By: Staff Writer
Sri Lanka has taken a symbolic yet potentially transformative step toward strengthening coastal and marine conservation with Cabinet approval for a new Global Environment Facility (GEF)–funded initiative that seeks to quantify the economic value of the country’s natural marine assets.
The four-year project, backed by a US$ 2.66 million grant, aims to integrate the natural capital value of coastal and marine ecosystems into national development planning in an area long neglected despite Sri Lanka’s island geography and climate vulnerability.
The project, titled “Integration of the Natural Capital Value of the Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in Sri Lanka with the Sustainable Development Plans,” will be implemented in selected coastal districts including Galle, Mannar, Puttalam and Trincomalee. It has been jointly designed by the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with Cabinet also approving the signing of a formal implementation agreement between the two parties.
At its core, the initiative seeks to address a critical policy gap. While many countries now assign measurable economic values to ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, lagoons and seagrass beds, Sri Lanka has largely relied on qualitative assessments.
As Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa acknowledged, this has limited the ability of policymakers to fully factor environmental costs and benefits into infrastructure, tourism, fisheries and urban development decisions.
The current Government, now completing roughly one year in office, has repeatedly pledged to place environmental sustainability at the centre of economic recovery.
This project reflects a growing recognition that conservation is not merely an ecological concern but a fiscal and developmental one. Healthy coastal ecosystems reduce disaster risks, support fisheries-based livelihoods, protect shorelines from erosion and contribute significantly to tourism revenues benefits that often remain invisible in traditional budgeting processes.
However, the initiative also highlights the Government’s capacity constraints. The reliance on donor funding and international technical partners underscores the limited domestic institutional ability to conduct large-scale natural capital accounting independently.
Over the past year, progress on broader coastal protection measures such as controlling illegal sand mining, unregulated coastal construction and marine pollution has been uneven, constrained by weak enforcement and overlapping institutional mandates.
Climate change has further raised the stakes. Rising sea levels, coral bleaching and intensified coastal flooding are already affecting vulnerable districts, making the integration of ecosystem values into development planning increasingly urgent.
If implemented effectively, the project could strengthen climate resilience and guide smarter investments that balance growth with long-term ecological security.
Ultimately, the success of this initiative will depend on whether its findings translate into binding policy decisions rather than remaining as technical reports. For a Government under pressure to deliver tangible outcomes within a limited political timeframe, the project represents both an opportunity and a test of its commitment to safeguarding Sri Lanka’s coastal and marine heritage
