The Sri Lankan government has taken measures
to set up four more elephant sanctuaries in the country by next year,
Deputy Minister of Wildlife and Agrarian Services S.M. Chandrasena has
said.
The four sanctuaries are to be set up in Horowpathana, Lunugavehera, Maduru Oya and Galgamuwa.
The wild life officials will capture and kraal the wild elephants
entering into villages and harming the people and their crops in these
sanctuaries.
The Minister says this move would help to minimize the human-elephant conflict and protect the elephants.
He has said that 75 percent of the sanctuary in Horowpathana in a land
extent of 3,000 acres has been completed and that Rs.225 million has
been allocated for the project.
Sri Lanka's wild elephant population has dwindled in the recent years
and an elephant census conducted by the Wildlife Department in August
2011 found that 5,879 elephants were roaming Sri Lanka's jungles.
Source:http://www.colombopage.com/archive_12B/Nov23_1353651744JR.php
Friday, November 23, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
කොකාවිල් කඳවුරට ආ අසරණ අමුත්තා
යාපනයේ
කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර දෙසට
විශාල කළු ගුලියක්‌ ඉකුත් 30 මහ රෑ එමින් තිබිණි.
හමුදා නිලධාරීහු එන හැම දේකටම මුහුණ දීමට සූදානමින් සිටියහ.
මේ කළු ගුලිය පිළිබඳව විපරමින් පසු වෙද්දී පෙනී ගියේ එම කළු ගුලිය යෝධ වලසකුගේ ඡායාවක්‌ බවය. මෙම යෝධ වලසා පැමිණියේ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයේ පිsහිටි වතුර වළකටය. මෙම වලසා මහත් අසීරුවෙන් ඇවිද්දේය.
කවුරුන් හෝ දඩයක්‌කාරයෙක්‌ ඇටවූ උගුලකට හසු වූ වලසා එම උගුලට සම්බන්ධ විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ කොන්දේ රඳවාගෙනය.
බැලූ බැල්මට මෙම විශාල කොටය නිසා වලසා ඇවිද්දේ මහත් අසීරුවෙන්ය.
මෙම වලසාගේ කොන්ද බාගෙට කැඩී ඇතැයි හමුදා නිලධාරීහු විශ්වාස කළහ.
වනජීවී අඩවි නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතාට මෙම යෝධ වලසා පිළිබඳව දැනුම් දී ඇත.
පැය කාලක්‌ යැමට මත්තෙන් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් කණ්‌ඩායමක්‌ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයට පැමිණියේය. විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ රඳවාගෙන මහත් වේදනාවෙන් සිටි යෝධ වලසා අසුවී ඇති උගුල ගැලවීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීහු උත්සාහ ගත්හ.
වලසා ළඟට කිට්‌ටුවීමටත් බැරිය. ඌ සිටියේ මරුවිකල්ලෙනි.
වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් මහත් අසීරුවෙන් උගුලේ බැමි ලිහන්න පටන් ගත්තේය.
පැය දෙක තුනක පරිශ්‍රමයකදී වලසා හසුවී සිටි උගුල සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ගලවා දැමීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ට හැකිවිය.
තමන්ට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් කරදරයක්‌ හිරිහැරයක්‌ නොකරන බවට තේරුම්ගත් මෙම යෝධ වලසා බැමි ලියා දැමීමෙන් පසුත් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් අසල ගැවසුණේ හීලෑකරගත් වලසෙකු ලෙසිනි.
මඳ වේලාවකින් පසු මෙම වලසා කැලෑව තුළට රිංගා ගත්තේය.
අඩවි වන ජීවී නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතා අපට කීවේ උගුලකට හසුවූ සතුන් අතරින් වලසකුගේ ජීවිතය බේරාගත් පළමු අවස්‌ථාව මෙය නොවන බවය.
සිත්පිත් නැති මිනිසුන් මහා කැලෑවේ අහිංසක සතුන්ට තනනු ලබන මර උගුල්වලට හසුවෙන සතුන් අතර මිනිසුන්ද සිටින බව වනජීවී නිලධාරියකු පැවසීය.
වල් ඌරන් මුවන්, ගෝනුන්, ඉත්තෑවන්, හාවන් අල්ලා ගැනීම සඳහා දඩයම්කරුවන් මහා රෑ මෙසේ මර උගුල් තනන බව වනජීවී කාර්යාලය කියයි.
නෝමන් පලිහවඩන
Source:http://www.divaina.com/2012/11/11/feature07.html
විශාල කළු ගුලියක්‌ ඉකුත් 30 මහ රෑ එමින් තිබිණි.
හමුදා නිලධාරීහු එන හැම දේකටම මුහුණ දීමට සූදානමින් සිටියහ.
