Assessments of Habitat Suitability Modeling for Waterbirds in Vankalai Sanctuary, Sri Lanka, Using GIS and Remote Sensing

Wetland ecosystems are critical waterbird habitats, yet human activities increasingly threaten them. The Mannar region, which consists of an ecosystem, exhibits substantial untapped potential for harnessing wind energy, presenting a promising opportunity for developing wind power generation infrastructure. Vankalai Sanctuary, located in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, is a globally significant wetland that provides a vital habitat for waterbirds, including several threatened and migratory species. More energy development projects (transmission lines) in this area threaten those species. This study aimed to develop a habitat suitability model to enhance conservation strategies for sanctuary waterbirds while promoting sustainable energy development. Habitat suitability model is a statistical method that relates species distribution to environmental variables’ spatial distribution. This habitat suitability map for waterbirds was created using remote sensing data, including NDVI, NDMI, LULC (with an overall accuracy of 96.38% and Kappa values of 94.79%), slope, and human disturbances. The LULC data was classified into five classes: water, dense vegetation, vegetation, wetland, and sandy. High spatial-resolution images from Google Earth were used to assess the classification accuracy. The ground truth assessment point (500-point data) was obtained from a stratified random sampling process. The analytical hierarchy process was used to determine the weights of environmental variables to generate habitat suitability index (HSI) map using weighted overlay process to predict the relative suitability of different areas for waterbirds and can be used as a decision-making tool to identify the most suitable habitats for the target species because it provides a promising strategy for protecting critical habitats for waterbirds in the sanctuary. Created HSI map offers a framework for future conservation efforts in other wetland areas, mainly where sustainable energy development is a priority. The results of this study can help policymakers, conservationists, and stakeholders to develop and implement conservation and sustainable energy policies accurately that support both ecological and economic sustainability.