, Sri Lanka — It was a proposal by Sri Lanka that resulted in the United Nations deciding in 2022 to designate March 1 as World Seagrass Day. And earlier this year, the Indian Ocean island received a U.N. award for its efforts to conserve mangroves. These achievements in service of conserving two types of largely overlooked but vital marine ecosystems have given Sri Lanka a reputation as a state committed to protecting its major blue carbon ecosystems and contributing to the fight against climate change impacts. But this progress is at risk of being undermined by a recent move to strip legal protection from an important coastal and marine ecosystem. In May, the country’s minister of wildlife and forest conservation, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, issued an order to degazette a section of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve in the northern district of Mannar. The reserve is known for its mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes and tidal flats. Complicating the matter, the order didn’t specify the area to be removed from the reserve, resulting in local environmental organizations taking the issue to court. An interim order has been issued in response to the case filed by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), temporarily halting the order being implemented. However, given the enormity of Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis, conservation groups are preparing for a time-consuming legal battle in the months to come in order to protect this important coastal ecosystem. “Blue carbon” is the term often used to describe the carbon captured by…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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