(Adb Reta 5974) A

REGIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COASTAL AND MARINE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN SOUTH ASIA (ADB RETA 5974)

A SOCIO ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE PUTTALAM LAGOON AREA – Sri Lanka Component

Asian Development Bank

IUCN - The World Conservation Union Sri Lanka

MARCH 2003

Regional Technical Assistance for Coastal and Marine Resources Management and Poverty Reduction in South Asia (ADB RETA 5974) – A SOCIO ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE PUTTALAM LAGOON AREA : Sri Lanka Component

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION …… …… …… ….. 03

PART I : SOCIO ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF THE PILOT SITE

1. PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS …… ….. 04

2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS …… ….. 04

3. ECONOMY OF THE PILOT SITE …… …… ….. 05 3.1 Fishing …… …… …… ….. 05 3.1.1 Fish production in the pilot site …… …… …… ….. 06 3.1.2 Fishing craft and gear …… …… …… ….. 07 3.1.3 Fish marketing …… …… …… ….. 08 3.1.4 Aquaculture …… …… …… ….. 08 3.2 Agriculture …… …… …… ….. 09 3.3 Animal Husbandry …… …… …… ….. 10 3.4 Industries …… …… …… ….. 11

4. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES …… …… ….. 11 4.1 Transport facilities …… …… …… ….. 11 4.2 Health facilities …… …… …… ….. 12 4.3 Education facilities …… …… …… ….. 12 4.4 Postal and telecommunication service …… …… ….. 12 4.5 Non-governmental organizations …… …… ….. 12

PART II

5. SOCIO ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SELECTED PROJECT SITES 13 5.1 Methodology …… …… …… ….. 13 5.1.1 Sample survey …… …… …… …..13 5.1.2 Focus group discussions (FGD) …… …… ….. 14 5.1.3 Interviews …… …… …… ….. 14 5.1.4 Stakeholder workshop …… …… …… ….. 14

6. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AREA …… …… ….. 14

7. SOCIO ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROJECT SITES ….. 15 7.1 Demography …… …… …… ….. 15 7.2 Social Network …… …… …… ….. 16 7.3 Politics …… …… …… ….. 17 7.4 Livelihood activities …… …… …… ….. 17 7.5 Livelihood assets …… …… …… ….. 17 7.6 Poverty …… …… …… ….. 18 7.6.1 Income …… …… …… ….. 18 7.6.2 Type of the house …… …… …… ….. 19 7.6.3 Ownership of land …… …… …… ….. 19 7.6.4 Indebtedness …… …… …… ….. 20

8. ECONOMY OF THE PROJECT SITES …… …… ….. 21 8.1 Fishing …… …… …… ….. 21 8.1.1 Fishing crafts and gear used in the project sites …… …… ….. 22 8.1.2 Fish production and marketing …… …… …… ….. 22 8.2 Agriculture …… …… …… ….. 22

9. SOCIAL INFRA STRUCTURE AND SERVICES IN THE PROJECT SITES ….. 23 9.1 Transport facilities …… …… …… ….. 23 9.2 Health facilities …… …… …… ….. 23 9.3 Education facilities …… …… …… ….. 23 9.4 Drinking water …… …… …… ….. 24 9.5 Postal and telecommunication facilities …… …… ….. 24 9.6 Other services …… …… …… ….. 24 9.7 Religious institutions …… …… …… ….. 24 9.8 Non-governmental organizations functioning in the project sites …… ….. 24

10. MAJOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES PREVAILING IN THE PROJECT SITES ….. 25 10.1 Resource use conflicts …… …… …… ….. 25 10.2 Practice of destructive fishing methods …… …… ….. 26 10.3 Poverty …… …… …… ….. 26 10.4 Influx of fishermen and other resource users …… …… ….. 27 10.5 Non-availability of alternative employment opportunities …… ….. 28 10.6 Non-existence of competitive market for fresh and agricultural produce ….. 28 10.7 Politisisation of village level organizations …… …… ….. 28

REFERENCES …… …… …… ….. 29

ANNEX …… …… …… ….. 30

List of Tables

Table 1 Population in the pilot site …… …… ….. 04 Table 2 Ethnic composition of the population …… …… ….. 05 Table 3 Number of fishing families in the pilot site …… ….. 05 Table 4 Main fishing clusters found in the pilot site …… ….. 06 Table 5 Number of fishing crafts operated in the six fishing clusters ….. 07 Table 6 Prices of shell fish at the fish landing centers of the pilot site ….. 08 Table 7 Crop cultivated area in the Puttalam and Vanathawilluwa DS Division (in hectares) …… …… …… ….. 09 Table 8 Livestock in the Vanathawilluwa & Puttalam DS Divisions in 2002 ….. 10 Table 9 Livelihood activities of people in the three DS Divisions …… ….. 11 Table 10 Population in the project sites …… …… ….. 16 Table 11 Population in the project sites …… …… ….. 16 Table 12 Livelihood activities of families in the sample …… ….. 17 Table 13 Nature of ownership in livelihood assets …… …… ….. 18 Table 14 Monthly income of the families (in Rs) …… …… ….. 19 Table 15 Status of the house owned by the families in the sample …… ….. 19 Table 16 Land ownership of the families represented in the sample…… ….. 20 Table 17 Amount of credit obtained by families (in Rs) …… ….. 20 Table 18 Fishing crafts operating in the project sites …… ….. 22

1. INTRODUCTION

Under the ADB-RETA Coastal Resources Management and Poverty Reduction Project, five High Priority Areas (HPAs) have been identified to study and formulate a strategy for the sustainable use of coastal resources and poverty reduction. The identified five HPAs are:

• Puttalam Lagoon • Bentota Estuary • Passikudah - Kalkudah Cluster • Chilaw Estuary • Gulf of Mannar

(See annex 1 for details)

Among the five HPAs, the Puttalam Lagoon has been selected as the pilot site where the coastal resource management strategy will be formulated and implemented at the first phase. Hence it required carrying out technical studies at the selected pilot site to determine and formulate the strategy that can be replicated in other four HPAs as well. A detail socio-economic assessment was one of the determined technical studies. Hence a socio-economic assessment was conducted in the site during December 2002 to February 2003. This report contains two parts of which part one presents the general socio-economic characteristics of the Puttalam lagoon (selected HPA) and the part two presents a detailed socio-economic assessment conducted in the selected pilot site (Coastal Gn Divisions of the Wanathvilluwa DS Division).

The selected HPA covers the jurisdiction area of three Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DS) of the Puttalam District. These DS Divisions are Wanathawilluwa, Puttalam and Kalpitiya. The total land area of these DS Divisions is approximately 381.6 sq.miles of which nearly one-third is coastal land. Among the three DS Divisions, Wanathawilluwa is the largest (274.3 sq.miles) while other two divisions encompass in a relatively small area i.e. 71 sq.miles in Puttalam and 36.3 sq.miles in Kalpitiya. There are 70 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN) and 212 villages within this area. Fisheries, agriculture and aquaculture are the primary economic activities found in these villages.

The community in the pilot site is heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity and religion. In ethnicity, the predominant groups are Moors, Sinhalese and Tamils. While in religion, the community is divided into four groups namely, Islamic, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. All these ethnic and religious groups are found in most parts of the pilot site.

Four coastal villages within the pilot site were selected to conduct a detail socio-economic assessment and implementing small-scale interventions of the project. These villages represent main socio-economic characteristics that are found in the pilot site. The selected villages/project sites are:

• Gangewadiya in the Aluth Eluwankulama GN Division • Serakkuliya in the Serakkuliya GN Division • Karativu in the Karativu (north) and Karativu (south) GN Divisions • Pubudugama in the Samagipura GN Division

All the four sites are situated in the coastal segment between Kala Oya (river) estuary and Mee Oya delta, which forms the western boundary of the Wanathawilluwa DS Division.1

1 Prepared by R.M. Ranaweera Banda in association with IUCN

PART I: SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF THE PILOT SITE

1. PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

The pilot site covers the 68 km length coastal area of the Wanathawilluwa, Puttalam and Kalpitiya DS Divisions. A tropical climate with a uniform temperature (30.4-33.6 0C) and seasonal rainfall pattern is found in this area. The main factor influences for climatic variation in the area are the northeast and southwest monsoons. The southwest monsoon occurs from May to September while the northeast monsoon influences during October to December. These two monsoons bring rains to the area from April to May and November to December. The average monthly rainfall is 120mm.

Much of the coastal area of the pilot site is fringed by mangrove swamps (3,385 ha) found along the shores of the Puttalam Lagoon, Dutch bay and Portugal Bay. This resource is extensively extracted for subsistence and commercial purposes at present. Other ecologically significant habitats found in the pilot site are salt marshes (1515 ha), sea grass beds, mud flats, coral reefs and seashore habitats.

The Puttalam Lagoon, which has a surface area of 32,700 ha. is rich in fishery resources. Finfish and shellfish are the main fishery resources found in the lagoon and the associated coastal waters. The finfish species comprise of small pelagic, mackerels and flying fish while most common shellfish species found in the site include prawns, lobsters and crabs. Fishing activity in the pilot site is seasonal and the fishing season lasts from October to April.

