SL to hold largest international conservation symposium in Sept.

By Shanika Sriyananda

Sri Lanka will host the largest international conservation-focused symposium of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) for the first time with the participation of over 400 international and local scientists from 10 to 13 September at the MAS Athena, Thulhiriya. 

This will be one of the Asia-Pacific Chapter meetings of the ATBC, which would create a platform to present and review the latest local and international developments related to biology and conservation and would be held under the theme – ‘Bridging the Elements of Biodiversity Conservation: Save-Study-Use’. 

Organised by the Government together with the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the ATCB and the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lankan, it would incorporate traditional and local knowledge for informed policy decisions as well as sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystems.

“In the recent past, Asia has experienced spectacular increases in economic growth and human wellbeing, sustained in part through resource extraction and crop expansion. A consequence of this has been high rates of deforestation, habitat degradation, pollution, and species extinctions across the Asian region. As scientific understanding progresses, the world is beginning to comprehend the intricate way in which different ecosystems contribute towards sustaining life on our planet,” the former Deputy Director of Customs Biodiversity, Cultural, and National Heritage Protection Division of Sri Lanka Samantha Gunasekara said.

Explaining the need of conserving tropical ecosystems, Gunasekara said that as climate change, deforestation and sustainability become the most pressing environmental issues in the world today, governments in the Asian region and private sector entities, as well as individuals, are realising the need to conserve tropical ecosystems.

The regional conference, which will address critical conservation issues facing the Asia-Pacific region, the workshops and symposium associated with this gathering of scientists would be a unique regional platform focusing on trade-offs between the environment and industry, developing public-private partnerships in a sustainable manner, introducing novel technologies and tools for the conservation of tropical ecosystems and initiating innovative conservation financing, while strengthening nature-culture linkages to reduce environmental crime.

“While this international gathering is expected to bring together researchers, conservation practitioners, and business professionals through scientific discourse to address critical conservation issues facing the Asia-Pacific region, the workshops and symposium associated with this gathering of scientists is aimed at nurturing the next generation of conservation biologists and ecologists in Sri Lanka,” he said.

Gunasekara, who is also a member of the organising committee said that the participants – academics, researchers, scientists and university students would get the opportunity of learning about cutting edge research on the hottest environmental topics in the region, including species and habitat conservation, rainforest ecology, climate change, environmental degradation, urban ecology, and wildlife trade.

“The speeches delivered by the experts are designed to stimulate new ways of thinking about the challenges – and potential solutions – to conservation of natural habitat in Asia today,” he said.

Regional and global experts in the ATBC, which is the world’s largest and oldest academic society dedicated to the study and conservation of tropical ecosystems will hold solution-oriented panel discussions on critical region-specific topics and will also discuss how to better safeguard wild species from illegal trade in or through Asia.

The ATBC with a membership of over a thousand members from 65 countries are categorised into chapters according to regions – Africa, South America and the Asia-Pacific.

The know-how and technical support have traditionally been provided to the association by developed countries including Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway and the US.

“The Asia-Pacific Chapter helps promote tropical biology and conservation in the region and promotes scientific activities and training to best meet the needs of the region,” Gunasekara said.