Sri Lanka to give leadership for mangrove conservation in Commonwealth countries

London: Sri Lanka has been named as the country to give leadership for the conservation of mangroves in Commonwealth countries during the 25th inaugural ceremony of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held yesterday in London.

At yesterday’s meeting, an active committee has been established under the leadership of Sri Lanka to share the knowledge and the procedure on mangrove conservation with other Commonwealth states.

Sri Lanka has become the first nation in the world to comprehensively protect all of its mangrove forests.

Sri Lanka’s Mangrove Conservation Project, launched under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena in 2015 was identified as a successful project globally. As a result Sri Lanka was named as a country which has attained a higher progress on Mangrove Conservation.

Mangroves, which are tropical trees that have thick, stilt like roots and grow in brackish swamps and shallow salt water, are vitally important since they play an important role in ameliorating climate change.