Biodiversity Action Forum 2026

• Biodiversity means business: Pathways to a nature-positive economy

What if the greatest threat to your business isn’t inflation, taxation or global competition, but the gradual decline of the natural systems that keep your business running?

It is an uncomfortable question, yet one that is rapidly moving from environmental circles into boardrooms around the world. Whether your organisation depends on water, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, finance, exports, logistics or resilient communities, biodiversity is already influencing your bottom line. Healthy ecosystems are no longer viewed simply as environmental assets. They are increasingly recognised as strategic assets that underpin investment, productivity, innovation, supply chain resilience and long-term economic growth.

Against this backdrop, Biodiversity Sri Lanka’s Biodiversity Action Forum 2026, to be held on 25 August at the Shangri-La Colombo, promises to be one of the country’s most significant business events of the year. This is not another environmental conference. It is a business forum designed to help companies identify practical opportunities to strengthen competitiveness while contributing to a nature-positive Sri Lankan economy. 

From awareness to action

The Forum marks an important evolution of Biodiversity Sri Lanka’s Annual Technical Sessions. Instead of asking businesses why biodiversity matters, it asks a far more practical question:

What should Sri Lanka’s private sector do next?

The Opening Plenary has been designed to establish biodiversity as a strategic business issue rather than an environmental obligation. Delivering the keynote address will be Dr. Saurabh Kumar of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)–ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, who will share regional and global experiences on integrating biodiversity into business strategy.

Joining him will be Verité Research Founder and Executive Director Dr. Nishan de Mel, together with Hirdaramani Group Director Siddarth Hirdaramani, South Asia Co-operative Environment Program (SACEP) Director General Norbu Wangchuk,  and Biodiversity Sri Lanka Senior Technical Adviser Shiranee Yasarathne. Together, they will demonstrate how biodiversity is becoming an issue of competitiveness, investment and resilience and why collective leadership will determine Sri Lanka’s success in a rapidly changing global economy.  

Three business conversations

The Forum then moves beyond the plenary to three high-level discussions focused on the country’s most pressing nature-related business opportunities.

The first session, The Next Wave of Blue Growth, explores how Sri Lanka’s vast marine resources can create new opportunities in sustainable investment, blue finance and marine conservation. The session features UNDP Sri Lanka Economist Dr. Vagisha Gunasekara, Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department Director General Prof. Terney Pradeep Kumara, Tropical Shellfish Ltd. and Divron Bioventures Director and Co-founder Shan Meemanage, Aitken Spence Hotel Managements Ltd. Sustainability Head Harshini de Silva Pandithasekera, and DFCC Bank Vice President and  Strategic Planning Head Sivalingam Sivakanthan. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Sandun Perera of IUCN Sri Lanka. 

The second session, Safeguarding the Central Highlands: Sri Lanka’s Natural Lifeline, will examine why the country’s montane ecosystems should be recognised as critical national infrastructure. 

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Rohan Pethiyagoda will deliver the keynote address, followed by a fireside conversation with University of Peradeniya Prof. Buddhi Marambe and Asian Development Bank Senior Specialist Sumith Pokhrel. Joining the panel will be Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, and IUCN Sri Lanka Country Representative Dr. Shamen Vidanage, exploring innovative financing and partnerships to restore these nationally important landscapes. 

The third session, Investing, Disclosing and Competing in a Nature-Positive Economy, brings biodiversity into the language of finance and corporate governance. Moderated by KPMG Sustainability and ESG Partner Piyumi Sumanasekara, the panel includes University of Colombo Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, Krishna Ranagala of Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC, UNDP Sri Lanka Consultant and Economist Dr. Dissanayake, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Sustainable Finance Division Head Dushan Ranasinghe,  and Control Union Inspections Ltd. Managing Director Roshan Ranawake. The session concludes with reflections from CEPA Executive Director Emeritus Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne. 

One business agenda

Most conferences end with applause. This one aims to end with action.

During the morning, participants will work across the three thematic sessions before reconvening to identify practical initiatives that businesses can jointly implement over the next twelve months. Working alongside Biodiversity Sri Lanka, Verité Research will serve as the Forum’s implementation catalyst, bringing together ideas emerging from every discussion, identifying common priorities across sectors, and translating them into the Biodiversity Action Agenda 2026. Instead of producing another conference report, the process has been designed to answer the questions that matter most to business: What should we do first? Who should we work with? Which partnerships are needed? And what measurable progress should be achieved before next year’s Forum?  

Taking collaborative action

The Biodiversity Action Forum is not asking businesses to become conservation organisations. It is inviting them to become partners in building a stronger economy. For companies seeking new opportunities, stronger resilience, greater investor confidence and sustainable long-term growth, biodiversity is no longer a peripheral issue. It is becoming a defining business issue.

On 25 August, Sri Lanka’s leading business executives, policymakers, scientists and development partners will gather with one shared purpose, to move beyond ambition and begin shaping the country’s nature-positive future.

The question is no longer whether biodiversity matters. The question is whether your business will help lead the transition. This is an invitation to Sri Lanka’s private sector to help decide where collective business action for biodiversity should begin, and then to help make it happen. The event is supported by Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company, Hatton National Bank PLC as platinum sponsors, Cleantech  Ltd. as the gold sponsor and Citizens Development Business Finance PLC, DIMO and Hayleys Plantations as presenting partners.

If your company depends on water, land, oceans, agriculture, tourism, supply chains, natural resources, resilient communities or a stable economy, biodiversity is already part of your business. The 2026 Biodiversity Action Forum is where we begin turning that reality into action.