2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS

As shown in the records of the three DS divisions, there had been 168,106 persons in the pilot site in 2002. Of this number, nearly 10% were refugees from the war-affected areas of the Mannar and Vavunia Districts. Hence the present population in the pilot site comprises of refugees and permanent settlers. The natural population growth rate in the Puttalam District was 1.8, which is slightly higher than the national figure i.e. 1.2 given for the year 2001. The figures indicated in table 1 below shows the distribution of population in the three DS Divisions that falls under the pilot site.

Table 1: Population in the pilot site

DS Division No. Of persons No. Of families Vanathawilluwa 16933 3690 Puttalam 70915 15658 Kalpitiya 80258 17834 Total 168106 37182 Source: Resource Profiles-2002

This population consisted of both the refugees and the permanent settlers. According to the records, the number of refugees in the three DS Divisions was 27,042 in 2002. About 42.2% of the population was under the age of 18 years and accordingly; the majority of people in the pilot site are belonging to a young population.

There are three major ethnic groups and four religious groups in the pilot site. Among these ethnic and religious groups, Moors are the majority. The ethnic composition of the population in the pilot site is given in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Ethnic composition of the population

Ethnic group Wanathawilluwa Puttalam Kalpitiya Total Percentage Moors 5979 41260 46310 93549 55.6 Sinhalese 9547 21068 23053 53668 31.9 Tamils 1328 8105 10514 19947 11.9 Others 79 482 381 942 0.6 Total 16933 70915 80258 168106 100.0 Source: Resource Profiles-2002.

The religious groups in the pilot site comprise of Islamic, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. Among the four groups, Hindus and Christians are concentrated in the coastal villages than interior.

The Christian population developed in the area during the colonial rule, which lasted from the 16th to mid 20th century. It is not clear which ethnic or religious group was dominant in the Puttalam Lagoon area prior to the 16th century, but according to the legends, Sinhalese were the people who first colonized the area. The Moors too had been living in this coastal segment from long ago as traders and agricultural producers but not as fishermen. The Tamils are in fact migrants came from the northern districts of Mannar and Vavunia. However, their engagement in fishing in this area was older than that of the Muslims.

3. ECONOMY OF THE PILOT SITE

Fishing and agriculture are the most important economic activities in the pilot site. The fishing activity is primarily done in the lagoon and the associated coastal waters. The agriculture in the site comprises of cash crop cultivation and subsistence farming. Coconut, cashew and vegetable are the primary cash crops cultivated in the site. Among the subsistence crops that are cultivated in the pilot site, paddy, cassava, Indian corn, sesame are the most common ones.

3.1 Fishing

Fishing is the most important livelihood activity of families in the pilot site. The actual number fishing families is difficult to find because of the incompatibility of figures given in different sources. For example, it was estimated to 9,677 households in the Puttalam/Mundal Estuarine System Report (1997) but according to the Resource Profiles of the three DS Divisions, the number of fishing families in the pilot site was 4,732 in 2002. The corresponding figure given the records of the District Fisheries Office is 1,217 families, which is far below than the number given in the Resource Profiles. However, although the available figures are incompatible, it can assume that more than 2000 families are securing their livelihoods from the fishery resources in the Puttalam Lagoon and the associated coastal waters. The following table shows the number of fishing families in the pilot site as given in the Resource Profiles of the three DS Divisions.

Table 3: Number of fishing families in the pilot site

DS Division No. Of families Percentage Wanathawilluwa 996 21.0 Puttalam 1670 35.3 Kalpitiya 2066 43.7 Total 4732 100.0 Source: Resource Profiles-2002.

The figure given in the above table represents 5.7% of the total number of fishing families in the country i.e. 82598. The present fishing population of the pilot site (4732) has been concentrated in 6 main fishing clusters that cover 16 villages. The details of these clusters are given in table 4 below.

Table 4: Main fishing clusters found in the pilot site

Cluster No. Of fishing families No. Of active fishermen Cluster 1 113 177 Gangewadiya Eluwankulama Polmaduwa Cluster 2 179 382 Serakkuliya (north) Serakkuliya (south) Cluster 3 364 252 Kalladi Karativu Ordakal Karativu Palamkare Karativu Sudugala Cluster 4 203 292 Karativu (south) Tirikkapallama Cluster 5 117 178 Pubudugama Karandipooval Cluster 6 241 132 Pookkulama Pallikkudah Kudiramalai Kollankanaththa Total 1217 1413 Source: District Fisheries Office, Puttalama-2002.

Among the 6 fishing clusters indicated in the above table, almost five are representing in the four project sites that have been selected for the detail socio-economic assessment and project interventions.

3.1.1 Fish production in the pilot site

Systematic data for fish production in the pilot site are difficult to find and hence it was estimated on a rough calculation made based on the information collected from fishermen. According to the figures available at the District Fisheries Office, the total fish catch in the 6 fishing clusters situated within the pilot site was 102 MT in 2002. However, the Resource Profiles of the three DS Divisions indicate it as 816 MT for the same year. The estimated fish production figure i.e. 4,800MT, which is given in Dayaratne et.al. (1997), may be more realistic since the estimation was done after a scientific study conducted in the Puttalam/Mundal estuarine system. According to this study, finfish and shellfish are the main fishery resources of this estuarine system and they make up 74% and 26% respectively of the total fish production. As shown in the study, commonly harvested fish species in the site are prawns, shad (Nematalosa nasus), keeli shad (Hilsa keeli), gray mullet (Mugil cephalus), milkfish (Chanos Chanos), sardines (Sardinella spp) and pony fish (Leiognathus).

3.1.2 Fishing craft and gear

According to the records of the District Fisheries Office, 481 fishing crafts were operated in the six fishing clusters in 2002. Among them, 255 (53%) were traditional crafts such as teppam and oru while the balance 226 (47%) were mechanized fiberglass boats. The distribution of fishing crafts operated in the six fishing clusters is given in table 5 below.

Table 5: Number of fishing crafts operated in the six fishing clusters

Cluster No. Of fishing crafts Cluster 1 39 Gangewadiya Eluwankulama Polmaduwa Cluster 2 166 Serakkuliya (north) Serakkuliya (south) Cluster 3 46 Kalladi Karativu Ordakal Karativu Palamkare Karativu Sudugala Cluster 4 24 Karativu (south) Tirikkapallama Cluster 5 53 Pubudugama Karandipooval Cluster 6 153 Pookkulama Pallikkudah Kudiramalai Kollankanaththa

Although the District Fisheries Office shows the total number of fishing crafts operated in the pilot site as 481, it should be more than this number. According to the Resource Profiles of the three DS Divisions, the total number of fishing crafts operated in 2002 was 1765. This number includes both traditional crafts and the mechanized boats. However, a classification of the existing fishing crafts is found only for the Kalpitiya DS Division. According to it, the number of traditional and mechanized fishing crafts operated in the Kalpitiya DS Division in 2002 was 660 and 353 respectively. In their study, Dayaratne et. al. (1997) also indicate that the approximate number of fishing crafts in the site as 1600 which is somewhat close to the figure given in the three Resource Profiles. When taken into account the figures given in different sources, it can be assumed that 1500 to 1800 fishing crafts are operated in the pilot site at present. In a broad classification of fishing crafts operated in the pilot site, it can be said that approximately 50 % are traditional crafts.

The most common fishing gear used by the fishermen in the pilot site is gill nets and trammel nets. These two types of fishing gear are not in fact destructive but the manner in which the fishermen use them are really destructive to the natural resources of the lagoon ecosystem. For example, encircling gill nets, purse seine, push nets and pull nets are destructive as far as the damage they make to the fish breeding grounds is concerned. Regulations are already introduced to control these destructive fishing methods but the effectiveness of enforcement is very low due to the lack of cooperation from the part of the fishermen. Push nets and pull nets are banned fishing methods but a large number of fishermen in the pilot site still use these methods despite of the ban.

3.1.3 Fish Marketing

There are two types of fish marketing patterns in the pilot site viz. (a) sending or directing to the central fish market in Colombo, (b) Marketing within the area. The former pattern is followed with respect to shellfish such as prawns and crabs while latter pattern is relevant to the finfish.

Puttalam and Kalpitiya (Kandakuliya) are the main fish collecting/landing centers found in the pilot site. Of the two, Kalpitiya is the center where well-organized marketing network is established. Most of the shellfish caught from the Puttalam lagoon are marketed at this center to the traders coming from Colombo. Meanwhile, part of this catch goes to exporters. The fish marketing mechanism in the site is operated through four levels of intermediaries who are at fish landing centers, fish collecting centers, wholesale centers and in retailing. Most of the finfish caught from the lagoon and associated coastal waters are used for local consumption.

The prices of finfish vary considerably according to the size of the daily catch and seasonality. However, fixed prices are paid to shellfish especially for prawns and crabs. The following table indicates the prevailing prices of shellfish.

Table 6: Prices of Shellfish at the Fish Landing Centers of the Pilot Site

Variety /Grade Price per kg in Rs. Prawns Grade No.10 (50 grams or more) 700.00 No.15 (20 – 50 grams) 500.00 No.20 (15 - 20 grams) 250.00 Mixed (less than 15 grams) 170.00 Crabs Jumbo (more than 500 grams) 560.00 Large (350-500 grams) 360.00 Medium (300 – 350 grams) 240.00 Low quality 100.00 Source; Socio-economic survey 2003

Although there are fixed prices for prawns and crabs, the fishermen in the area hardly get fair prices due to the nonexistence of competitive marketing system at fish landing centers. In some places, there exist a monopoly of one or two fish collectors and hence the fishermen in such places do not find an opportunity to sell their produce in on competitive prices.

3.1.4 Aquaculture

Like lagoon fishery, aquaculture (shrimp farming) is an important economic activity in the pilot site. There is hardly any available recorded data regarding this economic activity and thus field investigations are necessary to provide a complete picture of aquaculture in the pilot site. However, according to the collected information from the secondary sources, there are 140 shrimp farms within the pilot site. The majority of them (94) are found in the Puttalam DS Division and the least number (4) is found in the Wanathavilluwa DS Division. The balance 42 are operating in the in the Kalpitiya DS Division. Apart from these registered shrimp farms, a large number of illegally operated farms exist in the pilot site. According to Dayaratne at.el. (1997), about 20% of shrimp farms operated in the Puttalam Lagoon area in 1994 were unauthorized farms and it had increased up to 50% in 1995. Accordingly, existing number of shrimp farms in the pilot site can be much higher than the official figure (140) given in the Resource Profiles.

The number of ponds in a shrimp farm varies from 1 to 15 or even more, depends on size of the investment. However, in most of the farms operated in the pilot site have more than five ponds each.

The size of a pond also varies from ¼ acre to 1 acre. The present land area under shrimp farms is 976.8 ha. in the three DS Divisions. Major problems caused by unplanned development of shrimp farm in the pilot site can be listed as follows;

a) Destruction of mangroves b) Pollution of the lagoon as a result of discharging untreated water into the lagoon c) Pollution of surface water by application of nutrients and chemicals d) Accessibility problems due to encroachments of foot paths and canals that are leading to the lagoon e) Loss of gracing land for cattle f) Loss of flood retention areas

Although aquaculture generates a fairly good income to the investors, the families in the pilot site have not benefited substantially from this activity.

3.2 Agriculture

Agriculture is the second most important economic activity in the pilot site. The approximate number of agricultural families living in the pilot site was 6,919 in 2002. Their distribution in the three DS Divisions was as follows;

Wanathavilluwa 912 Puttalam 1,223 Kalpitiya 4,784

About 22% of lands in the three DS Divisions are utilized for crop cultivation. According to the agricultural statistics given in the Resource Profiles of the three DS Divisions, the total cultivated area was 17,638 ha. in 2002. Of this area, about 8,230 ha. are in the Puttalam DS Division, 4,774 ha. in the Kalpitiya and the balance 4,634 ha. are in the Wanatahvilluwa DS Division. The two major cash crops cultivated in these lands are coconut and cashew. Table 7 shows the crop-cultivated area in the Puttalam and the Wanathavilluwa DS Divisions.

Table 7: Crop cultivated area in the Puttalam and Vanathavilluwa DS Divisions* (In hectares)

Crop Puttalam Vanathavilluwa Total Percentage Coconut 5731.0 1440.0 7171.0 55.7 Cashew 4.4 800.0 804.4 6.3 Paddy 476.6 712.0 1188.6 9.2 Fruit 32.0 480.0 512.0 4.0 Vegetables - 924.4 924.4 7.2 Mixed Crops 54.8 - 54.8 0.4 Other 1931.2 277.6 2858.8 17.2 Total 8230.0 4634.0 12864.0 100.0 Source: Resource Profiles- 2002 * Figures for Kalpitiya DS Division are not available

According to the figures given in Table 7, almost 55.7% of cultivated area in the Puttalam and Wanathavilluwa DS Divisions are under coconut. This area comprises of coconut estates and home gardens where the predominant crop is coconut. Although figures are not available for the Kalpitiya Ds Division, coconut is the major crop that is cultivated in the lands of this Division. The average annual harvest from coconut lands in the area has been estimated to 1,500 nuts per hectare but it varies according to the maintenance of the crop and fertility of the soil.

Paddy cultivation is not a predominant economic activity in the pilot site and it is practiced only in the Puttalam and the Wanathavilluwa DS Divisions. The area under paddy is only 9.2% of the total cultivated area in these two Divisions. Since there are not irrigation facilities in these DS Divisions, paddy cultivation is done from rainwater, especially during the northeast monsoon period i.e. from October to December. According to the paddy farmers in the area, the average yield per acre is about 45 bushels, which is far below the national average of 88 bushels.

As indicated in Table 7, cashew, fruits and vegetables are the other agricultural crops cultivated in the pilot site. Wanathawilluwa is the predominant cashew cultivating area among the three DS Divisions and according to the figures in 2002; the total cashew cultivated area in this division was 800 ha. This crop is mostly cultivated in the middle-class land allotments (10-25 acres in extent) alienated during the 1970s. However, the crop is cultivated in the home gardens too, even though it is not systematically maintained.

Vegetable cultivation is successfully done in the Kalpitiya DS Davison. Among the vegetables cultivated in this Division are Onions, Chili and Tomato. Availability of ground water at the surface level is the main advantage that exists in the Kalpitiya DS Division. Since this advantage is not for other two divisions, vegetable cultivation is done only during the rainy seasons. Irrigation water is the only option for agriculture in these two divisions but that facility so far has not provided. The agricultural producers in the Wanathavilluwa DS Division are requesting an irrigation scheme from a long time but it has not materialized. Their demand is the diversion of excess water of the Kala Oya to the area through an irrigation cannel.

Well-Organized market for agricultural produce, especially for vegetables, is found only in the Kalpitiya DS Division. Hence much of the agricultural produce in the other two DS Divisions (other than coconut and cashew) goes for local consumption

3.3 Animal husbandry

Other than fishing and agriculture, animal husbandry is also an important economic activity in the pilot site. However, the number of families engage in this activity is not very significant. According to the figures in 2002, the total number of families engaged in animal husbandry in the pilot site was 207. Main constraint for animal husbandry in the pilot site is the shortage of grazing lands. The following table shows the figures of livestock in the Wanathawilluwa and Puttalam Divisions.

Table 8: Livestock in the Vanathawilluwa and Puttalam DS Divisions in 2002

Type Purpose Vanathavilluwa Puttalam Total Cattle Milk 1068 1855 2923 Good transport 205 150 355 Agriculture 178 750 928 Goats Milk 494 - 494 Meat 754 1700 2454 Sheep Meat 20 - 20 Pigs Meat 160 179 339 Poultry Eggs 4461 17000 21460 Meat 2459 12000 14459 Ducks Meat 27 200 227 Source: Resource Profile-2002

It was revealed from the interviews that most of the lands previously used for grazing cattle are now converted to shrimp farms and hence potentials of animal husbandry in the area is very limited at present.

3.4 Industries

Large-scale industries are not found in the pilot site. The Puttalam cement factory and two saltans, two coconut oil mills, one garment factory are the existing industries in the pilot site. Significant environmental impacts of the existing industries have not been reported but it is obvious that the cement factory causes air pollution in the area. Similarly, the extraction of dolomite for the cement factory from the vicinity of the lagoon also causes soil erosion, which contributes ultimately siltation problems of the lagoon.

A considerable number of small-scale industries/enterprises also can be seen in the pilot site. These include metal workshops, garages, food processing enterprises and cashew processing enterprises. According to the information given in the Resource Profiles, 230 such small industries/enterprises are operated in the pilot site at present. About 15% of the population in the pilot site depends on these medium and small-scale industries.

In summary, ranges of livelihood activities are found in the pilot site. Of them, fishing and agriculture are the predominant. Others include industries, trade, public and private sector employment, self- employment and employment in foreign countries. Systematic data are not available for each of these sectors but figures given in the following table indicate the relative importance of them.

Table 9: Livelihood activities of people in the three DS Divisions

Livelihood activity Wanathawilluwa Puttalam Kalpitiya Agriculture 3066 1730 4784 Fishing 1020 909 5371 Small business 236 1257 Foreign employment 414 1517 Public & private sector 544 4759 671 employment Masonry 143 Carpentry 98 Animal husbandry 60 64 Cashew processing 132 251 Transport 60 Mechanic 38 1224 Bakery 20 Garment 19 Brick making 09 Barber 06 Source: Resource Profile 2002

The figures in table 9 shows that fishing and agriculture are the two main livelihood activities in the pilot site. In addition to them, small industries, trade, foreign employment, public and private sector employment provide livelihood for a large number of persons in the pilot site.

4. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

4.1 Transport facilities

Transport facilities in the pilot site are fairly good. The situation in the Puttalam DS Division is much better when compared with transport facilities in the Wanathawilluwa DS Division. The Colombo – Puttalam, Anuradhapura- Puttalam, and Kurunegala – Puttalam main roads traverse through this Division. In addition to them, the Puttalam-Colombo railway line also runs through this division. Therefore, people in the Puttalam DS Division have easy access to public transport facilities. The

transport facilities in the Kalpitiya DS Division are also satisfactory and public and private transport services are operated between Kalpitiya and Colombo. Hence the residents in the area have access to commercial and services centers located on the coastal belt between Puttalam and Colombo. However the situation of both transport infrastructure and transport services in the Wanathavilluwa DS Division are very poor.

4.2 Health facilities

As far as the health facilities are concerned, the people in the pilot site have access to a number of health services centers. Puttalam base hospital is the main health services center in the area. In addition, one district hospital, six maternity and child care units, four dispensaries, one private hospital are located within the area that covers the pilot site. However, health facilities available in these centers are not quite satisfactory due to shortage of staff, scarcity of essential drugs and insufficient ambulance services. Water born disease and malaria are the common health problems found in the area. Non-availability of quality drinking water is the primary reason for water borne diseases. Lack of better sewage facilities and latrines are another health related problem that exist in the pilot site.