මේ කළු ගුලිය පිළිබඳව විපරමින් පසු වෙද්දී පෙනී ගියේ එම කළු ගුලිය යෝධ වලසකුගේ ඡායාවක්‌ බවය. මෙම යෝධ වලසා පැමිණියේ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයේ පිsහිටි වතුර වළකටය. මෙම වලසා මහත් අසීරුවෙන් ඇවිද්දේය.
කවුරුන් හෝ දඩයක්‌කාරයෙක්‌ ඇටවූ උගුලකට හසු වූ වලසා එම උගුලට සම්බන්ධ විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ කොන්දේ රඳවාගෙනය.
බැලූ බැල්මට මෙම විශාල කොටය නිසා වලසා ඇවිද්දේ මහත් අසීරුවෙන්ය.
මෙම වලසාගේ කොන්ද බාගෙට කැඩී ඇතැයි හමුදා නිලධාරීහු විශ්වාස කළහ.
වනජීවී අඩවි නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතාට මෙම යෝධ වලසා පිළිබඳව දැනුම් දී ඇත.
පැය කාලක්‌ යැමට මත්තෙන් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් කණ්‌ඩායමක්‌ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයට පැමිණියේය. විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ රඳවාගෙන මහත් වේදනාවෙන් සිටි යෝධ වලසා අසුවී ඇති උගුල ගැලවීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීහු උත්සාහ ගත්හ.
වලසා ළඟට කිට්‌ටුවීමටත් බැරිය. ඌ සිටියේ මරුවිකල්ලෙනි.
වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් මහත් අසීරුවෙන් උගුලේ බැමි ලිහන්න පටන් ගත්තේය.
පැය දෙක තුනක පරිශ්‍රමයකදී වලසා හසුවී සිටි උගුල සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ගලවා දැමීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ට හැකිවිය.
තමන්ට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් කරදරයක්‌ හිරිහැරයක්‌ නොකරන බවට තේරුම්ගත් මෙම යෝධ වලසා බැමි ලියා දැමීමෙන් පසුත් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් අසල ගැවසුණේ හීලෑකරගත් වලසෙකු ලෙසිනි.
මඳ වේලාවකින් පසු මෙම වලසා කැලෑව තුළට රිංගා ගත්තේය.
අඩවි වන ජීවී නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතා අපට කීවේ උගුලකට හසුවූ සතුන් අතරින් වලසකුගේ ජීවිතය බේරාගත් පළමු අවස්‌ථාව මෙය නොවන බවය.
සිත්පිත් නැති මිනිසුන් මහා කැලෑවේ අහිංසක සතුන්ට තනනු ලබන මර උගුල්වලට හසුවෙන සතුන් අතර මිනිසුන්ද සිටින බව වනජීවී නිලධාරියකු පැවසීය.
වල් ඌරන් මුවන්, ගෝනුන්, ඉත්තෑවන්, හාවන් අල්ලා ගැනීම සඳහා දඩයම්කරුවන් මහා රෑ මෙසේ මර උගුල් තනන බව වනජීවී කාර්යාලය කියයි.
නෝමන් පලිහවඩන
Source:http://www.divaina.com/2012/11/11/feature07.html
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Are environmental resources being embezzled?
Environmentalists claim the country’s nature reserves and wildlife in
general are under severe threat due to actions of some government
politicians and the ‘inaction’, and in some cases open connivance of the
authorities. The main problem according to them is the sad state of
affairs prevailing at the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has been in existence since 1949. The DWC is responsible for 22 national parks, 65 sanctuaries, five nature reserves, and three strict nature reserves, covering some 15 percent of the total protected areas both on land and at sea. However, environmentalists claim that the DWC is currently unable to carry out its duties efficiently due to a number of reasons and that this has resulted in many instances of wildlife coming under threat.
Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust (ECT) accused the authorities of allowing the DWC to become a “demoralized and confused” institution. “Honest officials at the Department are unable to carry out their duties and the department is losing the respect it inspired in the public and fear it inspired in wrongdoers,” he added.
Among the main reasons for the problems at the Department is the failure to fill the vacancy of the post of the DWC’s Director General (DG). The post has been vacant for well over a year now with the Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife serving as acting DG. However, the conduct of the DG has come in for severe criticism from environmental groups, who accuse him of a host of irregularities and acts of corruption.
Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena and other environmentalists were “deeply puzzled” by the failure to appoint a person to the topmost position at the DWC, particularly as there were more than enough qualified individuals within the Department to fill the vacancy. “There are officers from the scientific service within the Department who are qualified for the position and yet it’s puzzling as to why the ministry secretary continues to serve as the acting DG,” he told The Nation.
Environmentalists also pointed the finger of blame at former Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena, who is now the deputy minister in charge of the same ministry. They claim the minister also chose to look the other way despite numerous instances where the conduct of the acting DG came into question.
Among the latest allegations levelled at the acting DG are that he has illegally given approval for 4,000 acres of land belonging to the Elahera-Girithale reserve to be distributed among 1,041 families in the area, and also for allowing a massive stone quarry to operate inside the reserve. The reserve functions as a major elephant corridor for herds moving from the Wasgamuwa National Park to the Minneriya National Park, according to environmentalists.
