Photo courtesy of Chethika Gunasiri
Today is World Environment Day
Not just Sri Lanka but the world is in crisis; an environmental crisis. Open most newspapers and the examples pour forth of natural disasters, global warming, rising sea level and increased pollution of air, sea and land. With it, inevitably, there is a corresponding increase in human disease and suffering. Much of this has been caused by humans themselves but with concerted effort, and over time, it can also be reversed by them. That time is now, before the changes become irreversible and we doom ourselves to bleak futures and possible mass extermination.
Sadly, policymakers and those who influence them continue to be besotted by the need to make more money at all costs and damn the consequences. This manifests in denial of what is happening before them or empty promises that are never fulfilled. And what of the people who gave them power; the ordinary citizens who voted them into position and, as a fundamental right, expect their governments to protect them and ensure their future survival from all threats?
In Sri Lanka, it is disappointing to note that policymakers who promised to give knowledge and science a foremost place in its decision making processes are abjectly reneging on their election undertaking, certainly as far as environment and wildlife conservation is concerned. Instead, they return to the short-sighted, politically motivated practices of those who were unceremoniously booted out by the people; the overall majority of the voting population having had enough of corrupt and self-centered practices. Nevertheless, the present government, too, seeks instant gratification from knee-jerk decisions with little care for the long term destruction that they would cause. Winning the next election continues to be the goal and damn the future and the next generations.
A prime example of this is the way the government has begun to address the increasing human-wildlife crisis that is steadily escalating, especially in areas once peacefully shared by both species. It, too, has resorted to the tactic of calling for counts. First it was of elephants and now it is of other species that encroach on cultivations with no thought of the root causes that triggered these intrusions. While it is good to be aware of the approximate number of a species in a country, such efforts must be guided by scientific knowledge and of principle and conducted by researchers well versed with the behaviours of that species. This will take time and cannot be undertaken over a weekend. However many or few of each species the rather amateurish counting methodologies employed come up with, if the root cause is not addressed the conflict will continue (numbers, of course, will invariably be exaggerated). In addition, it is learned that the government is considering driving all elephants into national parks, most of which do not have the habitat or food species to sustain them. As any scientists know this will drive the Sri Lankan elephant into extinction. It would be kinder to shoot them all rather than watch them slowly starve to death.
The natural environment and the country’s rich biodiversity are being endangered, continuously, due mainly to the following (these apply to all habitats – terrestrial, marine and coastal):
- The destruction of forests, reefs, mangroves and other pristine areas.
- Illegal clearing of previous natural habitat for ad hoc development projects.
- Intrusion into habitat corridors/ranges that previously ensured the connectivity between these protected places.
- Over exploitation of natural resources.
- Excessive and unending pollution, especially of water bodies, rivers, streams and the ocean.
- Abject management of the existing protected areas resulting in many losing the natural habitat that sustained them, with them being taken over by invasive alien species and becoming irretrievably degraded.
Let it be clear here that a country like Sri Lanka desperately needs development but planned development, which takes into account all components that will be impacted by such initiatives. This includes the natural world and its wildlife, with appropriate mitigation measures written in to the project plans and then implemented. The assessment should be independent, as carried out and paid for by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), and not by the project proponents as is the current process.
Why protect wildlife and the wilderness? For the people of this country is the simple answer. Conservation is primarily about saving ourselves; our economy, future health and existence. As explained by panda.org when celebrating World Wildlife Day, “From the mighty tiger to the humble worker bee, the huge variety of life on Earth contributes to our lives and well-being in more ways than we think. From offering a wealth of natural medicines to safeguarding us from climate shocks and improving soil health, we need wildlife for our survival, well-being and prosperity”.
In Sri Lanka, especially now that tourism is beginning to increase, the natural environment and wildlife continue to be one of the main attractions especially as the modern day tourist seeks an experience more than just lazing on a beach with an occasional cultural interlude. Yet, even in this, Sri Lanka and its policymakers continue to be obsessed with quantity rather than quality, a policy that brings limited sustainable financial benefit to the country and, worst of all, does not ensure that a visitor would want to return many times. For that service standards and the provision of unique experience must be at the forefront of policy. Provide this and not only will a visitor wish to return but also pay a higher rate to match what is being provided. Such a policy would bring far greater long term revenue and global recognition beyond just somewhere warm to visit that is cheap when, ultimately, the local population end up subsidising the visitor.
What seems to have been forgotten, certainly in Sri Lanka, are the communities that live as neighbours with wild animals and precious ecosystems. It is easy for those who live far away from these areas to express their outrage at some of the destruction being carried out by these people but they do not have to pay the price of the loss of livelihood, home and even traditional way of life. It is important to involve local communities in the protection of wildlife. The local people should no longer get the impression that their interests are less important than those of the animals.
In Sri Lanka, this can be done in some of the following ways:
- Ensuring that a proportion of the income from national parks goes directly to the development of local communities for infrastructure development/education/ health services rather than being swallowed up by local government for indeterminate use. A proportion of the income should also be directly used for the development/protection of the national parks, not just the inadequate budget granted annually to the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
- Assist those communities who have wildlife as neighbours to financially benefit from this through localised wildlife observation for tourists outside of the national parks. These can be regulated by the DWC but will also need the cooperation of the tourism agencies and other private/non-governmental agencies to ensure visitation and that local communities receive adequate compensation for their efforts.
- Tourists can be given an experience of village life, its cuisine and daily survival skills.
- To receive such benefits local communities must ensure not only the protection of wildlife but also of the natural habitat. For this, intensive knowledge sharing must take place with these communities.
The only hope for the long term success of the conservation movement and for the survival of the wilderness and wildlife of this country is if local communities receive direct economic and structural benefit from having these places and creatures as neighbours. They will then look at wildlife as being invaluable rather than threats to be destroyed. This is being practiced in Africa and other parts of Asia that have rich biodiversity that requires protection from humans and in these places quality has long become the focus, rather than just quantity. Sri Lanka is in real danger of losing out to these places, especially India, who have taken wildlife tourism to a different level.
Whichever species one considers, the main reason for their intrusion into human habitation and cultivation is that their natural habitat has been drastically reduced, forcing them to seek continued survival outside of them. This is largely through illegal activity that seems to have been sanctioned by successive governments turning a blind eye to them for a vote for today while damning the future. The further tragedy is that Sri Lanka has some of the finest environmental/conservation researchers in South Asia whose expertise is more valued overseas than in this country. They have studied the sustainable conservation of habitat and species for decades yet successive policymakers prefer to rely on the politically expedient notions of those whose ambitions are elsewhere. So much for science leading the way.
In the words of the late Steve Irwin, “The single biggest threat to our planet is the destruction of habitat and along the way loss of precious wildlife. We need to reach a balance where people, habitat, and wildlife can co-exist – if we don’t everyone loses …one day.”