Authorities have decided to move towards declaring approximately 1,500 hectares of land around important water sources and upper watershed areas in Nuwara Eliya as protected areas.
The land belongs to the Department of Forest Conservation, and the relevant areas are expected to receive protected status through a Gazette notification.
The decision was reached at a special District Coordinating Committee meeting in Nuwara Eliya.
Protecting water sources and upper catchments
The proposed protected areas include land associated with important water sources and upper catchment areas in the Nuwara Eliya district.
The initiative is intended to strengthen:
- environmental conservation;
- protection of water catchments; and
- sustainable tourism.
The Ministry of Environment has indicated that the relevant areas are expected to be gazetted in the near future.
Gazette still to come
The decision to proceed with protection is significant, but the legal process must be described accurately.
The approximately 1,500 hectares are to be declared protected areas through a Gazette notification.
They should not be described as having already received final gazetted protected status unless the relevant Gazette notification is subsequently issued.
Hotels and businesses also discussed
Officials were also instructed to expedite the proper issuance of Environmental Protection Licences to hotels and other businesses operating within the Nuwara Eliya tourism zone.
The meeting also called for continuing inspections aimed at preventing pollution of water sources through improper wastewater disposal.
Deforestation and disaster risks
Authorities discussed coordinating government institutions to address environmental and development problems more rapidly.
The measures include efforts to protect watershed areas, prevent illegal deforestation and reduce environmental risks, including risks associated with landslides.
Nuwara Eliya's highland ecosystems and watersheds are important both environmentally and for communities and economic activities dependent on those water resources.