4.3 Educational facilities

There are 59 government schools within the pilot site. Of them, facilities are available in eight schools for secondary education. The balance 51 schools are primary schools. One English medium school is also functioning in the Puttalam town. Shortage of teachers and inadequate infrastructure facilities such as buildings are the main problems in regarding the educational facilities in the area.

4.4 Postal and telecommunication service

Postal and telecommunication services are provided to the area by 20 sub post offices located within the pilot site. The services of these sub post offices are coordinated by the main post office situated in the Puttalam town. In addition to these government post offices, a number of private telecommunication centers are operated in Kalpitiya and Puttalam towns.

4.5 Non-governmental organizations

Several NGOs are functioning in the pilot site. Among them, most active organizations are Seva Lanka Foundation, Sarvodaya, Care International, World Vision, Rural Development Foundation, Agromart Foundation, Redbana, Forut and Vinivida. The services provided by these organizations are basically oriented to community development activities covering infrastructure development, water supply, strengthening of community groups, spiritual development, education, environmental protection, provision of credit and social mobilization and training

There are six registered Fisheries Cooperative Societies in the pilot site but the only active society at preset is the St. Sebastian Fisheries Cooperative Society in Pubudugama.

Other five societies are defunct due to internal divisions of the members and corruptions of the office- bearers.

PART II

5. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SELECTED PROJECT SITES

As mentioned in the introduction, four villages/project sites were selected four conducting a detail socio-economic assessment and implementing small-scale interventions of the project. The four selected project sites are; Gangewadiya Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama

All the four sites are situated in the Wanathavilluwa DS Division and well represent the socio- economic and ecologically significant characteristics of the pilot site. This section of the report discusses the socio-economic characteristics of these four sites.

5.1 Methodology

The following categories of data and information were collected for the socio-economic assessment conducted in the project sites.

a) Historical background b) Infrastructure facilities and services c) Demography d) Economy e) Social characteristics f) Livelihood activities and assets g) Income h) Resource use conflicts i) Other major socio-economic issues

The above categories of data and information were collected from secondary and primary sources. Consulted secondary sources were the Resource Profiles, Records of the Grama Niladharies and records of the Fisheries Cooperative Societies. Primary data collected from empirical fieldwork.

Several data collection techniques were used in the primary data collection. Those techniques were:

a) Administering a questionnaire b) In-depth interviews c) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) d) Semi-structured interviews e) Observations f) Stakeholder Workshops

5.1.1 Sample survey

A sample survey was conducted in the four project sites with the aid of a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 179 families that selected from among the key stakeholders in the project sites. The selection of families was done on random basis by using a sampling framework. However, it applied only for the sites where a dispersed population was found (i.e. Serakkuliya, Karativu north and Karativu south). Regarding the other sites, the entire families in Gangewadiya were interviewed and in

Pubudugama, all those who presented on the survey day were interviewed. The number of families represented in the sample from each project site was as follows;

Gangewadiya 46 (including five families from (Eluwankulama) Serakkuliya 50 Karativu 50 Pubudugama 33 Total 179

The sample survey was useful to collect information on family composition, educational background, livelihood activities, income, ownership of assets and residency status of the families.

5.1.2 Focus group discussions (FGD)

Six focus group discussions were conducted during the field data collection. The types of data collected from FGDs were resource use patterns, resource use conflicts, stakeholder characteristics, marketing, major socio-economic and environmental issues and historical background of the project sites.

5.1.3 Interviews

Several in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to gain better knowledge about resource use pattern, resource use conflict, poverty, infrastructure facilities and services, major socio-economic and environmental issues prevailing in the project sites.

5.1.4 Stakeholder workshop

A stakeholder workshop organized at the Vanathavilluwa DS Office. The following topics/areas discussed at this workshop in relation to;. • Socioeconomic and resource management issues • Policy issues and institutional issues • Ecological and environmental issues

6. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AREA

According to the historical evidences, the first human settlement in the area where the project sites are situated had been started during the period of the Anuradhapura kingdom. The archaeological sites that are found in the Wilpattu National Park and the coastal belt in close proximity to the project sites are evidences to prove this historical continuity. However, the human settlement in the area shifted later towards the west coast and interior in parallel to the shifting of the Anuradhapura kingdom from the north central dry zone plain to the wet zone of the present western province. During this period the population in the area decreased considerably and that tendency continued until the sixteenth century. When the Portuguese conquered the coastal areas from Matara to Jaffna in the sixteenth centaury, a tendency of population in migration to the area could be seen again. This tendency continued during the Dutch (1658-1796) and the British (1796 – 1948) rule in the country. During this latter period, the local entrepreneurial class invested capital on coconut plantation in the area and this was the period when the coastal area of the northwestern province regained its importance as a resource base. However the Puttalam lagoon remained further less attractive resource base as no body competed to exploit its natural resources. The main reason of such a situation was the caste taboos maintained by fishing communities in the country. As described by Ryan (1993), shallow water fishing (lagoons, rivers and tanks) was considered an inferior occupation and hence the people of proper Karava caste reluctant to engage in lagoon fishery (by tradition, the

Karava caste people mostly engaged in fishing in Sri Lanka from long ago). Thus it remained as an occupation of people belongs to a Karava sub- cast known as Kevul. Because of this cast barrier, people of other casts also did not pay an interest to engage in lagoon fishery.

According to the elderly people in the project sites, the activity of fishing in the coastal waters between Gangewadiya and Karativu started in the 1940’s. Two fishermen who migrated to the area from Negombo were the original settlers in Serakkuliya and fishermen of the present generation in Serakkuliya are decedents of them. The Muslims in Karativu and Eluwankulama did not engage in fishing until recent times according to the people in Serakkuiliya and Gangewadiya.

Following the first two migrant fishermen, several others from Negombo area migrated to Serakkuliya and it soon became a permanent settlement of the Sinhalese fishermen. By the period of the 1960s, population in Serakkuliya had been increased up to 30 families.

There was not a permanent settlement in Gangewadiya until the 1960s, even though a few number of fishermen from Serakkuliya engaged in fishing in that site too. As revealed from FGDs, about 15 migratory fishermen were in Gangewadiya in the 1970s. However, their number increased rapidly after the 1980s as a result of favorable market opened up in this period for prawns and crabs in the tourist industry.

The same tendency could be seen in the other two sites as well. This newly opened up market for prawns and crabs motivated the Muslim settlers in the Karativu village to enter in to fishing. As a result, a gradual increase of the number of Muslim fishermen could be seen in the area, especially in Karativu, Gangewadiya and Serakkuliya sites. Until the early 1980s, there had not a single Muslim fisherman in these sites but the new economic opportunity encouraged them to make claims over the resource. The conflict that arisen in 1993 between the Serakkuliya Sinhalese fishermen and the Karativu Muslim fishermen were an outcome of the competition developed for exploiting fishery resources in the lagoon. In this incident, about 32 boats belonged to the Muslim fishermen were set fire by the Sinhalese fishermen. This shows how the Puttalam Lagoon became a resource base over a short period of time.

7. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROJECT SITES

7.1 Demography

The selected four sites are situated in the following GN Divisions. • Aluth Eluwankulama- Gangewadiya site • Serakkuliya- Serakkuliya site • Karativu (north & south)- Karativu site • Samagipura- Pubudugama site

The geographical area and the population in these GN Divisions vary considerably. According to the demographic data in 2002, the population in the five GN Divisions was 6281 persons belong to 1538 families. A breakdown of the population according to GN Divisions is given in Table 10.

Table 10: Population in the project sites

GN Division No. of persons No. of families Aluth Eluwankulama 987 210 Serakkuliya 1257 303 Karativu (north) 2248 597 Karativu (south) 1050 218 Pubudugama 739 210 Total 6281 1538 Source: Grama Niladhari Records- 2002.

About 31.3% (482) of families in these GN Divisions were living in the four project sites in 2002. The highest number is found in the Karativu site while the lowest number is in Gangewadiya. Table 11 shows the number of families in the project site.

Table 11 : Population in the project sites

Site No. of families Percentage from the total Gangewadiya 41 8.5 Serakkuliya 155 32.2 Karativu 217 45.0 Pubudugama 69 14.3 Total 482 100.0 Source: Grama Niladhari Records-2002.

The actual number of families living in the project sites perhaps may be higher than the figure given in the Table 11 because of a considerable number of families are living in the area as squatters without reporting to the authorities. Six such families in the Karativu site and one family in the Gangewadiya site could be identified during the survey.

The majority of the population living in the project sites is the Sinhalese (55%) while the Moors and the Tamils represent the second and the third positions respectively. When considered the religious composition of population in the project sites, Christians form the majority (43.2%) and the Islamic are the second major religious group (42.7%). The Buddhists (13.3%) and the Hindus (0.8%) represent the third and the fourth positions. The population in the Serakkuliya, Gangewadiya and Pubudugama sites is exclusively Sinhalese while in the Karativu site, the dominant ethnic group is Moors.

7.2 Social Networks

It was found that kinship relationships play an important role in making access to the coastal resources in the area. The findings of the sample survey revealed that 49.1% of families in the project sites had been migrated to the area through kinship relationships with the earlier settlers. Another 28.2% of persons had migrated to the sites through marriage alliances. These kinship and marriage relationships can be seen in all the four project sites. Thus kinship networks are highly instrumental in gaining access rights to natural coastal resources in the area. The settlement in karativu had started before Serakkuiya and Gangewadiya and most the people in Karativu too are relatives by consanguinity or marriages. Hence the existing link between kinship and access rights to the resources in the sites is an important factor to be considered in formulating a management strategy for the pilot site.

7.3 Politics

It could be seen that the entire social fabric of the communities in Gangewadiya, Serakkuliya and Karativu sites has been eroded by antagonisms and social divisions based on party politics. In these sites, political patronage has become a key element in distributing resources coming from outside. Party politics are involved in every economic matter and politics have become a reality of day-to-day life of these people. The situation in Pubudugama is different from other three sites but the community in this site is not exceptional from adherent to party politics.

7.4 Livelihood Activities

Fishing and agriculture are the most important livelihood activities of people in the project sites. In addition, a small number (5.4%) of people engage in trade, animal husbandry, foreign employment (especially women who work in the Middle East countries) and public and private sector employment. It was revealed from the findings of the sample survey that some of the people in these sites engage in more than one livelihood activity. Some of the fishermen, for example, work as agricultural labors during the lean period of fishing. Similarly, women folk of the fishing families also work as casual laborers while their husbands and sons engage in fishing. Therefore, it is difficult to provide exact figures of the number engage in different livelihood activities. This complex nature of livelihood activities clearly reflected from the survey data. Table 12 shows the nature of livelihood activities of 179 families interviewed.

Table 12: Livelihood activities of families in the sample

Activity Gangewa Serakkuli Karativu Pubudug Total % diya ya ama Lagoon fishing 41 37 46 32 156 87.2 Lagoon & sea fishing 00 02 00 02 1.1 Lagoon fishing & fish 00 06 00 06 3.3 processing Agri. & casual labour 02 00 03 01 06 3.3 Lagoon fishing & net repairing 01 01 00 02 1.1 Lagoon fishing & security 01 01 00 02 1.1 forces Lagoon fishing & business 01 00 01 02 1.1 Fish business 00 01 00 01 0.6 Lagoon fishing and boat 00 02 00 02 1.1 repairing Total 46 50 50 179 99.9

According to the figures given in the above table, the majority of families in the project sites are depending on lagoon fishing as the most important livelihood activity but a considerable number of people also engage in other livelihood activities while engage in fishing.

7.5 Livelihood Assets

The most important livelihood assets of people in the project sites are three folds namely, (a) house, (b) land, and (c) fishing crafts and gear. As far as the house is concerned, the people in the project sites consider the house as an important physical asset that ensures access rights to existing natural resources. As revealed from the FGDs, those families, which do not own a house in the site are considered as outsiders and hence exclude from the access rights to natural resources of the sites. Therefore, ownership of a house is an important factor in the area especially for securing the livelihood activities.

Like the ownership of a house, social importance has been given to the land on which a family is settled down. As revealed from the FGDs, those families have an ownership of a land in the site are considered as permanent residents while others as squatters or outsiders. The ownership of a land in the site is the basis of access rights to resources and even for obtaining a membership in a formal group such as the Fisheries Cooperative Societies. The working of this social mechanism can be clearly seen in Pubudugama where the people who do not own a land in the village are not entitled to do fishing in the site and to become a member of the Fisheries Cooperative Society. On this basis, the villagers of Pubudugama manage their fishing site (the coastal segment between Mungilaru and Vattakandal) according to a local system of resource management. The access rights to the natural resources existing in a project site are determined according to this local system of resources management.

As far as the ownership in the fishing crafts and gear is concerned, it is a criterion used by people in the project sites to determine economic status of a family. For example, a family that owns a teppama (traditional fishing craft used in the project sites) is considered richer than one that depends on push net fishing. In a similar manner, the owner of one piece of fishing net is considered as richer than one who depends on repairing nets. Accordingly, the nature of ownership in fishing crafts and gear is an indicator of poverty and economic status of family in these sites. Table 13 shows the nature of ownership in these three livelihood assets of the families represented in the sample.

Table 13: Nature of ownership in livelihood assets

Asset Gangewadiya Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama Total Percentage House 44 50 49 31 174 97.2 Land 45 46 36 31 158 88.3 Boat 02 20 16 06 44 24.6 Teppam/oru 27 14 29 09 79 44.1 Nets 38 35 40 21 134 74.8 Source: Sample survey-2003

According to the figures given in the above table, the majority of families own houses and lands in the respective sites but it is not the case in fishing crafts and gear.

7.6 Poverty

The intention of this section is not to present a comprehensive analysis of poverty situation in the four project sites. Instead, the aim is to present some of the poverty indicators that are relevant to the pilot site in general. An attempt was made during the field investigation to collect several categories of data that reveal or indicate poverty situation in the project sites. These included income, house type, indebt ness and the ownership of livelihood assets.

7.6.1 Income

Level of income is a commonly used poverty indicator elsewhere and it is relevant to the pilot site too. According to the income data collected, 26.3% of families in the sample were earning less than Rs.5000 a month. These families were the poorest section in terms of income. The highest income category was those families, which earned more than Rs.15000 a month. The percentage of these families was only 1.7 from the total number of families represented in the sample i.e. 179. The majority (59.7%) was earning Rs.5000-9000 a monthly, which is the general income level of families in the project sites. Table 14 indicates the approximate monthly income of the 179 families represented in the sample.

Table 14: Monthly income of the families (in Rs)

Income Gangewadiya Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama Total Percentage Below 1000 00 00 00 00 00 00 1000-5000 07 04 12 24 47 26.3 5000-7000 16 19 26 06 67 37.4 7000-9000 15 15 10 - 40 22.3 9000-12000 06 07 02 03 18 10.1 12000-15000 02 02 00 - 04 2.2 Above 12000 00 03 00 - 03 1.7 Total 46 50 50 33 179 100.0 Source: Sample survey-2003.

According to the figures indicated in the above table, almost all the families in the sample were above the officially accepted poverty line i.e. the monthly income below Rs.1000. However, 41.3% of families in the four project sites are recipients of the government social welfare benefits i.e. Samurdhi. This means that more than one third of families in these sites are poor according to the officially accepted poverty line. Hence it is not realistic to consider this officially accepted poverty line to determine poverty situation in the project sites.

7.6.2 Type of the house

The house type is a realistic poverty indicator relevant to the project sites. According to the findings of the sample survey, about 50 percent of families did not own permanent houses. A large number of houses in the project sites are temporary or semi-permanent. The walls and the roof of the temporary houses are made from cadjan, which lasts about two years. Thus these houses have to repair very frequently. According to the current prices of cadjan in the area (Rs. 8.00 per piece), repairing cost of a temporary house is about Rs.3000. The floor area of about 90 percent of the temporary houses is less than 350 sq.ft. Table 15 shows the house type of families represented in the sample.

Table 15: Status of the house owned by families in the sample

Type Gangewadiy Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama Total Percentage a Permanent 07 28 16 12 63 36.2 Semi-permanent 12 01 03 05 21 12.1 Temporary 25 21 30 14 76 51.7 Total 44 5049 31 179 100.0 Source: Sample survey-2003.

The above figures show that more than 50% of families in the sample do not own permanent houses. Therefore, it is a realistic indicator of the economic status of families in the project sites.

7.6.3 Ownership of land

The land ownership pattern is also an important poverty indicator relevant to the project sites. As mentioned earlier, the land owned by a family is an important physical asset that ensures access rights to the exiting natural resources. Therefore, every family in the project sites attempts to own a piece of land irrespective of its size and economic return. This was clearly reflected from the data of the sample survey. According to the data, the extent of the land owned by some of the families does not exceed five perch but even that they find it a valuable livelihood asset. Only 22.8% of families in the sample owned relatively big lands in the extent of more than 80 perch. Table 16 shows the extent of land owned by families in the sample.

Table 16: Land ownership of the families represented in the sample

Extent Gangewadiy Serakkuliya Karativ Pubudugam Total Percentage a Less than 5 perch 16 00 02 00 18 11.4 05-10 14 0607 00 27 17.1 11-15 02 0312 00 17 10.8 16-20 02 1504 07 28 17.7 21-30 01 0702 00 10 6.3 31-40 04 0504 01 14 8.9 41-60 00 0100 00 01 0.6 61-80 01 0200 04 07 4.4 Above 80 05 07 05 19 36 22.8 Total 45 46 36 31 158 100.0 Source: Sample survey-2003.

7.6.4 Indebtedness

Indebt ness perhaps may not a realistic poverty indicator relevant for every situation but in the project sites this aspect has some validity. Interestingly almost 45.8% of families in the sample had not any debt either to individuals or to institutions such as banks and village level organizations but others had obtained credits from the amount Rs 1000 to more than Rs.100,000. These credits had obtained mainly for housing and purchasing of fishing gear. It was found that informal credit transactions are very common among families in the project sites. The fish collectors are the immediate credit source for majority of families. Most common formal credit sources have been the Fisheries Cooperative Societies and some of the NGOs working in the area. The credit need of most of the families in the sites is in the range of Rs.5000-25000 but the survey results revealed that some of the families have obtained credit even more than Rs.100,000. The amount of credit obtained by families in the sample show in table 17.

