RESTORING OUR COSTAL PROTECTORS

The Koggala Lagoon speckled with small islands is lined with thick mangrove vegetation. Mangroves are amongst the world’s most productive ecosystems that thrive along coastlines with estuaries and lagoons. Urbanisation, such as the construction of hotels, salt production, shrimp farms and growing human settlement and tourism, have all but destroyed this rich ecosystem. MAS, along with Thuruliya Arana Grassroots, took on the mission to restore the mangroves in and around one of the smaller islands inside the Koggala Lagoon. The vision was to restore and maintain a 10-acre area with mangroves and associate mangroves along the shore with native species. While the mangrove nursery has been established, we have succeeded in planting close to 200 mangroves along the shoreline.