INSEE Cement launches Phase 2 of coral restoration in Unawatuna

Sri Lanka Navy Divers planning the setting up of the steel structures in the sea

Fixing of live corals to the steel structure to enable coral restoration

Fixing of live corals to the steel structure to enable coral restoration

INSEE Cement, Sri Lanka’s foremost cement manufacturing company, with a heritage spanning over 50 years, has been passionately engaged in re-building Sri Lanka’s coral reefs in the company’s dedicated endeavour to contribute to the conservation of nature.  

The company commenced coral reef restoration in 2009, in partnership with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  Initially, the restoration project commenced with IUCN placing concrete structures in the Unawatuna area in the Southern coast. Although the speed of restoration was slow, the initiative resulted in 25 coral colonies being naturally established on those structures. 

INSEE Cement launched the second phase of the coral restoration endeavour recently, this time in partnership with the Rotaract Club of Moratuwa University and the Sri Lanka Navy. In this phase of the initiative, they obtained technical consultancy from the French Coastal Oceanographer Thomas Le Berre, a well-known veteran in coral reef growing projects. 

This time, for the first time in Sri Lanka, the traditional concrete structures were replaced by coated steel structures, with extensive advantages for coral reef restoration. The Sri Lanka Navy divers supported INSEE Cement Lanka’s project by placing the structures on the bottom of the sea bed, and continue to monitor the progress of restoration to safeguard the survival of the coral reef. This initiative is expected to bring results faster and more effectively.  

INSEE Cement Lanka Chief Executive Officer Nandana Ekanayake recalled how the tsunami in 2004 severely affected the Southern coastal belt.  “We’re pleased to observe that our efforts are significantly helping to make this delicate underwater ecosystem thrive again. Coral reefs are also destroyed by human activity as well, and we’re fully aware of the need to protect and rebuild these reefs in order to minimise land erosion and enhance coastal biodiversity,” he said.   

INSEE Cement has been concerned and active in launching efforts to protect and rebuild reefs, in order to minimise land erosion and enhance coastal biodiversity. Coral reefs in Sri Lanka are endangered, and many have been destroyed as a result of both man-made and natural threats.  The devastating impact of the 1998 El Nino effect was one.  The long-term goal of INSEE Cement is to restore degraded marine habitats along the South-Western coast of Sri Lanka.