LEF Receive $415K Gulf of Mannar Coalition Grant

The Lanka Environment Fund (LEF) has just announced that a SALT-LEF led coalition received a 3.5 million NOK ($415K) grant from the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund to fund work aimed at reducing the amount of marine litter washing ashore the Gulf of Mannar’s fragile coastlines.

The study site, which sits between Sri Lanka and India, is located within the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, an area of global critical importance. Known to be one of the world’s most productive fisheries, the nutrient rich waters of the Gulf of Mannar harbor a multitude of marine species including critically endangered species such as the dugong, hawksbill turtle and the finless porpoise.

This multi-stakeholder project seeks to offer a holistic solution to limit marine litter that is polluting this area. It will offer policy recommendations and facilitate community engagement activities such as awareness programs.

The coalition which is comprised of SALT Lofoten AS (SALT Sustainability), the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) Sri Lanka and the Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute (SDMRI), Tamil Nadu, India and the Lanka Environment Fund (LEF) will embark on this three-year project starting May 2021.

Please contact Ms. Brita Staal (SALT Lofoten AS) at brita@salt.nu or Vinod Malwatte (Lanka Environment Fund) at vinod@srilankaenvironmentfund.org to learn more about this project.

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