Ranjid Manatonga, 50, the caretaker of a new mangrove plantation maintained by conservation group Emace Sri Lanka, checks the quality of the mangroves at the plantation near Lake Bolgoda, south of Colombo, December 16, 2009. The bio-diversity of Lake Bolgoda, the largest in Sri Lanka, is being threatened as people move closer to its shores, leading to an increase in the dumping of waste, chemicals and saw-dust from mills in the area, according to E.M. Abeyrathne, the project director for EMACE Sri Lanka at Bolgoda lake. The group is initiating projects to plant mangroves in areas near the lake that were subjected to destructive farming techniques as part of their efforts to preserve the bio-diversity of the lake. REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds (SRI LANKA - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT)
REUTERS/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS