SRI LANKA COUNTRY PROFILE

CHAPTER 15: CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
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CP2002-SRI LANKA PAGE 41 Of 106
Decision-Making: Since the subject of “Biodiversity” has a very broad scope with a cross sectoral context and
different levels of implementation, many stakeholders are involved in decision making. The Minister in-charge of
the subject of Environment makes decisions on national policy on biodiversity with the concurrence of the Cabinet
of Ministers. In general the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment is the key decision-maker at the national level
under the national policy framework on biological diversity. With the concurrence of the Secretary, the Director of
Biodiversity makes decisions especially for short term measures on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
The Biodiversity Secretariat in the Ministry of Environment has responsibility to coordinate national-level activities
on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and facilitates the formulation and implementation of project
and programmes. In respect to other sectoral aspects on biodiversity (agricultural biodiversity, wildlife and forest
based biodiversity, coastal and marine biodiversity etc.), respective Secretaries to the concerned Ministry and Head
of the Department of the concerned agency make decisions for their sectors. In the provincial set-up, the Chief
Minister, and the Provincial Minister of Environment make decisions on the subject areas of biodiversity listed in
the concurrence list under the national biodiversity policy framework. The Committee on Environment Policy
Management for Biodiversity (CEPOM-Biodiversity) has been established for the purpose of coordinating
biodiversity related policy matters. Many other decisions are being made with the advice given by the various
advisory groups. The Committees on Environment Policy Coordination facilitates maintenance of transparency and
agreements among various stake holders (NGOs, CBOs and Private sector) in the decision making process. The
new law on Access to Genetic Resources and the Code of Ethics on Biodiversity Research was drafted and the
Material Transfer Agreement has been finalized by the Biodiversity Secretariat. The Fourth draft of National
Biosafety Guideline is under preparation
Programmes and Projects: Most of the projects and programmes on natural resources management have
addressed different the aspects on biodiversity. The following list shows the information of some projects and
Programmes on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use undertaken during the last ten years.
Table 1- Names of biodiversity related Projects/Programmes
Name of the Project/Programme Funding agency Total cost/
value (Rs.)
% of covering
BD aspects
Protected area management GEF 100
Biodiversity action plan preparation GEF 100
Natural Resources Policy project USAID 40
Conservation of Small citecians Netherlands govt. 100
Wetland conservation Netherlands Govt. 75
Regional Biodiversity Programme IUCN/GEF 100
Small Grant Scheme - pilot phase UNDP/GEF 75
Small Grant Scheme -Operational phase 1 UNDP/GEF 90
Small Grant Scheme -Operational phase 2 UNDP/GEF 80
Environmental action 1 Project WB 10
Community Environment Initiative Facility WB 70
Biodiversity Skill Enhancement WB 100
Conservation of Medicinal Plants GEF/WB 100
Conservation of Threaten spp. in rainforests GEF/UNDP 100
Coastal zone management GEF/UNDP 100
Coastal zone management ADB 40
Forestry Sector Development WB/FINNIDA/ UNDP/ ODA 30
Community Forestry ADB 40
Participatory Forestry ADB 40