Sunday Oct 19, 2025
Sunday Oct 19, 2025
Friday, 10 October 2025 05:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shanika Sriyananda
The Ambuluwawa is popular locally and internationally as Sri Lanka’s first multi-religious sanctuary, which is an ecologically important terrain with wet, intermediate, and dry climatic zones.
The Ambuluwawa provides a framework for balancing conservation, cultural, and recreational objectives while accommodating agriculture and community needs. Lands spanning 207 hectares are classified into distinct management zones based on their ecological significance, land use potential and cultural or recreational functions. The zoning plan has some areas with high biodiversity value and limited visitor access, others are heavily modified landscapes designed to support tourism, religious practices, or agricultural production.
But this ecologically vital piece of land with its unique flora and fauna is under extreme threat from human pressures due to habitat fragmentation and rapidly spreading invasive alien species.
This was revealed by a latest study – Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Assessment Report (2025) launched by the Institute of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka (IEPSL) in Colombo.
As a part of its conservation initiatives, the IEPSL carried out the assessment of the Ambuluwawa supported by Ansell Lanka Ltd., under its global CSR program.
The primary objectives of the study are to systematically document the diversity of flora and fauna within the ABC with special emphasis on endemic, threatened, and ecologically significant species; classify, map, and characterise habitats and microhabitats while evaluating ecological connectivity and degradation.
In addition, the study seeks to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by the site, including water regulation, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and cultural and religious values, thereby highlighting its benefits to local communities and national development.
Ultimately, the assessment aims to provide evidence-based management recommendations for conservation, habitat restoration, and sustainable tourism development, while contributing to national and international biodiversity databases and strengthening Sri Lanka’s capacity for biodiversity monitoring and reporting.
Documented 212 flora and 216 fauna species
The systematically documented 212 flora species and 216 fauna species, including high concentrations of endemic and nationally threatened taxonomic groups. The report found 55 endemic animal species and 14 endemic plant species residing within the complex. The risk analysis identified habitat fragmentation and climate vulnerability as the highest systemic threats to the site’s survival.
The fauna of Ambuluwawa recorded a total of 216 species belonging to 81 families across dragonflies, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Of these, 55 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. Out of 18 amphibian species 13 are endemic and from 3 reptiles 20 of them are endemic.
A total of 13 species of dragonflies and damselflies representing 5 families have been recorded from Ambuluwawa. A total of 64 butterfly species representing 6 families were recorded across Ambuluwawa’s diverse habitats, with richness highest in successional forests, followed by agricultural areas, natural forest patches, pine plantations, and cultural sites.
The bird community is the most species-rich, with 66 species from 34 families, including 15 endemics, while mammals contribute 19 species, many of which are native.
The survey documented 18 amphibian species across 7 families, of which 13 are endemic. Species richness is highest in natural forests. Ambuluwawa supports 36 reptile species from 13 families, with 20 endemics, making this one of the most distinctive faunal groups.
Roadkill ranked high threat
Tourism, fragmentation, and infrastructure also impose severe pressures. Roadkill is ranked as a high threat due to roads crossing the fragile habitats, causing disproportionately high mortality among endemic amphibians and reptiles during their movements. Moreover, high visitor traffic and waste mismanagement exacerbate conflict with the endemic Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica), which raids crops and relies on anthropogenic food sources, requiring urgent mitigation strategies. Without regulated management, these pressures risk compromising both the ecological integrity and cultural value of Ambuluwawa.
To safeguard the complex, the study provided a two-tiered roadmap of management recommendations. The short-term recommendations (1–3 years) focus on immediate threat mitigation like invasive species control by manual uprooting. Urgent early detection and rapid responses must be established for emerging invasives like Ivory Cane Palm, which has high invasive potential.
It also recommends habitat restoration and protection by establishing strict conservation zones for all remaining lowland wet evergreen forest patches while taking steps like installing speed reduction measures like warning signs and rumble strips along high-risk roads to mitigate road mortality for amphibians and reptiles.
The study also highlights on implementing awareness campaigns prohibiting the feeding of Toque Macaques and installing macaque-proof garbage bins, especially near religious and recreational sites, to reduce conflict incidents.
Long- term recommendations
Long-term recommendations (5–15 years) aim to restore ecosystem function and establish sustainable governance:
It recommends constructing wildlife crossings as long=term remedies, specifically canopy bridges for monkeys and squirrels and underpasses for small mammals and reptiles in selected road sections, which are identified as high-risk roadkill hotspots, ensuring long-term ecological connectivity.
Forest conversion, establishing a long-term biodiversity monitoring program to systematically track endemic, threatened, and migratory species and positioning Ambuluwawa as a model eco-cultural tourism site by developing biodiversity interpretation centers and eco-trails, ensuring that visitor programs enhance awareness and support conservation efforts are listed as long term recommendations to protect this important ecological and tourism site.
It also stated that it is critical that all future infrastructure planning, including the proposed cable car project, incorporates mandatory Ecological Impact Assessments (EIAs) and site management must be formally aligned with the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan targets for ecosystem restoration and invasive alien species management.
The study was led by Environment Specialist Pubudu Weerarathna, and included Mammals Specialist Rohan Peris, Herpetologist Roshan Rodrigo, Butterfly and Odonates Specialist Suneth Kanishka, Ornithologist Hasitha Katugaha, Flora Specialist Dilup Chandranimal, GIS Specialist Dimuthu Wickramasinghe, and Environmental Scientist James Cresswell. The project leadership and coordination were jointly managed by Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe, Dr. Pradeep Gajanayake, and Prasad Jayaweera.
Ansell Sri Lanka Chief Operations and Supply Chain Officer John Marsden said the Company is a proud Australian business, which is 132 years-old and thinking about the future and any impact when it is doing our business.
“This is important because the people who own our business and our investors care about the environment and care about ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). It is because our customers and the end users who are protected by our products care about what products they wear, and also how they were made and the impact they leave on the environment. It’s important to all the people who work for ASL as we believe in doing well, doing good, leaving an impact on and giving support to our communities and to the countries. It is with great honor that we supported this project. Ansell Sri Lanka’s commitment and our vision is we want to lead the world to a safer future,” Marsden said.
Ansell Sri Lanka Senior Director and Country Head Ramesh Nanayakkara said ASL’s operations has become the largest Ansell among other 14 manufacturing sites across the world. Being in the world for 132 years as a global company and for 35 years in Sri Lanka operations always interact with the environment.
“It is our duty to make sure that we take all best efforts to make sure that this country’s environment is preserved for many years. We believe in sustainability in the most effective way. Sustainability agenda cannot be achieved without collaboration. We firmly believe in it and that is why we engage with the institutions, policymakers, positively to make sure that we influence the environment,” he added.
Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe
