Mannar Wetlands

Marine and Coastal Resources in Mannar
Mannar district is located in the north-western part of the Sri Lanka in Northern Province.The district covers 2,002 sq km including the island of Mannar, approximately 3% of the total land area of Sri Lanka.. Mannar district has a marine coast line with a stretch of 222 km, from Theavanpiddi in the north to Mu’l’likku’lam in south. According to the Mannar district fisheries extension officers, the pre-war fisher folk population in Mannar consisted of 29506 persons from 8052 fishing families and 32 fishing villages, approximately 16% of the population of the district. Mannar district, including the Mannar Island, is surrounded by rich fishing areas. Most productive fishing ground lie in the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. The Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar coastal waters over continental shelf contain a variety of species of fin fish, shell fish and holothurians. Encircling the Mannar Island is a shallow continental shelf with rich fishing banks, pearl bank and prawn banks as well as extensive area of 3,828 ha with brackish water and mangroves.
Mannar district is badly affected area for more then three decades due to this district remind back warded in entire fields. After ended war the peacefully atmosphere, development needs must be accomplished. There are various kinds of coastal resources in Mannar District 

Name: Giant's Tank
Coordinates: 8°52'N, 80°02'E;
Location: near Murukkan, 18 km southeast of Mannar, Mannar District, Northern Province.
Area: 1,840 ha.
Altitude: Less than 25m.
Biogeographical Province: 4.13.4.
Description of site: An ancient water storage reservoir (tank), now heavily silted, on the coastal plain of northwestern Sri Lanka, about five km from the sea. The tank is fed by an ancient canal, recently restored, which carries water from the Malwatu Oya river (Aruvi Aru). The tank has a catchment area of 9,850 ha, a maximum depth of 3.2m, and a pH of 7.5. The water level fluctuates widely according to usage for irrigation and monsoon rainfall.
Climatic conditions: Tropical monsoonal climate with an average annual rainfall of 1,051 mm and a mean annual temperature of 27.8°C.
Principal vegetation: There are few aquatic macrophytes; the phytoplankton
includes Oscillatoria, Microcystis and Hyella. The tank is surrounded by rice paddies and dry
scrub forest.
Land tenure: The tank is state owned; surrounding areas are partly state owned and partly
private.
Conservation measures taken: Protected in the Giant's Tank Sanctuary (3,944 ha), established
in September 1954 under the Fauna and Flora Preservation Ordinances. The sanctuary is
maintained by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Conservation measures proposed: None
Land use: Fishing and water supply for irrigation and domestic use.
Disturbances and threats: Siltation as a result of forest clearance in surrounding areas, and
eutrophication.
Economic and social values: The tank supports an important fishery; production is estimated at
about 200 metric tonnes per year.
Fauna: Commercially important fishes include Labeo dussumieri, Puntius sarana (abundant),
Puntitius dorsalis, Ompok bimaculatus, Heteropneustes fossilis, Tilapia mossambica and
Ophicephalus striatus.
The tank is known to be important for a variety of large water birds, ducks and shorebirds, but
few details are available. An estimated 11,000 ducks were present in 1965, including 1,000
Nettapus coromandelianus; in February 1984, Powell recorded 1,800 Anas penelope and 1,100
A. querquedula. The Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos has been reported.
Asian Elephants Elephas maximus occur in the vicinity of the tank.
Special floral values: None known.
Research and facilities: Some studies have been carried out at the tank, mainly on the fisheries.
References: Fernando & Indrasena (1969); Hoffmann (1982 & 1985); Karpowicz (1985);
Powell (1984b).
Criteria for inclusion: 1b, 3b.
Source: Leonard Pinto.
Wetland name: Vankalai Kalapuwa, Periya Kalapuwa and Mannar Causeway
Country: Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 8°48'-9°03'N, 79°52'-79°57'E;
Location: between Vankalai and Mannar, Mannar District, Northwestern Province.
Area: Vankalai Kalapuwa 200 ha; Periya Kalapuwa 650 ha; Mannar Causeway c.7,500 ha.
Altitude: Sea level.
Biogeographical Province: 4.13.4.
Wetland type: 06, 07, 08 & 17.
Description of site: A complex of tidal lagoons, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and extensive
intertidal mudflats stretching from Vankalai Kalapuwa in the south to the base of the Mannar
Peninsula in the north. Vankalai Kalapuwa (200 ha) and Periya Kalapuwa (650 ha) are shallow
tidal lagoons with mudflats and mangrove swamps. Both are brackish to saline, with depths of
1-3m. They are bordered on their seaward side by a sand spit with openings to the sea at both
ends. The coastal marshes and mudflats extend northwards from Periya Kalapuwa along both
sides of the Mannar Causeway. To the north of the causeway, there is an abandoned water
storage reservoir (tank) of 60 ha with shallow brackish water (Kora Kulam).
Climatic conditions: Tropical monsoonal climate; in the low country dry zone.
Principal vegetation: Mangrove vegetation and salt marsh communities; rice paddies, sparse
grassland and open scrub with scattered palms in adjacent areas.
Land tenure: The lagoons and surrounding areas are state owned.
Conservation measures taken: None.
Conservation measures proposed: There is a long-standing proposal that the triangular area
between Vankalai, Mantai and Mannar, including the Mannar Causeway, should be made into a
sanctuary or nature reserve, chiefly for water birds.
Land use: Fishing, mainly for prawns; cultivation of rice and some livestock grazing in
surrounding areas.
Disturbances and threats: Water birds are subjected to considerable shooting pressure along
the Mannar Causeway.
Economic and social values: Vankalai and Periya lagoons support a small prawn fishery.
Fauna: The entire area is known to be of great importance for large waterbirds, ducks,
shorebirds, gulls and terns, but few details are available. In mid-January 1984, Periya Kalapuwa
held 6,000 Anas penelope and about 10,000 A. querquedula, while Vankalai Kalapuwa held a
roost of about 8,000 shorebirds, mainly Charadrius leschenaultii (1,800), Calidris minuta and C.
ferruginea. The mudflats along the Mannar Causeway are believed to be the first landfall for
many of the migratory shorebirds entering Sri Lanka in the autumn. During the monsoon period,
Kora Kulam provides a high-tide roost for shorebirds, which feed along the causeway at low
tide. Some 1,500 Anas querquedula, 400 Pluvialis squatarola, 1,300 Limosa limosa, 170 Tringa
totanus and 4,000 Calidris minuta were present at the tank in January 1984 (Powell, l984b). B.A.
Lane recorded over 500 shorebirds in the area in April 1984, including 300 Calidris minuta and
100 C. ferruginea.
The Indian Courser Cursorius coromandelicus occurs in the proposed sanctuary area.
Special floral values: No information.
References: Hoffmann (1982 & 1985); Karpowicz (1985); Powell (l984b).
Criteria for inclusion: 1b, 2c, 3a.
Source: J.I. Samarakoon and T.W. Hoffmann.


