Abstract:
―Coastal Zone‖ and ―Shoreline‖ have become popular and widely used terms among
environmentalist, policy makers and planners around the world from ancient times. Coastal
areas have been identified as one of the geographical regions that consist with different types
of natural resources which provide required impetus to economic, social, cultural and
environmental development of countries particularly island nation like Sri Lanka. And also,
there are evidences that over utilization of resources or unplanned use of coastal zones have
already created different types of problems too. Coastal erosion, degradation of ecosystems
and destruction of built environment are the main issues that have emerged due to over
utilization of resources through shortsighted human activities.
Understanding the importance of the coastal region and the intensity of problems, protection
and conservation the coastal environment has positioned at the forefront task of the
government of Sri Lanka from 1980s. Establishing the Coast Conservation Department can
be considered as the turning point of the sustainable utilization of coastal resources. Yet, the
problems of coastal belt in Sri Lanka are still increasing. One of the main reasons leading to
this situation is the uncertainty about the exact ground reference points for the Coastal Zone
and the Shoreline.
It is natural that the boundaries of coastal zone and shoreline are changing spatially and
temporally. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the reasons for change the
concerned boundaries and adjoining problems. Field survey, library survey and interviews
were used to collect data and basic statistics was employed to analyze data. Demarcation of
exact boundaries would help to protect and pave the way to sustainable use of coastal
environment.
