Celebrating World Wetlands Day 2020 at Wilpattu National Park

World Wetland Day 2020 was celebrated on 2 and 3 February at the Wilpattu National Park together with 100 children from schools in the national park buffer zone. ‘Wetlands and Biodiversity’ was the theme for this year, shedding light on why wetlands matter and to promote actions to reverse their loss. 

Minister of Environment and Wildlife Resources S.M. Chandrasena, Department of Wildlife Conservation Director General M.G.C. Sooriyabandara, Park Warden Chamath Lakshman, and GIZ Sri Lanka Head of Project Cristina Georgii as well as many other environmental and wildlife enthusiasts and activists gathered for the inauguration of the program.

The event, organised by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), consisted of a series of lectures and field activities. A highlight for the children was certainly the safari tour, which started early in the morning of the second day. For most children, it was the first time they had gotten an opportunity to witness the rich nature and genuine wildlife of Wilpattu National Park.

World Wetlands Day, 2 February, marks the signing of the Ramsar Convention in 1971. Named after the Iranian city Ramsar, where the Convention was signed, this treaty is meant to help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands. Sri Lanka has been party to the Ramsar Convention since 1990. To this day, the country has declared six wetlands of international importance. This includes the Wilpattu Ramsar Wetland Cluster, which became part of the Ramsar Convention in 2013. 

The event is part of the Supporting Wilpattu and Influence Zone Management in Sri Lanka Project, which is being implemented from 2019 to 2022 by the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Resources and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project combines the conservation efforts within the Wilpattu National Park with the sustainable development of its influence zones.