WILDLIFE AND WILDERNESS IN THE NORTH
Largely ignored but of vital value

By Dr. Shanmugasundaram Wijeyamohan



6pm (Colombo) 1.30pm (UK) 19th October 2023, Jasmine Hall, BMICH

Zoom Link: Click here

In 2009, visitors to the North and the East were astonished at the sight of pristine forests, unlike many left in the remainder of the country, intact and preserved and beautiful, vast tracts of forest and large numbers of wildlife endured.

That was 14 years ago, and the narration has changed since. Today, there are reports of rampant deforestation and the killing of wildlife taking place here. Human-elephant Conflict has reached levels never seen before.

Yet, just as during the War, information on this barely trickles through to the general public and they remain blissfully unaware that the Natural Wealth is being ravaged here, as it is in much of the rest of the island, at a rate never seen before.

Are these areas, freed with considerable human and financial cost, all to be destroyed in a couple of decades? What of the revenue these wonderful places and creatures could bring to the country, and the local communities, if they are protected and shown off to the World? Are we to sacrifice the future on the altar of greed?

Dr. Shanmugasundaram Wijeyamohan

Dr. S. Wijeyamohan is well known in conservation circles as someone who has long championed the cause of conservation in the North and the East. Specializing in Wildlife Ecology, Conservation and Management, he is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Bio-science of the University of Vavuniya. There can be none better than Dr. Wijeyamohan to help us understand the reality, and lift the fog of ignorance of these vastly biodiverse, and increasingly threatened, vitally precious areas of this Nation.

The monthly lecture of the WNPS is supported by the Nations Trust Bank. It is open to both members and non-members, ENTRANCE FREE.