World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5th every year. This year, preparations are underway to hold this program at the Kegalle Nidahas Mawatha premises under the patronage of Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. An awareness program for officials was held 15th May evening under the patronage of Kegalle District Secretary Jagath Herath.
This year, Environment Day is scheduled to be held under the theme "Ending plastic pollution".
For this, the Ministry of Environment has declared an Environment Week from May 30th to June 5th in conjunction with the National Celebration of Environment Day and has informed about the activities to be carried out for environmental conservation during this week.
May 30th has been declared as Plastic Waste Management Day, May 31st as Air Pollution and its Adverse Effects Reduction Day, and June 1st as Environmental Cleanliness Awareness Day.
Under the Biodiversity Management Day program, which falls on 02.06.2025, tree planting programs have been organized at Warakapola Technical College in Kegalle, Waharaka Primary School in Dehiowita, and Gonagamuwa Junior College in Kitulgala, Ruwanwella Public Library.
In parallel with this, the Thuliriya Kanda Mahogany Forest Reserve, Udaliyadda Proposed Reserve and Werahen Kanda Proposed Reserve are scheduled to be declared as forests.
A private forest land belonging to Mrs. Indrakanthi Perera, owner of Sri Land Watta, Kitulgala North, Yatiyanthota is to be used for the management of the Forest Conservation Department. The objective of conserving this land by the Forest Conservation Department is to be a land with a rich forest cover, a home to rare endemic birds such as elephants, a land threatened with extinction, and a watershed of the Kelani River.
The announcement of the Bandulapetiya Fish Conservation Sanctuary, the only one in Kegalle, and the release of the gazette notification, the unveiling of notice boards about the sanctuary to be established for the conservation of the Bandulapetiya fish, and a tree plantation program on both sides of the canal where the Bandulapetiya lives are to be carried out in parallel with this.
In conjunction with the World Environment Day celebrations, an exhibition will be held at the Kegalle Town Hall from 02nd to 05th June, and the Department of Forest Conservation, the Department of National Zoological Gardens, the Marine Environment Protection Authority, the Coastal Resources and Coastal Conservation Departments and NARA will be involved in this.
A short documentary program on the Bandula Pethiya fish is scheduled to be released during the World Environment Day celebrations on 05.06.2025. A tree planting program along the Nidahas Mawatha is scheduled to be held, and certificates will be presented by His Excellency the President to the children who won the competitions related to the Environment Day celebrations.
The Kegalle District Additional District Secretary (Administration) Kusum Bandara, Additional District Secretary (Lands) Dilip Nishantha, Divisional Secretaries, and heads of all institutions related to the environment participated in the program to discuss the organizational activities of this National Environment Day program.
