Progress report for
Strengthening the Marine Management Unit of the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka
Achievement at a glance
Marine Unit of the Dept. of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) was assisted to develop its strategy and action plan in 2018; At the community level DWC was supported to form Community Conservation Groups (Kudawa and Arippu in the Gulf of Mannar and Vidattaltivu in Palk Bay); Also the DWC was helped to provide incentives to communities (coastal tourism/livelihoods) and conduct awareness to communities in partnership with five organizations (different skills); Helped to declare a marine protected area (marine sanctuary) at Kayankerni and continued the capacity development of the Marine Management Unit of the DWC (Species identification - Corals and Fish and underwater monitoring of reef fish and corals on ship wrecks).<br>
Challenges faced in implementation
1. Challenges to form a multi-stakeholder understanding and effective engagement towards governance of coastal and marine resources (agency mandates, resources and capacity)<br>2. Lack of adequate number of trained personnel (Lack of manpower) to cover the coastal area within the Govt. sector
<br>3. Lack of equipment such as boats, vehicles etc. to be effective in monitoring and governance
<br>4. Political commitment at the local level in the conservation and management of natural resources, partly due to poverty related issues and also lack of long-term vision beyond securing and maintain the vote base.
<br>5. Information on carrying capacity at different locations to balance development and conservation towards long-term sustainability and SDG 14.
Beneficiaries
Department of Wildlife Conservation, Marine Unit and the communities involved in conservation and livelihood work. The DWC Marine Unit capacity was built in number ways as highlighted earlier (eg: Species identification).
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<br>Communities were supported on alternative livelihoods in tourism industry, enhancing the quality of home gardens, marine products such as dry fish making and packaging, poultry and other household income generation activities.
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<br>Counting beneficiaries and recording lessons learned is one of the weak areas to be improved.
Actions
1. Awareness and education on harmful fishery practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fishery resource (spear fishing, net types etc.)<br>2. Support to DWC to enhance community relations via community group formation
<br>3. Multi-agency project approach tested with seven partners in community capacity development - having different expertise (eg: Turtle conservation, Ship wreaks, Oceanography etc.).
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