Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Saturday, 17 October 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The popular Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) monthly lecture series will go online once again on 22 October given the latest spike in COVID-19 cases in the country and tightened health safety and social distancing rules.
The October monthly lecture on 22 October at 6 p.m. via Zoom and FB live (please register online https://forms.gle/icbSR6x8v6u6Ld146) will feature Ruskhan Jayewardene who will shed key insights to the subject ‘COVID-19: An Unexpected Windfall for Sri Lanka’s Wilderness and Wildlife’.
WNPS said though small in size, Sri Lanka rivals much larger countries in terms of richness of biodiversity. Sadly Sri Lanka is also one of the world’s ‘biodiversity hotspots’ with much of her flora and fauna at risk.
The large-scale loss of wilderness and biodiversity which began during the British colonial times 200 years ago, has only accelerated in more recent decades. With finite land resources and an exploding population coupled with poorly managed development, much of the land that was previously wilderness has now been converted to land for human settlement as well as for agriculture, pushing the country’s precious natural heritage to the brink.
Sri Lanka’s wildlife resources has many stakeholders – The Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Department of Forest Conservation in a custodial and management role supported by others like conservationists, scientists and tourism operators as by and large the tourism in Sri Lanka is ‘nature based’ and the country’s tourism dependent economy, is heavily reliant on its wilderness and wildlife. Sadly, the latter rides on the coattails of Sri Lanka’s enviable biodiversity but has also been at great cost due to issues like over-visitation in wildlife parks.
The recent pandemic has been an eye opener for many but also provided a respite for the country’s wildlife within park borders. Perhaps there is opportunity in adversity during this ‘new normal’; to get the management of protected areas, the relationship and obligations we have towards wilderness and wildlife as well as the ethics and attitudes that should govern the conservation of species on this island right, one last time.
Rukshan Jayewardene is a Founding Trustee at the Leopard Trust, Chairman of the Wilderness and Protected Areas Foundation, Director at the Environmental Foundation Ltd. (EFL) and past President of the WNPS. With a lifelong passion for wildlife, he is interested in evolution, adaptive radiation of species, the long-term conservation of leopards and all biodiversity related issues. He is a wildlife photographer who believes the role of photography in conservation is best served by adhering to standards and ethics.
The WNPS monthly lecture is open to all please register online https://forms.gle/icbSR6x8v6u6Ld146. The lecture is supported by Nations Trust Bank.
