Thalangama Wewa and Environmental Protection Area

Thalangama Wewa and Environmental Protection Area
Thalangama Wewa  (Sinhala: තලංගම වැව) is a man-made tank situated in the Madiwela catchment area within the Kelani Ganga River basin in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Surrounded by densely populated human settlements of the district, it functions as an urban biodiversity refuge, an important habitat for birds, and a flood retention area (IUCN & CEA, 2006). It was declared an Environmental Protection Area (EPA) in 2007 (Radhika & Padmalal, 2017). History Located close to the Ancient Kotte Fort , the Thalangama Wewa was built during the reign of King Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467 A.D.) of Kotte for paddy cultivation (IUCN & CEA, 2006; Radhika & Padmalal, 2017). Physical, ecological features & Climate The tank is located in the low country wet zone, with average annual rainfall between 2,000 and 2,500 mm, derived mainly from the Southwest monsoon (IUCN & CEA, 2006). The mean annual temperature is at around 27.4 ℃ fluctuating between 23.9 –30 ℃ (IUCN & CEA, 2006). The gro…