Mandaitivu, worst site for Jaffna stadium and sports city

Point-by-point, conservationists show why, as CEA halts Sri Lanka Cricket’s illegal activity sans EIA  

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

As illegal development activity on Mandaitivu linked to the Jaffna International Cricket Stadium of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was halted by the country’s environmental watchdog, a powerful call went out from conservationists to cancel the project forthwith, as it was the “worst” site, with a disastrous fallout economically, environmentally and on the livelihoods of people living there.

“Find an alternative area because Mandaitivu Island is not a suitable location for this SLC project, which includes the stadium and a vast sports city,” reiterated environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardana this week, a call echoed by many conservation groups.

The sea stretching in tranquillity behind the proposed project site for the Jaffna stadium on Mandaitivu. Pic by Jagath Gunawardana

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) – in a letter dated February 18, 2026, signed by its Director General (DG), R.S.P. Kapila Rajapaksha – had informed SLC that while any construction and development activity of the project site would be a violation of provisions of Part IVC of the National Environmental Act (NEA) No. 47 of 1980, such violation could result in legal action.

Mr Rajapaksha, in a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Times on Monday (February 23), said the SLC project proposal covers 49 acres (19.83 hectares) with regard to setting up the stadium and did not involve any mixed development plans.

The order to halt the illegal activity followed the requirement of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), for which the Terms of Reference (TOR) have already been issued to SLC by the CEA, the DG said.

Why he was stating categorically that Mandaitivu was not a suitable site for the SLC project was explained simply and strongly by lawyer Mr Gunawardana.

Illegal development by Sri Lanka Cricket on Mandaitivu. Pix by Sajeewa Chamikara

Having visited the island twice recently, he says that the project is adjacent to a Mangrove Reserved Forest (MRF), with the area having a fine mix of mangroves, salt marshes and mudflats. The project site and the MRF are separated by a short bund. The whole island is a wetland and home to a significant bird habitat. There is also a stretch of paddy fields which attracts migratory birds.

According to Mr Gunawardana, the stadium project is just an “eyewash” for a larger Sports City, with blatant proof in the form of two boards – one about the stadium and another larger detailed one about the Sports City – at the entry gate to the Mandaitivu site.

Looking critically at the ground reality, he says that the Jaffna peninsula has no perennial rivers and is dependent on rainwater. For cricket and golf grounds of the magnitude proposed for Mandaitivu, grass would have to be grown and maintained in a sustainable manner. The maintenance of the green every single day during the dry months would heavily impact the water requirement.

This would be aggravated by the need for fresh water for the proposed hotels and chalets, he stressed, questioning whether it would be feasible for Mandaitivu to have such vast development.

Another point he raises is that Mandaitivu is bordered by the sea and is only about 1 to 5 metres above sea level. Frequent flooding even before Cyclone Ditwah has been the norm, for this area is lashed by both the northeast monsoon and, to a lesser degree, the southwest monsoon. This seawater would be very problematic for the grassy grounds needed for cricket and golf, which would have to be redone at enormous cost. So is it worth it?

With regard to the land-filling needed on Mandaitivu, Mr Gunawardana says that huge truckloads of gravel would have to be brought from far-away Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya or even Anuradhapura, once again at a huge cost, begging the question of economic feasibility.

Zeroing in on the fallout of heavy land-filling, he says that the bird habitat, which Sri Lanka is bound to protect under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species, would be destroyed. There would also be “fatal” consequences on the humble fishing and farming communities – their prime fishing grounds and sea cucumber farms and the paddy fields from which they eke out a living would be effectively and irrevocably destroyed.

According to the National Policy on Mangroves approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2020, mangroves are described as incomparable ecosystems. Therefore, any activity that leads to the degradation or destruction of mangroves has to be viewed in the context of national policy. “This is why Mandaitivu is the ‘worst’ possible site for these grand plans,” underscores Mr. Gunawardana, who is always ready to give an alternative.

He adds that if the Northern Province needs a stadium and a sports city, more suitable sites, which are aplenty not just on the peninsula itself but also in the Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu or Vavuniya districts, should be looked at.

On Monday, the CEA assured that no laws would be violated when development projects are approved, while organisations such as the Movement for Land & Agricultural Reform and the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) have been protesting over the proposed project on Mandaitivu.

“This project was wrong from the beginning,” said the Land & Agricultural Reform Movement’s Sajeewa Chamikara, pointing out that three project sites should have been identified under the alternative study requirement. Therefore, there has been a very bad systems failure.

With regard to Mandaitivu island, he said that under the 2014 Northern Province Strategic Environment Assessment it is part of the proposed Jaffna Lagoon Sanctuary. The second largest density of migratory birds, especially waders, is seen in this area, with the other two spots being Hambantota and Mannar. “We are bound by international conventions to protect this sensitive wetland network.”

