Abstract:
2 km wide band of ocean and the adjoining strip of land extending 300 m inland along the 1,760km coastline is described as the coastal zone of Sri Lanka. It is rich in both living and non living resources including a diversity of coastal ecosystems; fringing coral reefs, sea grass beds, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, salt marshes, sandstone reefs, sand dunes, sandy and rocky beaches, mud flats, gentle seashore vegetation and maritime grasslands. These habitats are important in restraining coastal erosion and sustaining coastal industries.
Over exploitation of resources, coastal constructions and pollution are major issues within the zone. Resources are being subjected to extractive (fisheries, sand mining), and non-extractive (tourism) pressures. Even though coastal capture fishery (edible and ornamental) resources are almost fully exploited, offshore fishery could still be expanded. Most of coastal constructions are related to fisheries and tourism industry.
Coast Conservation Department manages the zone, under the Coast Conservation Act (1981). The first Coastal Zone Management Plan developed in 1990 was revised with the assistance of Coastal Resources Management Project in 1997. Key management areas are coastal permit system and Special Area Management.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami took Sri Lanka by surprise as the island is not subjected to many coastal hazards except for localized coastal erosion and tropical cyclones. In addition to the huge humanitarian loss, it also affected coastal ecosystems. With understanding of the need for preparedness and disaster management, the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act (2005) was enacted and several other measures were taken. It is evident that if the Coast Conservation Act and the CZMP were effectively implemented the tsunami damages could have been greatly reduced. It is also proven that the presence of natural ecosystems in coastal zone assist in minimizing impacts of coastal hazards, hence the importance of conserving them is emphasized.