Table 17 : Amount of credit obtained by families (in Rs)

Amount Gangewadiya Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama Total Percentage No debts 32 22 24 04 82 45.8 Less10000 00 00 00 00 00 00 1000-5000 01 01 09 05 16 8.9 5000-10000 06 05 06 08 25 14.0 10000-15000 04 02 07 03 16 8.9 15000-200000 00 02 02 00 04 2.2 20000-25000 00 09 02 06 17 9.5 Over 25000 03 09 00 07 19 10.6 Total 46 50 50 33 179 99.9 Source: Sample survey-2003

The figures given in the above table indicate that the credit need of families in the project sites is two folds. Of the two, the credit need of one category of families is the small amounts in the range of Rs.5000-15000 and the other category is those families need credit more than Rs.20000. This latter category represents those families own more capital assets such as boats and fishing gear in different types. Fishing gear is costly and also need replacing them very frequently. In purchasing new fishing gear, the usual practice is obtaining credit for the purpose. This credit need was raised in the stakeholder workshop where it was pointed out that providing of credit facilities through the Fisheries Cooperative Societies will be more important than providing subsidies. When providing subsidies e.g. boats, nets etc. the befit goes to a small number but credit can be disbursed among lager number of

families. However, the problem of credit is the difficulty of recovering. This is a common problem exist in the Fisheries Cooperative Societies of the country.

8. ECONOMY OF THE PROJECT SITES

The economy of the project sites is primarily based on fishing and agriculture. Between the two activities, fishing is the most important in terms of the number depends on it. The fishing and agricultural population in the four project sites is 92% and 8% respectively.

8.1 Fishing

The total number of fishing families in the four project sites is 464. Almost all these families are depending on capture fishing done in the Puttalam Lagoon and the associated coastal waters. Main fishing season is from October to April. However, it was revealed from the FGDs that the fishing activity is carried out throughout the year of this coastal segment. A clear indication of this was the different fish species reported in different periods of the year. These periods and the different fish species find in each period are given below.

Shellfish-Prawn (4 species) from October to April Shellfish-Prawn (1 specie) from April to June Finfish (Vauwalaya, Passimbi, Maduwa) from May to August Finfish (modda, Katthalaya, Anguluwa, Godaya) from August to September.

Fishermen in all the four sites stressed a decreasing tendency of fishery resource in the lagoon. In this regard they particularly mentioned about the species such as Vauwalaya, Katthalaya, Passimbi and crabs. This means that the fishing effort has been reached up to an unsustainable level. Two reasons could be identified during the field investigation for such a decreasing tendency of the fishery resources.

(a) influx of a large number of fishermen during the past decade. (b) ever increasing human pressure on the resource.

Influx of fishermen A continued influx of fishermen from outside was the tendency in the past decade. This was an indirect impact of the ethnic conflict in the north and east. A large number of war-affected families migrated to the Puttalam Lagoon area as refugees and began to engage in fishing in the lagoon for livelihood. As a result a severe competition grew for the exploitation of fishery resources in the lagoon, which were already under tremendous human pressure.

Increasing human pressure on the lagoon resources When look at the historical development of fishery in the Puttalam Lagoon, one could see that only the fishing effort has been increased. Any tendency could not be seen in a diversion of the activity to alternative sectors. Aquaculture is the only recent development in this connection but it did not open enough scope for alternative employment opportunities to the growing fishing population in the area. Under such a situation, it was unavoidable an increase of human pressure on the lagoon resources. The maximum sustainable yield for the Puttalam lagoon fishery has been estimated at 5,536 MT (see Dayaratne et.al., 1995) but this level perhaps may be exceeded under the current level of resource exploitation. One of the alternatives available for reducing human pressure on the lagoon fishery is the diversion of fishermen into sea fishing. Fishermen suggested this alternative during the stakeholder workshop and according to them; main constraint to do so is the fuel cost to sail up to the connecting point of the lagoon with the sea. As a solution to this problem, the fishermen suggested to construct an alternative access. The place they suggested is Mohotthuvarama, near kalpitiya where the beach is narrow. If this solution is feasible, both technically and environmentally, it may be

worthwhile to investigate as a solution to the ever-increasing human pressure on the lagoon resources.

8.1.1 Fishing crafts and gear used in the project sites

The common fishing crafts found in the project sites are traditional non-mechanized oru/teppm and mechanized 18ft fibreglass boats. The total number of fishing crafts operating in the four sites is 263. The following table shows the number of fishing crafts operating in each site.

Table 18: Fishing crafts operating in the project sites

Craft Gangewadiya Serakkuliya Karativu Pubudugama Total Traditional crafts 27 38 59 19 143 Boats 02 67 40 11 120 Total 29 105 99 30 263 Source: District Fisheries Office-2002

The most common fishing gear found in the project sites are gillnets, trammel nets, push nets and pull nets (kadippu). Among the four types of fishing gear, the latter two are used for shallow water fishing. The small-meshed gillnet fishing is common in the Gangewadiya, Serakkuliya and Karativu sites. However, in Pubudugama, such destructive fishing methods (small-meshed gillnet, push net and pullet fishing) do not practice. Push net fishing method is widely used in Serakkuliya and Karativu sites and the number of push net operators in these sites is 40 and 20 respectively.

8.1.2 Fish production and marketing

Since the information on fish production is given in the official records in cluster wise, it was difficult to collect site-specific data. Therefore, a rough calculation was made based on the information collected from interviews and FGDs. According to the fishermen, average daily fish catch of a traditional non- mechanized craft is about 10kg while it is 15kg in respect of a mechanized boat. When calculating the catch on this basis, the approximate annual fish production in the four project sites is 594MT.

Fish marketing system in the project sites is operated in an informal manner through middlemen i.e. fish collectors. There are 24 such fish collectors in the four sites. The majority of them are found in the Serakkuliya (14) and Karativu (6) sites. There are 2 fish collectors in each site of Gangewadiya and Pubudugama. In addition to these 24 persons, agents of one fish exporter are involved in fish collecting in the four sites. The fish catch collected from the landing centers is sold to the wholesale dealers in the Puttalam town, Kalpitiya and Colombo. Each fisherman sells his catch to a particular fish collector in the site and the payments for fish are made either on the spot or once a week. This latter system is more advantageous to the fish collectors as they pay a fixed price, which fluctuates in the wholesale market.

8.2 Agriculture

Agriculture is the second most important economic activity in the five GN Divisions where the project sites are situated. The estimated number of agricultural families in these GN Divisions is about 335 of which about 100 families are living in the project sites. However, families depend on agriculture are difficult to find in Serakkuliya and Gangewadiya because of non-availability of agricultural lands. Although there is a few numbers of families in Serakkuliya which own small coconut lands (in the extent of ¼ to 1 acre) none of them depends exclusively from agriculture. The situation in Gangewadiya is even different than Serakkuliya. About 77.8% of land holdings in Gangewadiya are very small (less than 30 perch) and thus agriculture is not possible in this site. In contrast, most of the

land holdings (61.3%) in Pubudugama are lager than one acre. However, crop cultivation is difficult to do due to non-availability of water. The crops that can be cultivated in these lands are only cashew, coconut and some fruit such as mango and wood apple. The average yield from one acre of coconut is approximately 3800 nuts per annum and in the case of cashew it is about 200 kg. The total acreage of these two crops is 1781 and 1109 respectively.

Other agricultural crops that are rear but some families cultivate vegetables, grain and cassava during the rainy season.

Well-organized market for the agricultural crops is not available in the project sites. The agricultural produce is marketed at the village itself to the traders coming from the Puttalam town and from outside areas such as Negombo and Gampaha.

9. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES IN THE PROJECT SITES

9.1 Transport facilities

As mentioned in the section 2.1, infrastructure facilities are very poor in the Vanathawilluwa DS Division. As noted during the field investigation, any significant improvement to the transport infrastructure in the area has not been made in the past few years. The Puttalam- Mannar road, which is the main access road to people in the project sites, is passable only up to the Eluwankulama village, which is situated 16 km off from the Puttalam town. The public transport facilities available in this area are extremely unsatisfactory and even costly. The normal bus faire from Puttalam town to Eluwankulama junction is Rs.12 but private transport operators charge an equal rate of Rs.20 to travel between these two destinations. The government own bus service is the other option available for the commuters of Puttalam-Eluwankulama road, but its service is restricted to four journeys a day. Under such circumstances, people in the area have to depend on private transport operators despite of high rates they charge. Moreover, none of the two transport services operate after seven in the evening and hence transport problem becomes acute in the evening and night. The transport infrastructure and transport services in the project sites are even worse. For Gangewadiya people, the 4 km earth road, which runs up to Eluwankulama junction is the only access road to a bus route. The situation of transport facilities in Serakkuliya is not far different from Gangewadiya but the people in this site have access to two passenger vans, which are operated between Karativu and the Puttalam town.

9.2 Health facilities

The Base Hospital at Puttalam town is the well-equipped hospital available for people in the project sites. In addition to this hospital, health facilities are provided from the Rural Hospital and the maternity and child care unit located in Vanathawilluwa. A dispensary is also functioning in Karativu but the service in this center is limited to out door patients. Malaria and waterborne diseases are the common health problems found in the project sites.