This area is also the breeding ground of fish, crab and shrimp and is the livelihood of fishermen, while the massive use of scarce water in the area would impact heavily on the people, said Mr Chamikara, stressing that he is not opposed to the development of the Northern Province, which is a need. Mandaitivu is not the right site because it is a very sensitive ecosystem. SLC needs to look for an alternative.

WNPS President Graham Marshall said many assessments by the government have verified the ecological benefits of leaving this island intact, the rationale for gazetting the Mandaitivu Forest Reserve. Therefore, it is alarming when a nation decides to convert such an island into a cricket stadium and a sports city complex.

“The construction of the proposed Jaffna sports complex, less than 100 metres from the forest reserve, will disturb the carbon-rich soils of Mandaitivu, releasing methane and carbon into an atmosphere already dangerously saturated with greenhouse gases. Effluent waters and pollutant runoffs will almost certainly flow into the surrounding ocean, threatening and poisoning the rich and diverse marine life within it. Such fragile and interwoven biodiversity, once lost, cannot be recreated. No sports complex or cricket stadium should be constructed on Mandaitivu. It is vital that the island and its ecosystems remain intact,” he said.

On September 1, 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake laid the foundation stone for this project, and soon after, Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc on this island, causing heavy flooding in November.

CEA DG Rajapaksha told the Sunday Times that the environmental laws which govern Mandaitivu are the Coast Conservation & Coastal Resource Management Act No. 57 and the NEA. With 60% of Mandaitivu’s land area being out of the coastal zone, the project-approving agency is the CEA.

He detailed the procedure followed – a joint site inspection by the CEA, the Coast Conservation Department and other stakeholders on October 28, 2025; concerns raised by the Forest Department whether the stadium development area overlapped the Mangrove Reserved Forest; instructions to SLC and production of geo-referenced maps showing it did not; appointment of a Scoping Committee of all relevant stakeholders, which held the meeting on December 3, 2025; the Scoping Committee’s decision followed by CEA instructions to SLC to conduct an EIA; and the TOR for the EIA being issued to the SLC on February 12, 2026.

“The CEA has strongly focused on aspects such as surface drainage and flooding; reclamation of land; construction needing extreme filling of land; hydrology impacts; and ecological aspects, including fauna and flora,” said Mr Rajapaksha.

Once completed, the EIA will be submitted to a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and the final draft publicised for public comment.

When asked how President Dissanayake laid the foundation stone without the project being approved, Mr Rajapaksha said for ceremonial openings no clearance is needed. Such clearance is essential before development starts.

“The President has clearly told me that any development project needs to be in keeping with the laws of the land,” he added, in response to a Sunday Times query that environmentalists were alleging political pressure from the highest level to get the project approved.

Meanwhile, there was no response from the SLC President to phone calls, text messages and an email from the Sunday Times on this matter of national importance.

Piecemeal EIAs are a “no-no”  

There cannot be piecemeal Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for a small project and then another one later for a more extensive project, stressed environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardana.

“Part by part EIAs are a clear no-no under the law,” he said, pointing out that a ‘cumulative impact assessment’ is a must.

Looking at the process of conducting an EIA, he said it should cover two aspects:

· A check whether there are more environmentally friendly sites other than the one in question for the specific project.

· Justification why more environmentally friendly sites were rejected in favour of the site chosen.

Conducting an EIA is pointless and wrong in the case of the Jaffna stadium on Mandaitivu, as the process followed has been ‘select-announce-justify’, he said, adding that it also does not cover the massive sports city which is proposed.

According to Sri Lanka Cricket, which announced the Sports City project, it will include the cricket ground, grandstand, three pavilions, swimming pool, gymnasium, food court, rehabilitation centre, hotel, shopping mall, housing scheme, water resort & theme park, golf course, parking, rugby/football & athletic ground, recreational area, entertainment area, golf bungalows, water villas, helipad and more.

 

The importance of Mandaitivu  

Mandaitivu Island is home to a ‘sensitive’ and ‘biodiverse’ ecosystem comprising mangrove habitats, salt marshes (land near the coast, regularly flooded by seawater) and mudflats (flat muddy land covered at times by the tide). The shallow sea surrounding it has seagrass.

The island’s importance has already been recognised with the Mandaitivu Mangrove Reserved Forest being declared through Gazette No. 2145/35 dated October 16, 2019, and the island being identified as a site to be declared as a Special Management Area under the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Act.

Here is the importance of Mandaitivu’s diverse ecosystem:  

Mangroves, seagrass & salt marshes – these blue carbon ecosystems, among many other services they provide, store carbon and regulate methane, two of the highest contributors to global warming, and prevent these gases from entering the atmosphere.

Studies have documented that Mandaitivu’s mangrove ecosystem includes five key species: and also mangrove associates, salt marsh species, salt-loving herbs, and salt-tolerant herbs.

Its faunal diversity includes 13 butterfly species across four families and six moth species across three families. The Critically Endangered (CR) Yellow Pansy (Junonia hierta) has also been recorded here.

It is part of the proposed Jaffna Lagoon Sanctuary, a very sensitive ecosystem. (Courtesy- The Sunday Times)