Flood Plains National Park (Sinhala: ජලගැලුම් නිම්න ජාතික වනෝද්යානය; Tamil: வெள்ளச் சமவெளிகள் தேசிய வனம்) is a national park situated along the Mahaweli Ganga River from its mouth near Trincomalee to Polonnaruwa in the Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa districts, Sri Lanka.
History
The presence of elephants, rich plant diversity and a large number of aquatic birds including 75 migratory species led to the designation of this area as a national park on 7 August 1984 (Green, 1990; IUCN & CEA, 2006). The park was added to the lUCN/CNPPA Register of Threatened Protected Areas of the World in 1989 (Green, 1990).
Physical, Ecological Features & Climate
The flood plains are composed of river channels, riverine marshes, villus, mangroves, lagoons, and tidal creeks associated with the Mahaweli Ganga (IUCN & CEA, 2006). It covers approximately 50,000 ha (the park area only covers 17,350 ha of the upper flood plain) of land and is linked with Wasgamuwa National Park to the southwest, Somawathiya National Park to the north and Tirikonamadu Nature Reserve to the northeast (Green, 1990; IUCN & CEA, 2006). It serves as a migratory corridor of a large elephant population between the dry and wet season feeding grounds of these national parks (IUCN & CEA, 2006).
The park is situated in the low country dry zone. The climate of the area is influenced by the northeast monsoon from October to February, which is followed by a dry season lasting from May to September (IUCN & CEA, 2006). The mean annual rainfall of the area is 1,650 mm (IUCN & CEA, 2006). The mean annual temperature is 27 ℃ (IUCN & CEA, 2006).
Presently, the flood plains and its immediate surroundings are used for paddy cultivation, clay mining for brick making, livestock breeding and grazing, cane harvesting, and vegetable and tobacco cultivation (IUCN & CEA, 2006). To minimize human-elephant conflict, an electric fence was constructed around the park.
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References
Books
1) Green, M.J.B. ed., 1990. IUCN directory of South Asian protected areas. IUCN. pp.202-205.
2) IUCN & CEA, 2006. National Wetland Directory of Sri Lanka. IUCN Sri Lanka and the Central Environmental Authority. Colombo, Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-8177-54-7. pp.163-167.