Hikkaduwa National Park.

Location	Southern province, Sri Lanka.

Area	101.6 ha

Established	September 19 2002

Governing body	Department of Wildlife Conservation.

      

      Hikkaduwa National Park is one of the two marine national parks in Sri Lanka. The national park contains a fringing coral reef of high degree of biodiversity. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary on May 18, 1979, and then on August 14, 1988, upgraded to a nature reserve with extended land area. The growth of the number of visitors in the next 25 years increased the degradation of the coral reef. To reduce the effects to the ecosystem, the reef was declared a national park on September 19, 2002.

Coral reef

      Hikkaduwa coral reef is a typical shallow fringing reef with an average depth of around 5 metres (16 ft). The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion and forms a naturalbreakwater. The coast of the national park extends four km. Generally the coast is narrow, ranging from 5-50 m according to the climatic conditions of the year. Scuba diving is a popular recreation here.

Threat

      The reef has suffered high degradation due to both natural and human activities. The live coral cover was decreased from 47 percent to 13 percent in a coral bleaching event in 1998, induced by the 1998 El Niño.^[4] It has been suggested that at least 30-40 percent of coral reef should be restored in order for it to be capable of sustaining itself. Despite being designated as a protected area, the coral reef has been subject to constant exploitation including removal of breeding ornamental fish for the commercial market.