Hali Ela Water Source Reservation declared as Environmental Protection Area

The Environment Ministry has gazetted the land area consisting of 362 allotments of lands situated in the tea estates in the Hali Ela Divisional Secretariat as an environment protection area under the name ‘Hali Ela Water Source Reservation’.

They said the action was taken to declare this area an environmental protection area with the objective of conserving and providing legal protection to these water sources, considering the protection of those water sources to be of national interest.

Water sources that feed the small streams feeding Badulu Oya are located in this area.

Accordingly, only permitted uses can be carried out in the "Hali Ela Water Source Reservation Environmental Protection Area" henceforth, and such activities should be carried out subject to the conditions set out in the gazette notification.

Tree planting programmes aimed at improving the water source reservation area, community-based water supply projects to provide drinking water to rural communities, and activities related to the sustainable existence of the Hali Ela Environmental Protection Area have been declared permitted uses.

In terms of the provisions of the National Environment Act, ecologically unique areas are declared environmental protection areas, and such areas are regulated to ensure the long-term sustainability of the areas.

Accordingly, there have been ten designated environmental protection areas in Sri Lanka, and the "Hali Ela Water Source Reservation Environmental Protection Area" is the eleventh environmental protection area. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)