Nagenahiru Biodiversity & Wetland Restoration
     
  Initially Nagenahiru concentrated its conservation activities at Maduganga and Madampe lakes which are located on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. This twin-lake system is connected by a narrow channel of 3 km in length. The region is one of the most beautiful and picturesque landscapes with a rich biodiversity in Sri Lanka.

The species and mangrove ecosystems in this region are both highly unique and under intense pressure. Mangroves provide a number of important services both locally and globally including soil stabilization, coastal protection, fish habitats and nurseries and vital sources of protein resources for coastal communities. Mangroves are also one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. They are invaluable natural filtration systems for pollutants. However, at present mangroves are quickly disappearing in this wetland system due to the rapidly increasing population pressure on the wetland.

Encroaching urban development, climatic change and unsustainable farming and fishing practices have a negative impact the health of mangrove ecosystems.

Unique Biodiversity
According to a study conducted by the IUCN in 2000, these wetland systems has a unique biodiversity including different vegetation types such as the predominating mangroves and marshlands. The Maduganga wetland consists of 10 major vegetation types. These vegetation types comprise a total of 303 species of plants belonging to 95 families. These include 19 endemic and nationally threatened species and 9 invasive alien species. Shorea affinis, a dominant canopy plant is an example for an endangered plants.

Apart from the broad variety of plants, a large number of invertebrates, reptiles, including snakes, birds, amphibians, and mammals can be found around Lakes Maduganga and Madampa Ganga. Whereas the Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) is considered to be vulnerable and the purple-faced Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus vetulus) endangered. Other reptiles such as the estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys punctata), Indian Python (Python molurus) are not considered in the red list yet.

The mixture of vegetation types and the presence of 21 small and large islands within this twin-lake system has made these two wetlands an ideal habitat for a great variety of birds. A total of 111 bird species (48 families) are recorded. These represented approximately 43 % families of the Sri Lanka native avifauna population. Of these native species 6 are endemic while 7 are considered as nationally threatened. Some of the birds were listed in the IUCN red list, such as the Sri Lanka bush warbler, Bradypterus palliseri, Columba torringtoni (Ceylon bush pigeon) and Myophonus blighi, the Sri Lanka whistling thrush. Additionally, about 10 % (13 species) of Lake Maduganga birds are winter migrants.

Community & depletion of Resources
According to the available data, the total population living in the vicinity of Lake Maduganga is about 24150. 19360 people live around the lake Madampa Ganga.

These people depend on the resources available from the lakes and surrounding wetland systems. There is no adequate management nor environmental awareness programme, by which the local farmers and fishermen can learn about sustainable use of the environment. The area already has encountered severe damage e.g. due to over-fishing, emissions of pollutants into the water system or the extensive use of chemical fertilizers.

Nagenahiru Activities
Nagenahiru activities in protecting and conserving the Biological diversity on this unique wetland system includes educating the surrounding communities on the values and importance of the wetlands and its resources coupled up with a sustainable community restoration programmes. The Nagenahiru Center for Environmental Education located at Madampa Lake is the focal point of these Educational activities to create awareness and to provide information for local stakeholders about the sustainable utilization of the biological resources, as well as the conservation and restoration of the wetland systems and its resources.

The Environmental Education programmes of the Nagenahiru includes several topics which are designed to enhance the community knowledge & skills related to the important issues related to the degradation of wetlands.

Biodiversity and Environment:
What is biodiversity?, Forms of biodiversity, Why conserve biodiversity?, Status of biodiversity in the area, Threats to biodiversity in the area, International Conventions related to the biodiversity Conservation, How to conserve biodiversity, What is environment?, Environmental problems in general, How to conserve environment.
Wetlands, Values & Importance

What is a wetland?, Types of wetlands, Why conserve wetlands, Values & importance of Wetlands, Status of wetlands in Sri Lanka, Introduction to Ramsar convention and Ramsar Sites, Threats to wetlands, How to conserve wetlands.

Climate Change- Impact & Mitigation
What is Climate Change?, How its happen?, Possible Community Contribution to the Climate Change Mitigation, Impact of Climate Change – Specially related to the Agriculture & Coastal areas in Sri Lanka, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Risk Management.

Wetland Fauna & Flora
Identification of unique species of Flora & Fauna found in wetlands, Importance of flora and Fauna species to a healthy Eco system, Adaptations and Behavior
Special features of wetland fauna.