Addressing a press conference in Colombo this week, environmentalist Pubudu Weeratane accused the acting DG of transferring officers at the Department who were actively engaged in the protection of wildlife. “Even the head of the division in charge of conducting raids has been transferred,” to a national park he alleged.
A few weeks ago, environmentalists and the media shed light on the issue of private ‘eco-tourism’ operators illegally operating permanent campsites inside several of the country’s main national parks, including Yala and Wilpattu. However, Deputy Minister Chandrasena and the acting DG of the DWC rejected the accusations at the time. However, the sites were promptly removed after President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a directive when he was informed of the activities while attending district development committee meeting in Hambantota.
When The Nation contacted Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife and Acting Director General of the DWC Udeni Wickramasinghe regarding these allegations, he stated he would prefer to answer them in a face-to-face interview. “They (environmentalists) have been levelling many such allegations at me for a long time. I cannot answer all of them just now, but am prepared to go over them one by one and answer in an interview,” he said.
Attempts made to contact Deputy Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena proved futile as we were told he was attending a string of meetings in Anuradhapura.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is now the Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife. The ministry automatically passed onto him when S M Chandrasena resigned from his post to make way for his brother S M Ranjith to become Chief Minister of the North-Central Province. As such, environmentalists point out that the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the island’s wildlife now rests on his shoulders. While welcoming the President’s directive to remove national park campsites, they point out that it is inevitable that he will be judged on his conduct in the future as well, with regard to issues facing the country’s wildlife.
Source:http://www.nation.lk
The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has been in existence since 1949. The DWC is responsible for 22 national parks, 65 sanctuaries, five nature reserves, and three strict nature reserves, covering some 15 percent of the total protected areas both on land and at sea. However, environmentalists claim that the DWC is currently unable to carry out its duties efficiently due to a number of reasons and that this has resulted in many instances of wildlife coming under threat.
Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust (ECT) accused the authorities of allowing the DWC to become a “demoralized and confused” institution. “Honest officials at the Department are unable to carry out their duties and the department is losing the respect it inspired in the public and fear it inspired in wrongdoers,” he added.
Among the main reasons for the problems at the Department is the failure to fill the vacancy of the post of the DWC’s Director General (DG). The post has been vacant for well over a year now with the Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife serving as acting DG. However, the conduct of the DG has come in for severe criticism from environmental groups, who accuse him of a host of irregularities and acts of corruption.
Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena and other environmentalists were “deeply puzzled” by the failure to appoint a person to the topmost position at the DWC, particularly as there were more than enough qualified individuals within the Department to fill the vacancy. “There are officers from the scientific service within the Department who are qualified for the position and yet it’s puzzling as to why the ministry secretary continues to serve as the acting DG,” he told The Nation.
Environmentalists also pointed the finger of blame at former Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena, who is now the deputy minister in charge of the same ministry. They claim the minister also chose to look the other way despite numerous instances where the conduct of the acting DG came into question.
Among the latest allegations levelled at the acting DG are that he has illegally given approval for 4,000 acres of land belonging to the Elahera-Girithale reserve to be distributed among 1,041 families in the area, and also for allowing a massive stone quarry to operate inside the reserve. The reserve functions as a major elephant corridor for herds moving from the Wasgamuwa National Park to the Minneriya National Park, according to environmentalists.
Addressing a press conference in Colombo this week, environmentalist Pubudu Weeratane accused the acting DG of transferring officers at the Department who were actively engaged in the protection of wildlife. “Even the head of the division in charge of conducting raids has been transferred,” to a national park he alleged.
A few weeks ago, environmentalists and the media shed light on the issue of private ‘eco-tourism’ operators illegally operating permanent campsites inside several of the country’s main national parks, including Yala and Wilpattu. However, Deputy Minister Chandrasena and the acting DG of the DWC rejected the accusations at the time. However, the sites were promptly removed after President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a directive when he was informed of the activities while attending district development committee meeting in Hambantota.
When The Nation contacted Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife and Acting Director General of the DWC Udeni Wickramasinghe regarding these allegations, he stated he would prefer to answer them in a face-to-face interview. “They (environmentalists) have been levelling many such allegations at me for a long time. I cannot answer all of them just now, but am prepared to go over them one by one and answer in an interview,” he said.
Attempts made to contact Deputy Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena proved futile as we were told he was attending a string of meetings in Anuradhapura.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is now the Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife. The ministry automatically passed onto him when S M Chandrasena resigned from his post to make way for his brother S M Ranjith to become Chief Minister of the North-Central Province. As such, environmentalists point out that the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the island’s wildlife now rests on his shoulders. While welcoming the President’s directive to remove national park campsites, they point out that it is inevitable that he will be judged on his conduct in the future as well, with regard to issues facing the country’s wildlife.
Source:http://www.nation.lk
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