A large-scale ecological wetland restoration initiative successfully concluded today, October 2, 2026, with the planting of 12,000 indigenous mangrove saplings across 15 hectares of degraded shoreline along the southern Bolgoda Lake basin in Panadura, Kalutara.

Bolgoda Lake, Sri Lanka's largest natural freshwater and brackish wetland system, provides vital ecological services as a natural stormwater retention basin and biodiversity refuge for the Western Province. However, historical shoreline encroachment, illegal waste dumping, and unauthorized clearing of fringe wetlands had severely fragmented native mangrove habitats. Under the joint restoration drive organized by MEPA, the Department of Forest Conservation, and local fishing societies, planting teams established dense stands of native Rhizophora mucronata, Lumnitzera racemosa, and Sonneratia caseolaris saplings.

Marine ecologists emphasized that mature mangrove root complexes function as living biological water treatment filters, trapping suspended silt, absorbing excess agricultural nitrates, and neutralizing heavy metal residues before water flows into coastal estuaries. The submerged stilt roots also restore critical nursery and feeding habitats for freshwater prawns, pearl spot fish (Karimeen), and endangered endemic wetland avifauna including the purple heron and white-bellied sea eagle.

Community leaders in Panadura announced the formation of a 'Bolgoda Eco-Guardian' youth taskforce equipped with patrol boats to monitor sapling growth, prevent illegal waste dumping, and conduct weekly water clarity testing. MEPA officials affirmed that community-led wetland restoration builds natural flood resilience across the urban fringe while revitalizing inland fishing livelihoods for local families.