Leading conservationists and ecologists calling on every citizen to rally around efforts to preserve the rich biodiversity of the Mannar Island, home to some of the world’s most elegant birds that cross the continents to settle for winter, and urge the authorities to look at alternative locations for power generation projects.
Well-know conservationists Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda and environmental groups including Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Environmental Foundation Limited (EFL) and Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) renewed their pledge to preserve the invaluable natural resources of the island which one of the oldest settlements of Sri Lanka and also home to around 67,000 residents with unique fisheries and agricultural community.
“At no cost could the environment be compromised for development which needs to look at all aspects of nature and its sustenance for future generations,” said Dr. Pethiyagoda.
A wind farm consisting of 30 towers generating 100MW (Phase 1 – Thambapawani) was set up with foreign funding on the southern coast of Mannar Island in 2020. A major criticism of the project is due to its positioning within one of the main bird migratory corridors in the Asian region being overlooked for economic benefits.
Similarly, the wind power farm to be built, owned and operated by Indian billionaire’s Adani Group was temporarily stalled thanks to the unfavourable tariff rate offered by the group.
However, conservationist said all is not over. Adani could reappear in another form or a local entity being handed over the project.
Elaborating on the legal implications of the energy project on biodiversity environmental lawyer Ravindranath Dabara said Sri Lanka being a signatory to many international conventions on migratory species cannot sidestep or overstep the conventions it is party to and added that it is obliged to adhere to the convention on biodiversity.
He said the wind power project violates the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, Environment Impact Assessment, the sovereignty of the people and the Sustainable Development Act.
Professor of Zoology, Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences at the University of Colombo, Sampath Seneviratne said Mannar Island attracts over 15 million birds from over 30 countries via the Central Asian Flyway.
He said there are eight major flyways which are used by over 8 million birds from across the globe. Of these eight major global flyways, the Central Asian Flyway is a key component and Mannar is one of the main arteries of this Flyway. These flyways have been covered under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) to which Sri Lanka is one of the signatories and we are globally bound to protect these birds that fly across the globe.
The former the Ministry of Power and Energy agreed to receive an unsolicited proposal for awarding the construction of the Mannar Wind Power Project (Phase-II) and another in Poonaryn to Adani Green Energy Sri Lanka Ltd. (AGESL), as Build, Own, and Operate projects for 25 years for an approximate investment of $ 500 million.
The proposed Mannar Wind Power Project (Phase-II) has a capacity of 250 MW and comprises 52 wind turbines of 5.2 MW capacity each.
