Local and foreign tourists regularly visit Hikkaduwa to experience the aesthetic wonder of the seabed. The Hikkaduwa coastline and coral reefs, which are associated with Sri Lanka's tourism industry, are of dual importance both ecologically and touristy.
The coral seabed is also an ecologically and aesthetically rare location. The destruction of these coral reefs by human activities has become a problem today. Therefore, not only the government but also the people of this country have a responsibility to protect the coral reefs. The purpose of this article is to consider the socio-economic and environmental issues that arise here.
Hikkaduwa National Park is the only national park in Sri Lanka where you can see an ecosystem with marine life. This national park is home to a variety of marine species. Sixty species of corals belonging to 31 genera have recorded from Hikkaduwa Coral Reef National Park.
The site was declared a national park in 2002 to conserve the area to minimize the adverse effects of coral reefs on increasing tourist arrivals.
We came to the Hikkaduwa beach to find out more about the reefs of the Hikkaduwa National Park and what we need to do to protect this precious resource.
Hikkaduwa National Park Trustee RI Gurusinghe joined us to inform us. One of the reasons for the destruction of corals is the lack of knowledge about how long it will take for these corals to regenerate, which are instantly destroyed by natural disasters as well as human activities.
This limestone made up of the skeletons of a small group of organisms called polyps. The polyp creates a frame outside its body and begins to live inside it—this called coral.
A coral reef starts with one of these polyps. He begins life by sticking to a hard surface and is known as his parent coral creature. The polyp organisms around it also mainly attach to the parent polyp and begin to grow as a group. These polyps die, but their skeleton remains, and more polyps grow on the structure. This process, which takes place over hundreds of thousands of years, results in a very thick frame. Gurusinghe said that this could be called a coral reef.
How sad it is that hundreds of years of growing coral reefs wiped out by human activity
Commenting on how coral reefs destroyed due to human ignorance and carelessness, Mr S. Rathnayake, Animal Husbandry, said that coral reefs killed due to those who come to swim in Hikkaduwa. As they swim, they stand on coral reefs, causing the corals to collapse. He also said that the effluent from the engines of boats carrying tourists as well as the use of anchors to stop boats was another reason for the destruction of coral reefs.
Result of this ignorance and carelessness, the coral reef has to pay with its life for the livelihood of man. Obtaining lime from limestone is a traditional industry, but today the demand for lime has increased due to the rapid pace of construction.
Fishing harbour established during the last government for the welfare of fishers living there has also been a factor in the destruction of the coral reefs. The boat owners of the Hikkaduwa National Park expressed their views in this regard. The floodwaters hit the harbor's retaining wall and return with a layer of sand. This layer of sand deposits on the corals means that the corals destroyed.
Speaking further Mr Ruwan Bopage, a boat owner said, "We used to go between 5-20 times a day. But now I only get to go three trips a day. Due to the destruction of coral reefs, the number of tourists visiting Hikkaduwa is less. Local tourists charged Rs. 900 per trip on boats carrying tourists to see the coral. 1750 assigned from foreign tourists. However, due to the intervention of brokers, the amount paid for boats has increased.
While one community is destroying coral reefs for their livelihood, another is striving to preserve corals for the same purpose.
Commenting on the government's intervention to protect the coral reefs by doing justice to all these communities, Director General of Wildlife HD Rathnayake said, to identify and conserve coral reefs islandwide and to cultivate coral in the Hikkaduwa National Park. The law prohibits the destruction, possession and collection of corals r the purpose of protecting them. But those involved in the lime industry are only allowed to dig up corals buried in the ground for their livelihood, he said.
Commenting on the steps taken to address the problems caused by the fisheries harbour, Mr Ratnayake said that the fisheries harbour could e damaged by the removal of the harbour protection wall. Therefore, steps have to pump sand from time to time as a temporary solution, he said.
These corals act as a breakwater that protects the country from natural disasters. Protecting coral reefs can reduce the cost of rock formation. The Director of Wildlife also said that the investment in coral reefs would be a long-term investment.
The damage to the reefs is far more significant than the damage caused by natural disasters, as the coral reefs, which provide substantial economic benefits to humans, are being used solely for profit. Among these, activities such as disco nets for fishing, the use of Moxi nets, and fishing with dynamite were another factor contributing to the destruction of coral reefs.
Coral reefs not only provide mental satisfaction to man but are also an important system that provides food and habitat for aquatic life such as various fish, prawns and lobsters. On the other hand, man must be more prudent in taking advantage of these reefs, which provide a livelihood for man and function as a wall that quietly protects the country. Failure to do so will result in the loss of these valuable resources to future generations.
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