First-ever international wetland festival today and tomorrow

By Ifham Nizam

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) together with Department of Wildlife Conservation will celebrate the first-ever international wetland festival, ‘the Wonders of Wetlands’ at Sri Lanka’s Diyasaru Wetland Park at Thalawathugoda today (February 2) (from 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. and tomorrow (February 3) (from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.).

Primary focus of this year’s two-day event is to attract more visitors. “We are giving an open invitation to everyone to enjoy the wetland biodiversity,” a Spokesperson of the CEA said.

The festival coincides with the international Wetland Day, which falls on 02 Feb.

This year’s theme – Wetlands and Human Wellbeing – highlights the enormous benefits of wetlands, which provide water and food, support biodiversity, protect against extreme weather events, and store carbon.

Wetlands are responsible for flood control, water purification and water regulation. However, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than the forests. Drainage, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of natural resources by human beings are some of the reasons why wetlands are endangered.The CEA has pledged to take all precautions to protect the wetlands.