Don’t Blame the Monkeys
Animal rights activists and conservationists are up in arms about a plan to send 100,000 toque macaque monkeys to China on the request of a private Chinese firm. The government says the…
Development
Wind Farms : The Death of Mannar
How can the most ambitious renewable power project in Sri Lanka have this many detrimental impacts on the environment and the local communities of Mannar? Thambapawani, a derivation of the name after…
Short Sighted Policies Destroying Sri Lanka’s Wildlife
In February 2023, the prestigious Forbes magazine proclaimed Sri Lanka as having the Top Wildlife Safaris Outside of Africa for the year 2023. “The nation has one of the planet’s densest populations…
Trade with Asia is a Pathway for Crisis-Hit Sri Lanka
South Asia and East Asia trade is growing amid global uncertainty. Alongside an IMF program, Sri Lanka should adopt pro-trade reforms to tap into this source of dynamism to tackle its terrible…
Sri Lanka at 75: Whose Motherland, What Freedoms?
Sri Lanka’s national anthem presents a vision of the country as a motherland to many, life giving and filled with nature’s abundance and beauty, a place of truth seeking and wisdom. It…
The Demands of the Adivasi Community at Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day
Despite the unprecedented socio-economic and political setbacks Sri Lanka is currently facing, the Government is making preparations to celebrate the country’s 75th Independence Day in grand style. Within this climate, however, there…
Conservation: Reaching a Point of No Return
Last year, Covid dominated all conversations and contributed to the further exacerbation of a multitude of existing man-made environmental and conservation disasters. “Sadly, conservation management decisions seem now to be made at…
Villagers Fight to Regain Their Land in Panama
Panama is a remote village at the southern end of the eastern province in the Ampara district. The slogan often used in land struggles, land is life, is true for most people…
2022: A Year Like No Other
2022 was one of the most momentous years in Sri Lanka’s recent history. An unprecedented people’s movement drove out an elected president and prime minister and forced the resignation of the entire…
Vital Northern Mangroves Need Uncompromising Protection
Tashiya de Mel On the northern coast of Sri Lanka in the Mannar District is a place of extraordinary importance to conservation and to the economic wellbeing of the human populations who…
Delivering Economic Recovery with Humane and Equitable Development
Sri Lanka plunged into a dystopian economic reality in 2022. Even in the present global downturn few countries match it in the stunning speed and severity of its collapse. The economy has…
The Long Journey To an United and Democratic Sri Lanka
As the world marks another Human Rights Day, Sri Lanka is sinking deeper and deeper into an authoritarian regime where human rights are routinely flouted and international criticism is regularly ignored. The…
In a Bankrupt Sri Lanka, Corruption is the Root of All Evil
When I joined the public service 50 years ago, we spoke of governance. When I left the service, the talk was of good governance. That was what Sri Lanka achieved during the…
Bogaswewa: The Story of a Sorry Settlement
“This is the most shameless and ill thought out settlement of people in the history of this country,” says Anura Chandrasekara. He is a farmer, originally from Anuradhapura. He now speaks to…
Critical Zone: In Search of New Aesthetics
We are living in a critical zone. Have you ever thought of the critical nature of the zone that we live? Probably not; we take the earth that we live on for…
