Browsing by Author "Kodithuwakku, K. C."

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Assessment of level of public knowledge, attitude, and perception towards sustainable mangrove forest conservation: a case study from Negombo region, Sri Lanka
(Assessment of level of public knowledge, attitude, and perception towards sustainable mangrove forest conservation: a case study from Negombo region, Sri Lanka, 2023) Wickramasingha, W. S. B.; Perera, W. W. A. M. R.; Kodithuwakku, K. C.; De Silva, K. V. N. T.; Karunarathne, D. M. S. D.
Mangroves have been an essential vegetative component not only in sustaining the balance of ecosystems but also in providing significant socio-economic benefits to the local communities such as fish, timber, and tourism opportunities to the local communities. Quantifying knowledge, attitudes, and perception (KAP) supports sustainable mangrove conservation by informing conservation efforts to address local needs and priorities and monitoring interventions' effectiveness over time. Thus, this study aims to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of the public toward sustainable mangrove forest conservation in the Negombo region, Sri Lanka. Prior to data collection, a pilot study was conducted in the study area with 40 respondents and Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.819) reliability test was followed to test the reliability of the data. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews with randomly selected 395 respondents living near and around the northern region of the Negombo lagoon, which involved 8 Grama Niladhari Divisions. 51.39% of the individuals were male, while the remaining 48.61% were female, reflecting a commitment to gender equality. A Likert scale and correlation analyses were implemented using SPSS version 26 software to determine the community's knowledge, attitude, and perception (1-lowest and 5-highest). The finding shows that the level of knowledge of the community on the importance of sustaining mangrove forests was high from 3.92 to 4.72, the level of attitude was between 3.2 to 4.88, and the perception components from 4.47 to 4.83. There were significant gender differences in both attitude and perception toward mangrove forest conservation, with the female respondents achieving better scores than the male respondents, although there was no significant difference in their knowledge levels. Also, about 96.2% of respondents agree that the loss of mangroves will have negative impacts on the environment and the economics of the livelihood. Furthermore, most respondents believed that chemical pollution, illegal clearing, and development activities have a significant impact on the degradation of mangroves in the area. The correlation test showed that there was a strong positive correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.901, p < 0.001), knowledge and perception (r = 0.795, p <0.001), and attitude and perception (r = 0.864, p < 0.001) respectively. They suggest that the most effective approach for preserving this ecosystem's survival is to engage in mangrove replanting through proper scientific monitoring, while also recommending the rectification of policy deficiencies and the execution of comprehensive strategies for mangrove conservation. The findings from this study may provide valuable information for future research, as well as assist government and stakeholders in enhancing the effectiveness of campaigns and programs focused on the sustainable management of mangrove forests.
GIS based multicriteria analysis for flood hazard assessment: A case study from Walawe River basin, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Gallage, C. V.; Wijesundera, A. A. S. G.; Kodithuwakku, K. C.; Wickramasingha, W. S. B.; Weerasinghe, V. P. A.
Flood hazard mapping has been recognized as a crucial task supporting disaster management efforts. For the study, the lower reach of the Walawe River, which drains the suburbs of the island's southern region, was selected due to its regular flooding. This study used ArcGIS and remote sensing data, and the river basin extent was extracted from satellite images available for the Walawe River, Sri Lanka. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was used in this process. The main criteria evaluated are land use, rainfall data, drainage density, elevation, slope, and soil type around the river basin. These criteria are reclassified into five categories depending on the highest to lowest risk of vulnerability to flood. The Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was used to give the weights for the mentioned criteria, and as the outcome, the weighted overlay map (flood hazard map) was obtained and classified under five categories. According to the results, the flood hazard assessment map shows that 25.74% (646.09 km2 ) and 1.92% (48.13km2 ) of the study area was under high or very high hazard levels, respectively, with more populated regions, water bodies, and agricultural land, as well as low-lying flat terrain with lower elevations. The Walawe River basin's lower watershed has high and very high flood-prone areas, while the upper catchment has low and very low flood-prone areas, according to the geographical distribution of the flood hazard map. Low and very low flood hazard zones comprised 18.63% of the total area, whereas moderate flood hazard areas comprised most of the basin. According to the current study, this aims to identify areas within the Walawe River basin that are at risk of flooding, to assess the potential impact of floods on people, property and the environment which support the development of flood risk reduction measures and to provide public awareness.
Spatial and temporal variations of Pavo cristatus (Indian Peafowl) density in Southern Province of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Kodithuwakku, K. C.; Subasinghe, K.
The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), traditionally native to arid regions of Sri Lanka, has recently been observed migrating to wetter areas, raising concerns about potential crop damage in the Southern Province. This study investigates the spatial variation in Indian peafowl density across the croplands of the Galle, Matara, and Hambantota districts in the Southern Province and the trends related to changes in peafowl abundance and their predators based on community feedback. Density measurements of Indian peafowl were conducted using fixed-width strip-transect (1×0.08 km) surveys in 25 sampling plots from September 2023 to February 2024. The same transects were utilized to determine the density of specific predator species, including jackals, diurnal raptors, and stray dogs. Structured interviews were conducted with 10 households near each transect to gather information regarding noticeable changes in Indian peafowl and predator populations over recent years. A One-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's test, was used to compare the peafowl densities among the three districts after testing for normality using the Anderson-Darling test in Minitab version 20.2. The association of Indian peafowl density with predator abundance was assessed using Generalized Linear Mixed Models (glmmTMB package in R version 4.3.2). Information gathered through structured interviews was used to confirm the presence of predators within the study plots when predators were not reported during transect surveys. The study results indicated the presence of Indian peafowl across all three administrative districts of the Southern Province, which encompass dry, intermediate, and wet climatic zones, and revealed significant differences in peafowl densities per transect among these districts. Hambantota exhibited a significantly higher peafowl density (7.92 ± 2.43) compared to Matara (5.33 ± 1.03) and Galle (3.71 ± 1.11), while no significant difference was observed between Galle and Matara. The analysis revealed that peafowl density was not significantly associated with the densities of stray dogs and raptors or the presence/ absence of jackals (p > 0.05; GLMM). According to the survey responses (n = 500), 76% of residents from Hambantota district had observed a decrease in peafowl abundance over the past decade, whereas 94% and 98% of respondents from Matara and Galle, respectively, reported an increase e in the Indian peafowl density. A majority of respondents (89%) from the Galle and Matara districts reported a noticeable decline in natural predator populations over the past decade, identifying this decline as a major factor contributing to the increased abundance of Indian peafowl in the area. A significant proportion of residents (82%) from the Hambantota district attributed the observed decrease in Indian peafowl density to habitat degradation, particularly the reduction of suitable environments for feeding and reproduction, due to urbanization and construction activities. These findings underscore the need for long-term studies to monitor peafowl densities and address underlying causes to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.