Reducing plastic pollution to safeguard Sri Lanka's marine mega fauna

Sri Lanka is an island nation surrounded by the Indian Ocean and as such has outstanding marine biodiversity. Marine mega-fauna such as sea turtles, sharks and cetaceans inhabit coastal and offshore waters. Of the seven... [ view full abstract ]

Sri Lanka is an island nation surrounded by the Indian Ocean and as such has outstanding marine biodiversity. Marine mega-fauna such as sea turtles, sharks and cetaceans inhabit coastal and offshore waters. Of the seven species of extant sea turtle, five species nest on Sri Lankan shores and feed and migrate in Sri Lankan waters. About 30 species of marine mammals inhabit Sri Lankan waters including blue whales, spinner dolphin and even occasional orca. Coral reefs, sea grass meadows and mangroves provide important habitat for thousands of species of fauna and flora. Sri Lanka also has a plastic pollution problem. According to Science magazine (2015) Sri Lanka ranked fifth place in the world among countries that release “Plastic waste input from the land to the ocean”, releasing 1.59m mt/year. This is high, especially when one considers that if considered collectively, the 23 coastal European Union countries (including the UK) would rank only 18^th on the list. The main pollution items are plastic bags, plastic bottles, tin cans and abandoned fishing nets. In September 2017 Sri Lanka banned plastic bags and other disposable items. However, this legislation was rapidly introduced and has led to widespread confusion and non-compliance, without a carefully considered implementation plan. So Bio Conservation Society conducting programmes and distributing cotton bags to increase local community awareness of plastic pollution, and encourage local people to minimize the use of plastic items and promote to use alternative products. This abstract will be discussed the progress of the awareness programme.