IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Goonatilake, S.de A.; Perera, N.; Silva, G.D.; Werakoon, D.; Mallawatantri, A. | |
| Natural Resource Profile of the Kelani River Basin | |
| 2016 IUCN Sri Lanka: 1-46 | |
The Kelani River originates from the Western face of the central highlands located in the Horton Plains National Park and Peak Wilderness Sanctuary. It drains approximately 2,292 square kilometres of land area (Survey Department, 2007). It is the second largest river basin and fourth longest river in Sri Lanka. Lower and middle reaches of the Kelani river flows through Colombo and Gampaha districts, which have the highest population density and the highest density of industries. The basin contains some of the most picturesque landscapes in Sri Lanka, offering a high potential to be developed as tourist destinations (Red Dot Tours, 2015 and Gordon, 2014), probably offering an alternative to the present industrial based economy. Lowland, Submontane and Montane forests that are located in the middle and upper reaches of the Kelani River Basin are inhabited by a large number of endemic and threatened plants and animals (Jayasuriya et.al., 2006 and Perera et. al., 2014). At the same time the Kelani River is known for its increasing pollution as a result of industrial discharges, poor local authority service delivery, weak environment management and governance (Arewgoda, 1986; Illeperuma, 2000; and CEA, 2014). This Natural Resource Profile was compiled to support the Kelani River Basin Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (KRMP) approach (Mallawatantri, et. al., 2016) developed with the participation of over 50 agencies to make the Kelani River Basin sustainable and resilient. A better understanding of the natural resources in the basin is expected to help strengthen the KRMP approach while ensuring the optimum long-term functionality of the Kelani River Basin ecosystems, which is a balancing act in terms of conservation and economic development. In addition, the KRMP approach is designed to facilitate the promotion of green jobs using Kelani River Basin natural resource base as an alternative to industrial growth with industries. As the population in the western parts of the basin is expected to increase with the new development initiatives including the Western Region Megapolis Plan. Sustainability of the natural resources and ecosystem services of the Kelani River Basin could be of critical importance for the sustainability of the new initiatives too. Above all the natural resource knowledge is expected to improve the educational and awareness programmes aimed for a transformational change in the way we think of natural resources and their uses. |
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