Environment

Nature as Our Religion: Lessons to Learn from the Tigua Tribe

Admin July 13, 2023 197

T. M. G. Chandrasekara Recently, there have been media reports suggesting that indigenous people are considering forming a separate political party to advocate for their representation. While this article does not aim to pass judgment on whether this development is positive or negative, it is

Environment

Mitigating the Elephant-Human Conflict: Addressing the Challenges

Admin July 13, 2023 175

Buddhika Weerasinghe A new scientific study reveals that Sri Lanka has the highest number of elephant fatalities and the second highest number of human fatalities due to human-elephant conflicts. This study conducted by Supun Lahiru Prakash, Dr. A. W. Wijeyrathna, and Dr. Pruthiviraj Fernando from the Sri Lanka Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, University of

Environment

Sri Lanka Navy Initiates Mission to Expand Mangrove Green Zones

Admin July 13, 2023 156

Rekha Tharangani Fonseka Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Kankasanthure, Karainagar, Puttalam, and other areas to learn about the Sri Lanka Navy’s pioneering eco-restoration initiative to plant mangroves along the country’s coastal lagoons. As a sustainable measure to combat coastal erosion across the country, the Navy has undertaken a strategic

Environment

Say No to Plastics: Protecting Nature from its Destructive Impact

Admin July 13, 2023 162

Maheshwari Wijeyanandan Sri Padasthana, also known as Adam’s Peak, is Sri Lanka’s second-highest mountain and holds immense religious and cultural significance. It is revered as a sacred site by people from Sri Lanka and around the world, making it a popular destination for pilgrims. The mountain’s rich history and spiritual associations add to the

Environment

Coexistence instead of conflict: Galgamuwa’s special relationship with elephants

Admin July 6, 2023 181

Indu Perera Here is a rare story of coexistence between humans and elephants –a story that has been overshadowed by the widely known “human-elephant conflict.” The story is from Galgamuwa, a high elephant-density region. Villagers here have developed a rapport with the elephants, and instead of resorting to aggressive methods like using firecrackers, they

Environment

Jaffna Peninsula’s freshwater problem: Focus on solutions

Admin April 30, 2023 364

R. Ram Freshwater is only 3 percent of the Earth’s water. But about 2 percent of it is in glaciers and polar ice caps, leaving only about 1 percent available for consumption. Of that, a significant amount is wasted as rainwater, and another portion is locked up in inaccessible places. Therefore, only about 0.08 percent […]

Environment

Environmental harm overlooked in Kiwul Oya Irrigation project: An overview of the potential impacts of the proposed scheme

Admin April 21, 2023 208

R. Ram Irrigating the Mahaweli ‘L’ zone, with Mullaitivu as its center, was the aim of a project that has remained dormant for decades. The government has decided to give it a new lifeline through the Kiwul Oya project. Kiwul Oya is the main tributary of Ma Oya, which starts in the eastern part of […]

Environment

Clinical waste: Act responsibly to protect us and environment from health hazards

Admin April 13, 2023 156

Haya Arva In early 2020, a youth-driven initiative to keep the environment clean was launched only to end abruptly due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the pandemic came a new and more serious environmental threat in the form of clinical waste. According to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), although Sri Lanka […]

Environment

National Environmental Act is to be amended after two decades

Admin April 8, 2023 429

Aruna Lakshman Fernando More than seventy different laws that have an impact on the well-being and safety of the natural environment and human health, directly and indirectly, are operational in Sri Lanka.  While the majority of them address issues in specific sectors, the legal framework related to overall environmental pollution and environmental protection centres

Environment

Environment and the media: Striking the right balance

Admin March 23, 2023 721

M.S.M. Ayub As a representative of the Sri Lanka Environment Journalists Forum (SLEJF), I participated in a South Asian media conference in Singapore in 2001 on the role of the media in mitigating environmental degradation. It came to light at the conference that the problems faced by journalists all over the world when handling environmental […]