Kokkilai Sanctuary

Kokkilai Sanctuary
கொக்குளாய் சரணாலயம்
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Kokkilai Sanctuary
Kokkilai Sanctuary

Location within Northern Province

Location Northern Province
Nearest city Mullaitivu
Coordinates 09°01′25″N 80°55′55″E / 9.02361°N 80.93194°E / 9.02361; 80.93194Coordinates: 09°01′25″N 80°55′55″E / 9.02361°N 80.93194°E / 9.02361; 80.93194
Area 20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Established 18 May 1951 (1951-05-18)
Administrator Department of Wildlife Conservation

Kokkilai Sanctuary (Tamil: கொக்குளாய் சரணாலயம் Kokkuḷāy Caraṇālayam) is a wildlife sanctuary in north eastern Sri Lanka, approximately 25 km (16 mi) south east of Mullaitivu.

History

Kokkilai Lagoon and its surrounding area was designated as a bird sanctuary on 18 May 1951 under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (No. 2) of 1937.[1][2] It had an area of 2,995 ha (7,401 acres) in 1990.[1] It currently has an area of 1,995 ha (4,930 acres).[2]

Following the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War the government announced plans to convert various sanctuaries in the Northern Province, including Kokkilai, into national parks.[3][4] Four new national parks were created in the Northern Province on 22 June 2015 but Kokkilai remains only a sanctuary.[5][6]

An Integrated Strategic Environmental Assessment of Northern Province produced by the government with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme and published in October 2014 recommended that Kokkilai sanctuary be extended northwards to include Nai Aru Lagoon.[7][8]

Kokkilai Sanctuary has been subject to illegal deforestation.[9][10] In 2010 1,000 acres were bulldozed destroying up to 3,000 weaver bird nests.[11]

Flora and fauna

Kokkilai Lagoon is partly surrounded by mangrove swamps and sea grass beds.[1] The surrounding area includes cultivated land, scrub and open forests.[1] Numerous varieties of water and wader birds are found in the sanctuary including cormorants, ducks, egrets, flamingoes, herons, ibis, pelicans and storks.[1][9][12] The sanctuary is a haven for birds migrating along Sri Lanka's east coast.[9] Elephants are also found in the sanctuary.[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Green, Michael J. B. (1990). IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas (PDF). International Union for Conservation of Nature. pp. 224–225. ISBN 2-8317-0030-2.
  2. 1 2 "Sanctuaries". Department of Wildlife Conservation.
  3. ↑ "New Wildlife Parks In The North". The Sunday Leader. 1 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Ladduwahetty, Ravi (28 July 2014). "Elephant experts predict miserable failure". Ceylon Today.
  5. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE FAUNA AND FLORA PROTECTION ORDINANCE (CHAPTER 469) Order under Subsection (4) of Section 2" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1920/03. 22 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Rodrigo, Malaka (10 May 2015). "Wild north gets Govt's helping hand at last". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  7. ↑ Mallawatantri, Ananda; Marambe, Buddhi; Skehan, Connor, eds. (October 2014). Integrated Strategic Environment Assessment of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka (PDF). Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka and Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka. p. 75. ISBN 978-955-9012-55-9.
  8. ↑ Abhayagunawardena, Vidya (29 March 2015). "Will conservation boom in the north?". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  9. 1 2 3 Rodrigo, Malaka (9 May 2010). "Destruction of sanctuary new chapter in war on Kokkilai". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  10. ↑ de Silva, Rashmini (9 May 2010). "Destruction encroaches over Kokilai Sanctuary". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
  11. ↑ Nizam, Ifham (5 May 2010). "Residents blamed for Kokilai destruction". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  12. ↑ "Around the Pearl - Day Six Nilaveli – Mullaitivu (170 km)". Daily FT. 17 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "Another massacre in Kokkilai". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 30 May 2010.
  14. ↑ Mudalige, Disna (12 May 2010). "Urgent action called for saving sanctuary". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
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