9.3 Educational facilities

Education facilities in the project sites are not quite satisfactory but there are 3 government schools in the area. One of them is Tamil medium school situated in Karativu and the other two are Sinhala medium schools situated in Serakkuliya and Samagipura. The facilities for secondary education are available only in the Tamil medium school. Education facilities are not available within the Gangewadiya site. The nearest school for the children of this site is the Eluwankulama Maha Vidyalaya, which is situated in a distance of 4km from Gangewadiya. Travel between Gangewadiya and Eluwankulama is extremely difficult for children due to non-availability of transport facilities and the threat of wild elephant. Because of this situation, most of the people in Gangewadiya are either illiterate or have completed only primary school education. A building has been constructed in the site

for starting a preschool but it remains idling, as there is not a qualified person in the village to undertake the teaching job.

9.4 Drinking water

Obtaining of quality drinking water is a severe problem faced by people in all the four project sites. Fresh water is available from the Kala Oya for the people in the Gangewadiya but they do not get quality drinking water throughout the year. During drought, water in the Kala Oya estuary becomes saline and the fresh water available in the upstream also gets polluted from the uses such as bathing and washing. While during rains, water of the river becomes muddy due to the run-off and under such circumstances the people of Gangewadiya do not get quality drinking water throughout the year. The situation of the other three project sites is even worst because they do not have easy access to any form of fresh water. As a solution to this problem, a non-governmental organization viz, World Vision, implemented a water supply project for the benefit of people in Serakkuliya and Karativu villages. The project was implemented in 1998 but it did not succeed due to a technical problem of the pumping station. At present, the people in these sites obtain drinking water from wells of which the water quality is extremely poor.

9.5 Postal and telecommunication facilities

The postal and telecommunication facilities are obtained by people in the project sites from four sub- post offices situated in Eluwankulama, Karativu, Smilpuram and Karandipooval.

9.6 Other services

In addition to the above-mentioned social infrastructure facilities, one Agrarian Services Center, an Agricultural Research Station, a Rural Bank and two Samurdhi Banks are situated in close proximity of the project sites.

9.7 Religious Institutions

There are 12 Christian churches, 07 Buddhist temples, 09 mosques and 04 Hindu temples in the Vanathawilluwa DS division. Among these religious institutions, three churches and one mosque are situated in the project sites. The main church situated in Vanathawilluwa administers the churches in Gangewadiya, Pubudugama and Serakkuliya sites. The church involves in various social works in the area. It assisted several poor families in Serakkuliya and Pubudugama sites for constructing houses. Similarly, the church provided funds for a community hall in Serakkuliya that can be used for running a pre-school and conducting community meetings. As a gratitude for this social work, the fishermen in Gangewadiya and Serakkuliya donate their one-day income to the church in each month.

9.8 Non-governmental organizations functioning in the project sites

A number of non-governmental (NGO) and community based organizations (CBO) are functioning in the project sites. The World Vision International, Rural Development Foundation and Sarvodaya are the NGOs working in the project sites. Among the activities that are carried out by these organizations include improvement of infrastructure facilities, community development through self-help activities, supplying of planting materials, protection of the natural environment and provision of short-term credit for housing and small enterprises. The CBOs found in the project sites are Temple Societies, Funeral Societies, Women Societies, Rural Development Societies, Samurdhi Societies and Fisheries Cooperative Societies. Most of these CBOs are functioning nominally and hence people in the project sites do not benefit from them very much.

10. MAJOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES PREVAILING IN THE PROJECT SITES

The study identified several socio-economic issues that are affecting the sustainable use of coastal resources in the project sites in particular and the Puttalam Lagoon HPA in general. The identified issues are:

• Resource use conflicts • Practice of destructive fishing methods • Poverty • Influx of fishermen and other resource users • Non-availability of alternative employment opportunities • Shortage of water for drinking and agricultural activities • Non-existence of competitive market for fish and agricultural produce • Politicization of village-level organizations

10.1 Resource use conflicts

As revealed from the study findings, the coastal resources in the four project sites had been utilized in a sustainable manner until recent times. The conflict that was arisen in 1991 between the two fishing communities in Gangewadiya and Serakkuliya was the first incident reported over the period from the 1940s.This was a conflict arisen over the user rights of the fishery resources in the Kala Oya estuary. In this incident, the fishermen of Gangewadiya claimed their rights to the fishery resources in the estuary on the basis of residence in the site. While the Serakkuliya fishermen argued that the site was first used by people of the old generation in Serakkuliya and hence the present generation too is entitled to claim user rights of fishery resources in the estuary. The conflict was over anyway after a mutual agreement of the two parties where the user rights of the estuary will be exclusively for the fishermen of Gangewadiya and thus they should not enter any other coastal waters where the Serakkuliya fishermen do fishing i.e. the proper lagoon.

The second conflict was arisen in 1993 between Muslim fishermen and Sinhalese fishermen in Serakkuliya. The issue was the boat landing rights on the Serakkuliya beach. The Serakkuliya Sinhalese fishermen were the first group who used the site for landing their boats. When the Muslim fishermen of the Karativu village entered into fishing since the 1970s, the two groups shared the site on equal basis of access rights. However, in the early 1990s, the Muslim fishermen began to claim exclusive user rights of the site and finally this claim led to a resource use conflict between the two groups. It ended up from a severe damage made to the fishing boats and nets belonged to the Muslim fishermen of Karatiuv village. In this incident, 32 boats belonged to the Muslim fishermen were set fire by the Serakkuliya Sinhala fishermen as a reaction to the claim. The conflict ended up after demarcating a separate boat-landing site for the Muslim fishermen. The fishermen participated in the stakeholder workshop held in the Vanathawilluwa DS office raised this issue and pointed out that the narrow beach of Serakkuliya is not sufficient at present for landing all fishing boats found in this site. As a solution, they proposed a site from the area that is bounded to the land belonging to the Puttalam cement factory. If the project can address this issue by negotiating with the present landowner i.e. the management of the cement factory, it will be a lasting solution to one of the resource use conflicts present in the Serakkuliya site.

At present, there are four such resource use conflicts in the project sites. The issue and the parties involved in these conflicts are indicated below.

• The conflict between the fishermen of Serakkuliya and Gangewadiya over the issue of access rights to Kumburawa fishing site located in the western part of the lagoon • The conflict between the Sinhalese fishermen of Gangewadiya and Muslim fishermen of Eluwankulama over the issue of ownership of Tuduwa fishing site close to Gangewadiya.

• The conflict between the traditional fishermen of Karativu and the refugee fishermen from Kalpitiya over the issue of user rights of the Karativu site • The conflict between the traditional fishermen of Pubudugama and the refugee’s fishermen over the user rights of the site between Mungil Aru to Vattakandal-Mee Oya delta.

Since these existing resource use conflicts are really damaging to the limited resources of the lagoon, a lasting solution for such conflicts has to be identified. Otherwise the number and severity of such conflicts might be increased in the future and the consequences of them will definitely be affected further resource degradation in the lagoon. Demarcation/zoning of the sites and entrusting the management responsibility to the concerned communities would be a solution. However, the legal implications of this solution need to be studied.

10.2 Practice of destructive fishing methods

The practice of destructive fishing methods is not a historical phenomenon in the pilot site. It was only in the recent times that the fishermen in the sites tended to use destructive fishing methods such as small mesh-monofilament gillnets, monofilament purse seine, encircling nets, push nets and pull nets. The studies conducted in the site have identified several reasons or factors that have contributed to the increase of destructive fishing methods in this coastal segment. Among them, the following are the most significant factors:

• Lack of efficient fishing gear and crafts for a majority of fishermen • Fuel cost in using mechanized boats • Habitat destruction by trawler fishing • Population increase • Lack of alternative resource use opportunities

It is difficult to offer immediate solutions to the problems associated with these factors but it may not be that difficult to find a lasting solution if a grater opportunity is available for the concerned communities to participate in designing and implementation of a coastal resources management plan for the site. Although there are regulations to control destructive fishing methods, they are ineffective due to lack of an opportunity for the concerned communities to participate in implementing them. Hence this aspect is vital in the designing of a strategy to sustainable management of coastal resources in the pilot site. Two different situations of push net fishing were found during the field investigation. One situation was the successful control of push net fishing by implementing the local systems of resource management strategies. This case was found in Pubudugama where all types of destructive fishing methods are controlled by implementing the local resource management strategies. Every fisherman in this community has been volunteered to follow the rules imposed by the community itself irrespective of the level of poverty, social status, gender and political power. The other case is a justification of push net fishing on the ground of poverty. This case was found in the Serakkuliya site where other fishermen tolerate the destruction made to the lagoon resources by push net operators on a sympathetic ground. Hence these two extremes have to be considered in identifying a strategy to the issue of destructive fishing methods in the pilot site. It is obvious that some social measures are needed at the first instance to control destructive fishing methods such as push nets and pull nets because of the fact that the users of these methods are representing the poorer section of the community.

10.3 Poverty

Several reasons could be identified from the study regarding poverty situation in the project sites. Most significant reasons among them were: • High reliance on the existing resources of the lagoon and the associated coastal waters • Lack of fishing crafts and gear

• Poor knowledge in financial management • Dependence on the income of one or two family members • Resource degradation • Lack of alternative employment opportunities

Since the majority of fishermen in the project sites do not have skills other than lagoon fishing, they tend to rely on the resources available in the lagoon. Most of these fishermen have not been able to generate an income that is sufficient for more than meeting of subsistence needs of the family. Thus the existing poverty in the project sites is a result of this high reliance on the existing resources of the lagoon. Because of the low income earn from fishing, most of the fishermen in the sites are unable to invest on fishing crafts and gear.

