Its natural beauty has great potential in an area bordering on Colombo for development, tourism and fisheries, but it is gravely threatened by industrial pollution.

With industrial chemicals, effluents from the hotel industry, pollution from saw mills, destruction of wetlands and mangrove swamps been some of the worst problems faced by the area. This pollution has directly affected the surrounding drinking water and led to the growth of the weed Diya Habala which is slowly asphyxiating the lake´s fauna and flora.

As a consequence of this situation, EMACE has decided to take a double approach to the problem. The first approach involves a conservation project seeking to clean up the lake and develop an interest in local inhabitants via economic incentives to protect the lake from further pollution. Secondly EMACE aims to develop an industry with a local or foreign business to transform the sawdust into energy reducing the negative impacts of the mills on the lake. 

EMACE is involved in projects related to solid waste disposal, pollution of waterways, deforestation, alternative energy sources, information dissemination, conservation and training and facilitation for enterprises to encourage higher environmental responsibility.