The Darwin Initiative ‘Increasing the resilience of biodiversity and livelihoods in Colombo’s wetlands’ project has investigated mechanisms for aligning community wetland practices and monitoring with government policies. At the catchment scale, community best practices of wetland management have been identified and promoted to safeguard biodiversity, improve livelihoods and secure the wellbeing of 2.3 million people.
The experience of the project and the knowledge gained through extensive partner, stakeholder and community engagement has led to the development of a Wetland Management Framework to support wetland planning and management work of government agencies and communities across the Metro Colombo Wetland Complex (MCWC).
As a key output of the project, the Wetland Management Framework for MCWC builds on existing legislation and policies of the key government agencies, and incorporates a set of co-developed principles that have been created to help guide successful wetland management within Colombo. Currently, the framework is being considered for official uptake by the Sri Lanka National Wetland Steering Committee.
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