WNPS’ Accelerated Natural Regeneration of Mangroves (ANRM) project was launched with the goal of regenerating the damaged mangrove habitats in the Anawilundawa wetlands and building sustainable livelihoods in the surrounding communities. The project aims to restore approximately 45 hectares (110 acres) of the mangrove ecosystem in Anawilundawa, which have been destroyed due to shrimp farming.

WNPS partnered the Wildlife Conservation Department on this project in the first half of 2020 and despite the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has successfully reached its initial milestones, including recording of the faunal and floral species in a section of the surrounding habitats, creating a mangrove plant nursery using harvested seeds from the site and establishing baseline data for the project. 

This important conservation project is to be conducted by Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Conservation Department, Forests Department, Wayamba University (Science Partner), facilitated by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS).

Sri Lanka’s current mangrove cover, estimated to be 15,000-19,000 hectares, is a mere ~ 0.3 percent of the total landmass and is critically low, putting the island at risk from the impact of climate change and natural disasters such as storm surges and tsunamis.

Mangroves are an integral part of our forests and constitute about 2 percent of Sri Lanka’s total forest cover; they are very much part of the fast dwindling 17 percent of our primary forests.