SLRCS, Ministry of Environment, and IUCN Organize Workshop to Strengthen Sector-Specific Directives for Forestry, Agriculture, and Tourism under the “Managing Together Project”

A comprehensive workshop focused on sector-specific directives for the forestry, agriculture (fisheries), and tourism sectors under the special working arrangement of the “Managing Together Project” (MTP) was successfully held at the Heritage Hotel, Anuradhapura. The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment (Biodiversity Secretariat), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS).

The workshop brought together key government stakeholders to align on policy directives and strengthen institutional capacity for the effective implementation of the MTP in the Malwathu Oya River Basin. The session commenced with opening remarks from the Additional District Secretary of Anuradhapura, followed by a briefing on the objectives of the workshop by Ms. Nilmini,( Director)of the Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environment.

Key discussions covered the ecological significance of the project area, biodiversity mainstreaming, the design of a draft landscape convention, and ministerial directives to support a landscape-based governance approach. Special emphasis was given to sector-specific directives designed to guide collaborative action across forestry, agriculture (fisheries), and tourism sectors.

Prof. Sadun Perera from IUCN delivered an in-depth presentation on MTP implementation, highlighting its alignment with global frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UNFCCC, and the UNCCD particularly the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its Target 3 on area-based conservation. His presentation also addressed regional challenges such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate variability, unregulated tourism, land-use conflicts, and socio-economic pressures.

The workshop featured an interactive plenary session to gather stakeholder inputs, a capacity assessment session using scorecard tools, and concluded with a discussion on the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and the next steps for project implementation.

The event fostered constructive dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, laying a strong foundation for coordinated action and successful implementation of the Managing Together Project.