Restoring a Lake, Reviving a Legacy
Bolgoda Lake Sri Lanka’s largest natural freshwater lake flows through the Colombo and Kalutara districts, nourishing a vibrant network of wetlands, mangrove forests, and estuarine habitats. Yet, this ecological lifeline is under severe strain. Decades of unchecked pollution, invasive species, illegal land encroachments, and habitat loss have led to the disappearance of nearly 45% of its vegetation since 2000. The urgency is clear: restoring Bolgoda is not just an environmental priority, it’s a social imperative.
At the forefront of this mission is the EMACE Foundation of Sri Lanka, recipient of the 2024 Presidential Award for Best Environmental Organisation. With over 30 years of experience merging environmental science and grassroots engagement, EMACE leads efforts under the Living Lakes Biodiversity and Climate Project (LLBCP) to implement nature-based and community-driven solutions. Its inclusive and multilingual approach ensures meaningful participation from all particularly marginalized and minority communities while empowering the next generation to become environmental stewards.
Healing Wetlands with Science and Nature
EMACE’s strategy centers on working with nature not against it. Through scientifically guided interventions, the Foundation has restored over 22 hectares of critically endangered mangrove ecosystems by rehabilitating degraded lakeshores and riverbanks. Collaborating with academic and research institutions, EMACE blends empirical research with community wisdom to tackle real-world conservation challenges.
To reduce ecological pressure further, EMACE actively removes invasive aquatic species and reintroduces native vegetation that supports pollinators, birdlife, and local biodiversity. These efforts are tightly aligned with Sri Lanka’s national environmental plans and contribute directly to restoring ecosystem services vital for climate resilience.
Communities as Custodians, Not Just Stakeholders
For EMACE, the people living around Bolgoda Lake are not bystanders they are guardians of their ecosystems. Through targeted training in organic gardening, composting, and pesticide-free cultivation, local families especially women are reducing chemical runoff, enhancing household food security, and reviving indigenous farming knowledge. These gardens have created a powerful ripple effect: neighboring communities are replicating the practices, collectively improving water quality and reinforcing Sri Lanka’s commitments under SDG 1,2 ,5, 06, 13, 06, 11, 14 and 15.
Learning Where the Water Flows
Education is at the heart of EMACE’s vision. Through the EMACE-GNF Wetland Education Institute and the EMACE Field Education Center in Bolgoda, over 1,500 students have taken part in immersive boat-based learning journeys through mangroves and wetlands. The Field Education Center has grown into a vibrant hub where young people, researchers, and curious visitors come together to explore the rich biodiversity of Bolgoda Lake and deepen their understanding of wetland ecosystems.
With guidance from university lecturers, trained educators, and field experts, participants engage in real-time ecological studies testing water quality, identifying native species, and witnessing firsthand the delicate balance of wetland life. These dynamic, hands-on experiences nurture environmental curiosity and spark critical thinking.
Dr. Surath Gajanayaka, one of EMACE’s environmental educators, notes: “We aim to make learning fun, interactive, and deeply personal so students carry the wetlands in their hearts, not just their notebooks.”
In a landmark academic partnership, EMACE also joined hands with Sri Lanka’s second-largest state university to provide undergraduates and postgraduates with real-world exposure to wetland science. These collaborative efforts are cultivating a new generation of conservation leaders equipped with academic insight, practical skills, and a deep connection to nature.
Youth-Led Conservation in Action
The EMACE Youth Brigade, born under the LLBCP Frontrunner Initiative, now boasts over 500 active members who are designing and driving their own environmental initiatives. These young leaders receive training in environmental journalism, digital literacy, and advocacy. With monthly field visits and expert-led webinars, they’ve organized national coastal cleanups, creative competitions, and dynamic social media campaigns all aimed at reshaping public perception of nature and climate action.
Their momentum doesn’t stop at national borders. As active participants in the Living Lakes Academy, EMACE’s youth are translating global conservation knowledge into local action, creating a feedback loop of innovation, leadership, and hope.
Tackling Plastic Pollution Together
Plastic waste remains a significant and growing threat to Sri Lanka’s coasts and wetlands, undermining both biodiversity and community health. In response, EMACE joined hands in 2025 with the Western Province Governor’s Office and the Western Province Waste Management Authority to lead a series of impactful initiatives during the international World Environment Week themed “Beat Plastic Pollution”.
These efforts included a large-scale beach cleanup that mobilized over 100 volunteers, a vibrant student-led parade involving five local schools to raise awareness about plastic pollution, and a hands-on waste management workshop attended by more than 500 students from the coastal belt. The events attracted widespread media attention and exemplified a powerful collaboration among residents, youth, and government authorities all united in reclaiming polluted spaces and taking decisive action against marine litter.
Art, Words, and Green Justice
EMACE understands that conservation isn’t just science it’s also storytelling. Through publications like “Green Justice – Voices of a Generation” and “Forest and Flow”, EMACE has amplified the voices of Sri Lankan youth using essays and poetry inspired by LLBCP themes. These creative expressions reflect the lived experiences, hopes, and environmental insights of a generation ready to lead.
From Bolgoda to the World
In 2025, EMACE stepped onto the global stage sharing their knowledge as a technical partner for two international conferences, one on sustainable mangrove conservation, the other on plastic waste innovation co-hosted with IUCN, NARA, and local universities. These events aimed to advance science-based solutions and amplify LLBCP’s core themes of climate resilience and biodiversity.
Through its active participation in the Living Lakes South Asia Subnetwork, EMACE engages in continuous knowledge exchange and innovation sharing with peer organizations across the region. This collaborative approach has not only strengthened local conservation strategies but also earned international recognition. EMACE team members, trainees, and alumni of the Living Lakes Academy (LLA) have been awarded prestigious scholarships and fellowships, including those from Yale University, Fulbright, and IUCN in acknowledgment of their outstanding leadership in community-driven conservation efforts.
A Blueprint for the Global South
What’s unfolding at Bolgoda is far more than a local conservation effort it is a living, breathing model of how wetlands can be restored through the power of inclusion, scientific integrity, and grassroots action. From a housewife tending her lakeside organic garden, to a student testing the salinity of mangrove waters, to a young poet capturing the flight of a White-bellied Sea Eagle in verse each moment is a stitch in the larger tapestry of ecological renewal.
EMACE’s nature-based, community-driven approach offers a powerful and practical blueprint for the Global South one where ecosystems are not just protected, but revived; where communities do not merely survive, but thrive. With every initiative, EMACE works not just for today, but for tomorrow building a greener, more resilient world where climate action and biodiversity conservation go hand in hand. Through this vision, hope flows once more through the wetlands of Sri Lanka, lighting a path for generations to come.
