MAP's long term partner, the Small Fishers Federation of Sri Lanka (SFFL), has been the focus of the Coastal Community Resource Center (CCRC) concept, which has now expanded to other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The SFFL CCRC served as an important training facility for three of MAP's In the Hands of the Fishers (IHOF) workshops.

SFFL's Kiralakale Mangrove Resource Center, located in Nonagama, Ambalanthota, southern Sri Lanka.

SFFL has also hosted a MAP Eco-study tour, as well as implementing several alternative livelihood projects.

Sri Lanka is one of the countries in South Asia where mangrove ecosystems have been devastated by the rapid and uncontrolled growth of shrimp aquaculture for export markets. The west coast lagoons of Sri Lanka were especially heavily impacted during the early 1990s.

MAP and SFFL have worked together over the years to raise awareness of the impacts of mangrove loss, especially to the livelihoods of inshore or lagoon fishers. The results of a MAP-assisted study by SFFL (2002), which was supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), is available for download:

Study on Better Practices for Shrimp Farming in Chilaw and Puttlam Districts of Sri Lanka (pdf 2.7 MB)

SFFL e-mail: sffl1anu@bellmail.lk

Sewalanka Foundation

MAP-Asia, in partnership with Sewalanka Foundation, held two Sri Lanka workshops on Ecological Mangrove Restoration in February 2007. A national workshop for NGOs and government representatives was followed by a community-based workshop for participants from Ampara District (SE Coast), where Sewalanka is undertaking a mangrove restoration project.

Sri Lanka EMR Workshop Report (pdf 3.5 MB)