The Right to Life: Is it a fundamental human right?
Image courtesy “We don’t want the right to vote, just the right to live” the villager said, holding his dying child in his arms. This is the simple truth that seems to…
Environment
What is this about Dicyandiamide?
Featured image courtesy 3News Is this is a legitimate problem or it is a problem created by the nationalists who want to get a competitor out of the way? I am confident…
Nationhood and National Parks
Photo from tahira’s shenanigans National parks in Sri Lanka that traverse the lines of nature reserves are held in reverence in the Sri Lankan psyche. Ideas of nature reserves in Sri Lanka…
Devastation in Colombo after strong winds
Residents in and around Colombo endured very strong winds over night, with no warning or alert from the Met. Dept. The only warning on the Met. Dept. website is this. The force…
Vesak Reflections
Image courtesy This Vesak Day I was reflecting on the centuries of Buddhist tradition and the cultural response, recorded in the magnificent constructions and spiritual art that withstood centuries of exposure to…
Gratitude for Life
While the word biodiversity is gaining currency worldwide as a result of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) an internationally binding set of agreements. Whose articles are legally binding and used today…
Urban wetlands park plays host to Army tank
Urban Development Authority (UDA) has seen fit to place a used army tank there for everyone to see. Every evening, as the park fills up, people clamour to get an up close…
Unseasonal Rains
Devo vassatu Kalena (may the rains fall in due season) Sassa sampattu hetu ca (may there be a rich harvest) Phito bhavatu loko ca (may the world prosper) Raja bhavatu dhammiko (may…
On the felling of trees
Photo courtesy Dushiyanthini “The trees being cut-down on Reid Avenue are the perfect example of the kind of ‘development’ that Colombo, and some other parts of Sri Lanka, are now facing.” (http://groundviews.org/2012/12/03/the-felling-of-a-tree/) …
The Felling of a Tree
Photo courtesy Dushiyanthini When I heard that the large, beautiful trees that pave Reid Avenue in Colombo were being felled, my heart broke. I was so stirred inside – and it was…
Whose beaches in Sri Lanka?
Photo by AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, via Sulekha During the last week of October this year, the BBC Sinhala Sandeshaya service featured a story about Sri Lankan tourism, which was in turn aired…
Forests: Beyond The Wood II
According to the FAO, 28.8% or about 1,860,000 ha of Sri Lanka is covered by trees. Of this only 9.0% (167,000) is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form…
Forests: Beyond The Wood I
It is time to recognize the fact that much of the investment in “forests” up to date has missed the forest for the wood. We have engaged ourselves in actions that addressed…
Monsoons and Intermonsoons
Photo courtesy The New Zealand cricketers should not be surprised that their matches are being rained on. The following is from an article titled “The Language of Climate in Sri Lanka” (…
Manel Tampoe: Perceptive Chronicler of Sri Lanka’s DDT Generation
Manel Tampoe, school teacher turned journalist and environmentalist, was a force to reckon with – but she didn’t look the part. Beneath her soft spoken and demure personality, she harboured a keen…
