Sri Lanka Among First to Launch Large-Scale Kunming Biodiversity Action

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka has been endorsed for a project under the Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF), placing the country among the first worldwide to advance large‑scale implementation of the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The endorsement marks a major step in translating global biodiversity commitments into coordinated national action.

The project proposal was formally signed at the Ministry of Environment by K.R. Uduwawala, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, and Vimlendra Sharan, the FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The initiative is entirely homegrown, developed through close collaboration between the Ministry and national experts to ensure that Sri Lanka’s commitments align with national priorities and on‑the‑ground realities.

Invasive alien species have emerged as an escalating threat to the country’s biodiversity, ecosystems, agriculture and livelihoods. The KBF-supported project directly targets this challenge, shifting Sri Lanka from fragmented, project-based responses toward a unified, system-wide national biosecurity framework.

The initiative aims to institutionalize prevention, early detection, rapid response and long-term management of invasive species across the island.

Led by the Ministry of Environment and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the project will strengthen national policies, legislation and institutional coordination. Key actions include updating the national priority invasive species list for the first time since 2015, establishing a national digital monitoring system, and enhancing border controls with improved tools and increased enforcement capacity.

Community-based ecosystem restoration and inclusive livelihood opportunities form a central part of the project. Planned activities include site-specific eradication operations, post-eradication monitoring and innovative “eradication‑through‑utilization” approaches that create economic opportunities for women, youth and vulnerable groups while aiding ecosystem recovery.

The Kunming Biodiversity Fund provides catalytic international financing that will help Sri Lanka scale up biodiversity action, address long‑standing investment gaps in invasive species management and leverage FAO’s technical expertise.

The initiative aims to drive long-term, system-level transformation rather than short-term outputs, offering a model for how global biodiversity ambitions can be translated into sustained national action.