Sustainable Livelihoods
What is sustainable livelihood?, Eco system services and poverty, Preventing soil degradation during farming, Sustainable Fishing Practices, Sustainable harvesting of wetland flora for livelihoods, Women Empowerment and wetland Craft

Mangrove Restoration activities of Nagenahiru
Mangrove forests are unique ecosystems that are perfectly adapted to brackish living conditions. With a very rich biodiversity and performing several economically and environmentally voluble Ecosystem services for the well being of the society.

Mangrove forests provide shelter to fresh and saltwater species, sea and land organisms share the same habitat. But mangroves are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world with approximately 50 percent of all mangrove forests already being destroyed, drained, and converted to rice paddies or prawn farms. The Tsunami of 2004 has demonstrated that intact mangrove belts can save lives. Nagenahiru mangrove rehabilitation programme aims at the restoration of mangrove forest as a precautionary protection measure against tidal waves, natural nursery of fish, and at the same time, providing new livelihoods to families in poor communities.

During the last five decades most of the mangrove vegetation were destroyed or degraded by harvesting for timber, fire wood, land reclamation and by conversion to agricultural activities. As a result of the destruction of mangrove ecosystems, community structure of crustacean, fish and other macro fauna species in the wetlands were extensively depleted.

The mangrove habitat restoration programme of Nagenahiru is being implemented in the southwest of Sri Lanka, in the regions of the wetlands Maduganga, and Madampe wetland. The main target groups are families from riparian communities. The mangrove plants are grown in 18 nurseries that have already been installed in the region. The measure aims at involving the people living around the wetlands in the long term sustainable development of the region in order to prevent further destruction of pristine mangrove.

Nagenahiru imitate its mangrove rehabilitation programme on a pilot basis by planting monocultures of mangrove seedlings using four common local species available at the Maduganga and Madampa Lake wetland system in the south–west coast of Sri Lanka, The species identified for this pilot project is as follows:
Rhizophora mucronata
Bruguiera gymnorhiza
Xylocarpus granatum


Mangrove Nurseries
Initially Two main mangrove nurseries and 10 household nurseries were established in the wetland areas Maduganga and Madampe. More than 30,000 mangrove seedlings were establish and restored in the surrounding wetland areas of the Maduganga.

Before the establishment of the nurseries the knowledge and skills of the identified community leaders were improved by providing them with a one-day workshop conducted by experience resources persons .

The Mangrove nursery established at the Nagenahiru Center for Environmental Education is utilized as a demonstration and education site to enhance the knowledge and skills of the potential mangers of the mangrove nurseries.

The Mangrove restoration activities of Nagenahiru also provide some additional income to the families engage in nursery management, These families receive a
small amount of money (10 rupees) for each plant successfully grown. After the plant is successfully planted in the wetland and has grown to a certain extent (approximately 1 year), the families will receive a second installment after the first year,

A part of this, these nurseries will be used for growing economically viable plants
such as fruits in order to ensure a long-term income and self-sustainability of the nurseries. Three families are engaged in each nursery. Hence, the total number of people (mainly women) that take profit out of the household nurseries is 18 in 2009.

The household nurseries also serve as a centre in the villages to create awareness for the value of mangroves in disaster prevention and as a breeding site for lake fish species, in order to establish the fish population and ensure the long-term income of the freshwater fishermen.

Re – Planting of Mangroves
Mangrove seedlings comprise mainly of the Rhizophora mucronata, Avicennia and Bruguiera mangrove species which exist naturally within the ecosystem..

The mangrove replanting initiative was launched in 2007. This replanting effort aims to restore the mangrove and surrounding coastal wetland system along the Maduganga and Madampa eetland system to its original state by selecting and replanting mangrove species.

The effort began with replanting of 1,500 mangrove seedlings and continued until selected degraded patches which have been identified 15km along the Maduganga and Madampa area have been rehabilitated.

Nagenahiru is working towards a long-term plan that will ensure that the habitat along the rehabilitated and its vicinity is constantly monitored and maintained.

At present Nagenahiru ahs initiated an expedition at Madampa Lake wetland system to collate valuable data on the ecosystem successfully and this information will be used as a platform for our environmental conservation and education efforts.

The Nagenahiru Mangrove rehabilitation programme already entered to its into Phase 2 at the end of 2009 with the restoration of identified 15-hectares of degraded Wetland at Halwatura Area of the Madampa Lake wetland system.