Tree planting campaign launched to coincide with 71st anniversary of the Navy

On the sidelines of the 71st anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy, a tree planting campaign was launched in the Northern Naval Command, under the auspices of Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera on 10th December 2021.

The Sri Lanka Navy is engaged in a number of environmental conservation programmes to prevent coastal erosion and protect marine biodiversity. The mangrove ecosystem plays an important environmental and economic role as it helps protect the coastal environment and creates breeding and nursery grounds for many fishes and crustaceans. Commander Northern Naval Area initiated the programme by planting a mangrove saplings in Ponnalai Lagoon. Meanwhile, 1500 mangrove saplings will be planted in the lagoons of the Jaffna Peninsula and 750 ecologically valuable saplings such as jackfruit, tamarind, kumbuk, mee, damba, mahogany and mara will be planted in land areas in due course.

The event was held adhering to COVID-19 protocols and it was attended by Deputy Area Commander Northern Naval Area and a limited group of naval personnel.