Rivers Sustain a Fragile Planet
World Rivers Day is celebrated on last Sunday in the month of September. Rivers provides us many goods and services. Yet the value of rivers has been ignored by both people and…
Environment
The Sordid Tale of the Captive Elephant Industry and Legitimation of Wildlife Crime
Not long after the dust had settled following the government’s long war with Tamil separatism and terror, news filtered in of the kidnapping of baby elephants from the wild. Some dry zone national parks…
All We Need Is the Air That We Breathe
“Tiny, invisible particles of pollution penetrate deep into our lungs, bloodstream and bodies. These pollutants are responsible for about one-third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancer, as well…
Realistic or just Rhetoric? The Ban on Chemical Fertilizer
In early 2021, a survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, found that farmers faced food insecurity as a result of the measures that had been put into place to…
Development or Survival? Why We Need Trees
Sri Lanka’s country statement to the 21st Conference of the Parties (known as COP21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015 stated, “We are aware that…
Development or Survival? Out of Balance
Sri Lanka’s country statement to the 21st Conference of the Parties (known as COP21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015 stated, “We are aware…
Development or Survival? The Heat is Killing
In 1979 an official communique displayed in the news media proclaimed, “No oil means no development and less oil less development. It is oil that keeps the wheels of development moving.” But…
Development or Survival? The Lessons Not Learnt
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of madness. So I venture again into the realm of madness and once more try to…
Handling the Human-Elephant Conflict with New Techniques and Technology
African and Asian elephants are facing grave threats with an increase in poaching, the human-elephant conflict (HEC), habitat losses and mistreatment in captivity. Sri Lankan elephants are no exception to the devastation…
The Toxic Shipwreck: A Silent Killer Murdering Ocean Life
The X-Press Pearl ship catastrophe is the most significant ship accident that has happened in the Indian ocean and is the worst maritime disaster in the history of Sri Lanka. This is…
Counting the Costs of an Environmental Tragedy
Sri Lanka has seen various large scale environmental disasters over its history from British colonial rulers scraping out the the central hills for tea to the fast paced Mahavali River diversion project…
Short Sighted Agricultural Policies Spell Doom for Farmers and the Country
The decision to ban chemical fertilizer is one of the crucial policy changes taken by the current government since coming to power. It received mix reactions from the public. The government’s argument…
The Final Nail in the Coffin of the Wild Elephant
Part 1 dealt with how that icon of Uda Walawe, Rambo the mature bull elephant who has been conditioned to accept food from those passing the National Park, now faces the prospect…
Prisons in the Jungle
Part 1 dealt with how that icon of Uda Walawe, Rambo the mature bull elephant who has been conditioned to accept food from those passing the national park, now faces the prospect…
The Uncertain Fate of Rambo the Elephant
Rambo, the mature male elephant that has become an icon of the Uda Walawe National Park, was doomed to be captured from within the park and imprisoned in a so-called Elephant Holding…