Wetland name: Adam's Bridge
Country: Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 9°04'-9°09'N, 79°27'-79°40'E;
Location: between Talaimannar and Danushkodi (India), 25-50 km WNW of Mannar, Mannar
District, Northern Province.
Area: Unknown.
Altitude: Sea level.
Biogeographical Province: 4.13.4.
Wetland type: 01, 03 & 06.
Description of site: A chain of about 20 small islands with associated sand banks and intertidal mudflats, stretching for almost 30 km between Mannar Peninsula in the east and Rameswaran Peninsula (India) in the west.
 The bridge is 18 miles (30 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places, which hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel: temple records seem to say that Rama’s Bridge was complete above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 CE.

Climatic conditions: Tropical monsoonal climate; in the low country dry zone.
Principal vegetation: Sea grasses; species of Spinifex and lpomoea on the sandy islands.
Land tenure: No information.
Conservation measures taken: None.
Conservation measures proposed: None
Land use: Fishing.
Disturbances and threats: No information.
Economic and social values: No information.
Fauna: The extensive intertidal mudflats off the western end of Mannar Island are a wintering
area for large numbers of shorebirds, gulls and terns of a wide variety of species, including the
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus and Crab Plover Dromas ardeola.
Special floral values: There are some interesting Baobab trees on Mannar Island and the
Mannar Peninsula, which were brought to Sri Lanka by Arab traders over a thousand years ago.
References: Hoffmann (1982); Karpowicz (1985).
Criteria for inclusion: lb, 3b.
Source: T.W. Hoffmann.

Wetland name: Palk Bay, Devil's Point and Vidattaitivu Lagoon
Coordinates: 8°59'-9°25'N, 79°59'-80°04'E;
Location: from the east end of the Mannar Causeway, Mannar District, north to Devil's Point, 30 km SSE of Jaffna, Jaffna District, Northern Province.
Area: c.70 km of coastline; Vidattaitivu Lagoon 1,300 ha.
Altitude: Sea level.
Biogeographical Province: 4.13.4.
Wetland type: 01, 03, 05, 06, 07 & 08.
Description of site: The extensive intertidal mudflats, sand banks and mangrove swamps on the shores of Palk Bay and Devil's Point, and a shallow brackish coastal lagoon (Vidattaitivu) of about 1,300 ha, adjacent to the southern edge of the bay. There are several small islands off Devil's Point.
Climatic conditions: Tropical monsoonal climate; in the low country dry zone.
Principal vegetation: Mangroves; scrub jungle in adjacent areas.
Land tenure: State owned.
Conservation measures taken: None.
Conservation measures proposed: None
Land use: Fishing; some shifting cultivation in adjacent areas.
Disturbances and threats: No information.
Economic and social values: No information.
Fauna: Known to be an important area for migratory shorebirds, and probably important for
many other species of waterfowl, but little information is available. The largest concentration of Crab Plovers Dromas ardeola ever recorded in Sri Lanka was observed at Devil's Point. In April 1984, B.A. Lane recorded over 3,800 shorebirds on a five km stretch of mudflats at the south end of Palk Bay; these included:30 Pluvialis squatarola 1,560 Charadrius mongolus
650 Tringa tetanus 15 Xenus cinereus 1,560 Calidris ferruginea Lane has suggested that as many as 80,000 shorebirds may utilize the extensive mudflats stretching for about 100 km from Mannar Causeway around Palk Bay to Jaffna.
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