Lack of knowledge in financial management is also a factor that contributes poverty in the project sites. The sample survey revealed that almost 83.6% of families do not have any saving at present. This situation is not primarily because of low income but rather the lack of knowledge in financial management.

Resource degradation in the lagoon is an important factor affecting the poverty of people in the project sites. Existing resource use pattern (e.g. destructive fishing methods) and impacts of shrimp farms in the area (e.g. destruction of mangroves, discharging of untreated water to the lagoon) are main causes of resource degradation in the Puttalam Lagoon.

Apart from these factors or reasons, lack of alternative employment opportunities has also been influenced to increase poverty in the area. As revealed during the stakeholder workshop, agriculture and animal husbandry are two important areas to generate alternative employment for the people in the Puttalam Lagoon HP site. However, these alternatives are constrained by shortage of water for agriculture and lack of grazing land for animal husbandry.

Accordingly, these key issues have to be addressed for poverty reduction in the pilot site. The following actions are recommended in this respect.

• Encouraging the fishermen to engage in sea fishing and pond fishing • Provision of credit facilities for the neediest families to own fishing crafts and gear • Supply of irrigation water to promote cash crop cultivation (e.g. vegetable and fruits) as an alternative source of income and employment • Provision of a training on financial management to the families in the site • Minimize impacts of shrimp farms on the natural environment of the lagoon

10.4 Influx of fishermen and other resource users

Influx of fishermen and other resource users (e.g. refugees, migrant fishermen, shrimp farmers) is a major issue that affects the sustainability of lagoon resources and hence to the livelihoods of the fishing families in the area. As revealed from the FGDs, influx of refugees into the lagoon fishery is increasing and if the tendency continued any further it perhaps may leads to a rival conflict between refugees and the traditional fishermen in the project sites. Since politicians are involved in this matter, the relevant authorities are looked upon the voice of the traditional fishermen in the project sites. Hence a lasting solution is needed to the influx of refugees into the lagoon.

In addition to refugees, a considerable number of outsiders are coming into the area through kinship relationships with the families, which are already settled down in the project sites. The influx of outsiders has become a serious social issue that affects livelihood activities of families in the area. Implementation of existing land regulations strictly will be a solution to this problem and before go to drastic measures zoning of the lagoon area is essential.

10.5 Non-availability of alternative employment opportunities

As mentioned earlier, non-availability of alternative employment has been a factor that affects resource degradation in the Puttalam Lagoon. As revealed from the stakeholder workshops and the FGDs, agriculture and animal husbandry are two possible areas where alternative employment opportunities can be generated. However, there are specific problems to be addressed in generating alternative employment in these two sectors. As far as the agriculture sector is concerned, shortage of water is the critical problem. A considerable amount of agricultural land is available in the Puttalam and Vanathawilluwa DS Divisions but they remain idling due to the shortage of water for crop cultivation. As revealed from the discussions, the crops that can be cultivated profitably in these lands are fruit and vegetable. Supplying of irrigation water from Kala Oya is the only alternative available for promoting agriculture and thereby generating non-fishing employment opportunities for the people in the Puttalam Lagoon HP site.

The animal husbandry, a sector where a scope is available for generating large number of alternative employment opportunities is constrained by the expanding enterprise of aquaculture i.e. shrimp farms. In fact, aquaculture is an enterprise with grater potentials for further development but its capacity to generate employment opportunities is very limited. Moreover, it has affected the livelihood activities such as animal husbandry in a manner of further reduction of grazing lands in the area. The mangrove strip and the flood retention plains adjacent to the lagoon were the traditional grazing lands used by the cattle farmers in the area but the extent of these lands greatly reduced with the introduction of shrimp farming into the area. Most of these lands have been converted into the shrimp farms and as a result, those families, which secured their livelihoods from animal husbandry, are forced shift to lagoon fishing or seasonal agriculture. The activity of animal husbandry as an alternative employment can be promoted again by implementing a systematic regulatory mechanism for aquaculture. Such a mechanism not only supports for promoting animal husbandry but also controlling the lagoon water.

10.6 Non-existence of competitive market for fish and agricultural produce

Marketing of the fish and agricultural produce is a problem that exists in all the project sites. As it revealed during the stakeholder workshop, the lack of competitive demand for fish and agricultural produce is the main problem faced with regard to marketing. According to the participants in the stakeholder workshop, low productivity is the main cause of this problem. The low productivity of the both fishing and agriculture does not supports for developing a competitive marketing system like that of prevailing in Kalpitiya. In this sense, the marketing problem that exists in the project sites is not a difficulty of selling the produce but rather a lack of competitive demand for the produce. Thus the increase and diversification of the fish and agricultural produce is the solution for the existing marketing problem in the area.

10.7 Politicisation of village-level organizations

As mentioned in the section 7.3, village-level organizations functioning in the project sites are highly politicized. For example, the Fisheries Cooperative Societies in Serakkuliya, Karatiuv and Gangewadiya sites, are defunct at present due to internal divisions of the membership over the lines of party politics. This situation of politicization of village-level organizations affects the concerned communities in the fair distribution of benefits of the aid and subsidy programmes implemented in the area. This indicates the necessity of a re-organization programme of village-level organizations, especially the Fisheries Cooperative Societies, prior to the implementation of the coastal resources management strategy.

REFERENCES

• Bentota Estuary Wetland Site Report, Central Environment Authority, Sri Lanka, 1994.

• Chilaw Estuary Wetland Report, Central Environment Authority, Sri Lanka, 1994.

• Dayaratne et.al. (1997) The Puttalam /Mundal Estuarine System and associated Coastal Waters: A report on environmental degradation, resource management issues and options for their solution, NARA, Colombo.

• Dharmaratnam. M, Socio-economic Background of Coral Mining and Lime Production in Kalkudah, unpublished paper presented to the Coral Reef Forum of Sri Lanka, 2000.

• Dayaratne et.al. (1995) Puttalam lagoon and Mundel Lake, Sri Lanka: A study of coastal resources, their utilization, environmental issues and management options, AMBIO 24.

• Madduma Bandara. C (2002) Compendium of the High Priority Areas, the document prepared for the ADB-RETA Project.

• Rayn Bryce (1993) Cast in Modern Ceylon: The Sinhalese system in transition, New Delhi: Navrang.

ANNEX 1

Puttalam Lagoon Puttalam Lagoon is the largest estuarine system in the country having a surface area of 32700 ha. Much of the lagoon area is fringed by mangrove swamps covering about 3000 ha. and sea grass beds. The lagoon is rich in fishery resources. Exploitation of these resources has been the primary livelihood of about 2000 fishing families living in the area. The fishery resources and other habitats associated with this estuarine system are in a state of degradation due to unsustainable resource use practices.

Bentota Estuary Bentota estuary is located at the bottom-end of the Bentota river basin on the south-western coast. The extent of this river basin is estimated to 3600 ha. It covers the Bentota river cannel, adjacent wetlands, Dedduwa Lake and associated marshy lands. The rich biodiversity found in the river basin is the ecological significance of the Bentota estuary. As shown in the Bentota Estuary Wetland Site Report (1994), there are 45 plant species and 37 fish species in this river basin. According to this report, fishing is the primary livelihood activity of families in 5 villages situated around the Bentota estuary. In addition, tourism also provides livelihoods for a considerable number of people in the area. Among the two livelihood activities, tourism has become a threat to the natural coastal environment of the Bentota estuary. Discharging of sewage from tourist hotels and guesthouses into the estuary, dumping of solid waste to the river is creating serious environmental problems in the site. Similarly, high-speed boating and water skiing cause riverbank erosion.

Chilaw Estuary The Chilaw estuary located in the west coast covers an area of about 3700 ha. A wetland in the extent of 1800 ha, coconut plantations, paddy fields, an open water body, marshes, mangroves are the unique features found in the area. The population in the area is growing rapidly and the population density had increased by 27% during the period between 1977-1981. Apart from the high population pressure, the Chilaw estuary is under severe threats of shrimp farming. This activity has been affected to the natural environment of the estuary in several ways. Destruction of mangroves for the construction of shrimp ponds, pollution of surface water by application of nutrients and chemicals (pesticides and lime) and salinization of ground water as a result of pumping brackish water to shrimp ponds are most noticeable threats to the natural environment of the site.

Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar is situated in the Northwestern coast. It is the surface area between the main land and the island of Mannar. Main vegetation of the island is mainly scrub, Palmyra palm and baobab. Mangroves are found in the stretch between the island and the main land. The island of Mannar consists of sand barriers and coral reefs that occur at a depth of 2.5 to 4.5 meters in the near shore area of the island. According to the studies (see: Rajasuriya, 2000), there are 3600 species in the Gulf of Mannar within its three main ecosystems viz, coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds.

Passekudah Kalkudah Cluster The Passekudah Bay is situated in the east coast of Sri Lanka. This coastal area is important for its scenic beaches, healthy coral reefs, lagoons and estuaries. The key economic sectors of the area are agriculture, fishing and tourism. However, since the beginning of the ethnic war in the north and east in the early 1980s, all these sectors experienced a marked decline. The healthy coral reefs in Passekudah are under severe threat at present due to the mining for manufacture of lime. In a study conducted by Dahramaratnam (2000), shows that the number of lime kilns in the Kalkudah village increased from 6 in the 1980s to 108 in 2000.