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TRINCOMALEE BAY SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA Page | 18
73. After reviewing these studies, NECCDEP identified 19 special studies to provide
additional information. However, the recommendations from these studies were not available
to support the interim SMA process. Indeed a number of these studies are still ongoing and
several have only just been approved to start (November 2009).
74. NECCDEP, therefore, decided to develop the “fast track” interim SMA Plan based on
the findings and recommendations of the studies conducted by other agencies/projects rather
than wait for the results of the special studies.
75. NECCDEP identified 20 environmental issues to be addressed by the interim SMA
Plan based on the review of previous studies and a stakeholders workshop held in
September 2005. The list of these environmental issues is given in Appendix 3.
76. The workshop participants were then asked to select 8 of the 20 issues as core
issues and were asked to suggested remedial actions to address these issues. The selected
8 core issues are given below in priority order.
1. Solid waste collection and disposal including human waste;
2. Degradation of mangrove and coastal vegetation;
3. Destructive Fishing and Collection of Marine Ornamental life;
4. Uncontrolled mining of gravel, clay, sand and shell;
5. Septic tank Pollution and under ground water quality and quantity changes;
6. Destruction of sea-grass beds and coral reef;
7. Coastal erosion;
8. Unplanned tourism and urbanization.
77. The proposed remedial actions and interventions to address these 8 core issues are
given in Appendix 4.
F. Identification of environmental priority areas and interventions
78. NECCDEP appointed a team of officers headed by Officer in Charge of Regional
Office of Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to carry out intensive field studies to select
hotspots. The other members of the study team included relevant District Forest Officers,
Divisional Environmental Officers, respective Land Officers, representatives of local NGO’s
and CBO’s. The team conducted 45 field visits to 69 GN divisions. Previous study reports
were reviewed by the team including the NECCDEP prepared Village Development Plans
(VDP) and Village Social Profiles (VSP). After reviewing the information, the team selected a
list of hotspots and prepared a detailed report, “Identification of environmental priority areas
for Special Management”
79. The study team looked at the inter-relationships between environmental issues and
priority hot spot areas and consolidated then into 4 core-environmental issues. These were:
(i) solid waste collection and disposal; (ii) mangrove habitat loss; (iii) coastal erosion, and; (iv)
localized pollution. These four core environmental issues were then subject to problem tree
analysis or cause-effect analysis which identifies (common) root causes resulting in issues
(or problems). This is the start of the logical framework analyses which provides the vertical
logic for interventions that resolve the root causes and turn negative problem statements into
positive outcome statements.