Let the birds return: Saving Kumana Villu from invasive aliens
View(s):Kumana Villu…. a hot spot of bird and animal diversity within a network of protected areas in the deep south of Sri Lanka, is overrun by alien invasives.
This 500 acre wetland, a designated RAMSAR site and part of the Kumana National Park was home to thousands of native and migrant aquatic birds including a number of endemics – species found only in Sri Lanka. In recent years however disappointed bird watchers and avian enthusiasts reported a steady decline in the number of birds at the Villu. The degradation greatly affected the winter migratory movements from the northern hemisphere. Given that Kumana Villu is part of the network of southern wetlands located at the very end of the Central Asian Flyway for migratory birds, the importance of the health of this ecosystem cannot be overstated. Nearly half the bird species recorded in Sri Lanka are seasonal migrants.
In April 2024, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) in partnership with the Federation of Environmental Organisations (FEO) and Parrotfish Collective, undertook a pilot project to clear some of the more damaging and prolific plant invasives -especially the hardy creeper Causonis trifolia and water hyacinth. Within two weeks, the birds had returned. This demonstrated that the health of the ecosystem can be restored rather quickly but maintaining this status is tricky. Invasive species are known to be very adaptable and hard to subdue once they have established over a given area. Tried and tested methods recommend manual removal, which is more sustainable in the long term than mechanical removal.
Targeting the dry season of 2024, the DWLC and the above two environmental organisations plan to clear another 20 (around 50 acres) hectares of the villu in areas most affected by invasive spread.
This effort will be entirely crowd funded and requires public support. The estimate for clearing an acre is Rs. 30,000, while a hectare will cost Rs. 75,000. The success of this fund-raising effort will determine if there is sufficient support to tackle the invasion in other parts of the villu and restore this once pristine protected area to its former glory.
For FEO, this project in Kumana Villu marks the sixth national park that the organization has supported in habitat management and removal of invasive alien plant species (IAPS). Starting in Minneriya in 2020 clearing the prolific agada that degraded the lush grasslands that elephants fed on, FEO has undertaken scientifically-robust, long term engagement in clearing out these invasives through repeated cycles of selective manual uprooting and assisted renegeration of native species where conductive.
In 2020-2023 FEO cleared aound 500 hectares of Agada in Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks and over 800 hectares of Lantana camara and Eupatorium odoratum in Lunugamvehera National Park, again to support the high density of elephants in this Park and the lack of food due to invasive species overgrowth. Today, FEO is also working in Horton Plains National Park, Wasgomuwa National Park and the Kumana Villu building on the proven success of their previous efforts and relationship with the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Those interested can reach out to chair@feosrilanka.org or coordinatefeo@gmail.com
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