In the wilds among men counting elephants

After a long bumpy ride to the heart of the Minneriya National Park, we saw hundreds of them – adults, sub-adults, juveniles and calves – lumbering towards a water-hole. The two observers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) quickly started counting and making note of the number of elephants.

The observers had spotted 187 elephants at the waterhole from 6 a.m. till noon on the second day of the islandwide elephant census conducted by the Department of Wild Life Conservation. “We can’t be sure of the count. But, I don’t think I will make an error as elephants are not new to me,” said one observer. Elephant surveys are usually conducted during the peak drought period. In this method, known as the waterhole count, elephants are counted when they go in large numbers to big water- holes. The smaller waterholes dry up during the drought.

A man takes down data as elephants gather at the water-hole in Minneriya

The islandwide census which was a 48-hour survey from 6 p.m on Thursday to 6 p.m. on Saturday was the first of its kind in the country. There were 1,553 observation points islandwide and upto 4,000 observers – wildlife department officials, volunteers and military personnel participated in the programme, DWC Deputy Director S.R.B. Dissanayake, said.
He said, volunteers and military men were given a training on how to conduct the census. In some areas villagers and civil defence forces also assisted the department officials, he said. The observers with pencil and sheet of paper in hand marked the location where the elephants were sighted, the time, category and male-female ratio.
DWC official W.B.M. Wijesiri said although the animals did not pose a threat unless they were disturbed, the observers carried a shotgun for safety. He said, one of the main classification of the jumbos was gender and to do this they observed their shapes. “While female elephants have straight and flat backs, the males have rounded backs,” he said.
However, counting and categorising the large number of elephants from the observation points, which are quite a distance away from the animals can give rise to inaccuracies. Our own count on the number of elephants near the lake was more than 400. Moreover, we noticed baby elephants hiding behind their parents and this would have posed a big problem for the observers.

Observers perchd on an observation post await the arrival of elephants

Commenting on our query about accuracy, the Deputy Director, Mr. Dissanayake said, if the observers are trained properly, precision can be ensured. “We are not counting the elephants one by one, this is more a survey. More than the numbers, we are collecting information on the population structure of the elephants - proportion of calves, adults and the percentage of juveniles,” he said.
As I was speaking to Mr. Dissanayake he suddenly yelled ‘run’. An elephant was charging towards the area where our jeeps were stopped, where photographers were clicking pictures and we were talking to the Deputy Director.
We jumped into the closest jeep and beat a hasty retreat. After following the convoy of jeeps for about 90 seconds, the jumbo gave up. Wild Life officials told us that the elephant had lost its young recently and hence the reason for its aggressiveness.
Mr. Dissanayake said another aspect of the survey was to find out how healthy the elephant population was. Based on the results, the DWC hopes to cordon off more protection zones for the elephants. He also said to curb the human-elephant conflict in unprotected areas, electrified fences will be put up to protect the villagers and their fields, he added.
However some scientists question the accuracy of the waterhole method. A wildlife biologist, who did not want to be identified, said this method of census was used in India several times but had been proved a failure. “The census is not scientifically sound. You can’t cover every waterhole.”
The biologist said that most elephants are found outside national parks and come out at night, but, this survey concentrated on the interior of the parks. Elaborating that this method was more assumption-based, the scientist said there was no guarantee that all the elephants would come to the waterholes. Moreover, Minneriya is a place where elephants can be spotted easily, whereas, there are several other places where the elephants do not come out to the waterholes.

How many calves hiding behind their elders may have been left out in the census? Pix by Sanka Vidanagama and Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa

“I believe the census is pointless. One should concentrate on unknown areas. Scientists pulled out from the census because of the methodology. There are thousands of waterholes in the South and the Central areas and you can’t man every one of them,” he said.
The biologist pointed out that the elephants that were counted in Minneriya may even go towards the Kaudulla National Park, which is just a few kilometres away, thereby increasing the chances of being counted twice over.
As quick-fix methods, such as the waterhole counts, are not accurate, technical methods need to be implemented. However, the latter requires a high degree of training, skill, expertise, funds, time and dedication, according to him.
Meanwhile, Wild Life minister S.M. Chandrasena told a news conference at Minneriya on Friday, that the aim of the census was to get an idea of the number of elephants in the country.“We don’t have a special reason to count tuskers. People say we are going to give away some tuskers. I can't handover tuskers to anyone as I wish. And, I don't want to,” Mr. Chandrasena said.


He said, he wanted to ensure that the country’s wildlife was protected adding that the elephants used for Peraheras (pageants) are from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and not from the wild. Reacting to the minister’s statement, Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena said he was glad that the minister had changed his decision about the tuskers.
He said although they wanted to participate in the census, they pulled out on a matter of principle.
Mr. Gunawardena said partial surveys conducted earlier have revealed that 60 per cent of elephants were old, whereas, it shouldn’t be more than 40 per cent while juveniles and sub-adults constitute half the population.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110814/News/nws_14.html

Conflict over jumbo census

Water-hole count enables population structure and composition assessment:DWC Extent of occurrence, area of occupancy more relevant, says expert

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

Futile and flawed, are how many experts called the much-trumpeted “elephant survey” carried out by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) which ended this morning. The danger of a flawed survey lies in the fact that it may be used as a planning tool for elephant management which in turn would then be questionable, stressed wildlife biologist Manori Gunawardena, explaining that the survey methodology does not take into account elephant behaviour. Pointing out that although the elephants at Minneriya are very visible during the day, most elephants outside National Parks come out only in the night, she says that it is “very difficult to count them”. Ms. Gunawardena should know as she has been studying the social behaviour and demography of elephants in the North Central Province for the past 12 years, getting muddy and grubby at many a waterhole including the Minneriya tank. The DWC, however, claims in its ‘Survey of Elephants in Sri Lanka’ leaflet that its current venture is “known as the water-hole count”. The advantage of the water-hole count is that it enables the management authority to find out the population structure and composition in addition to numbers, according to the DWC. “It will enable the DWC to determine the proportion of calves relative to the adult females and to identify and record the number of tuskers – the most vulnerable animals.” Unless there is much practice and training and there are only one or two elephants it is impossible to put them into an “age class” or “size class”, says Ms. Gunawardena, citing the example of elephant herds coming to water at one point of a tank and then cutting across the forest later to get back to the water at a different point of the same tank. “Elephants keep crisscrossing all the time,” she said. At Minneriya there may be high visibility and excellent observation conditions but take the case of a wewa outside the National Parks. Would it be possible to count a large number at night in the moonlight, and especially when they keep coming back to water, she asks, adding that a survey done without taking into account elephant behaviour movement is flawed. Scientists also question the rationale of such a survey effort, when the concentration should be on identifying key areas that need conservation. An island-wide survey of elephant distribution and human-elephant conflict would be more relevant for management purposes, they say. Conservationists expressed fear that the survey was done to fulfil hidden agendas that are detrimental to conservation. The Indian scientific community, meanwhile, has urged Sri Lanka not to get entrenched in the “water-hole count” methodology as they are desperate to dislodge it from government practice across there as it has failed, sources pointed out. The Sunday Times learns that, the Co-Chairman of the IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group, Ajay A. Desai has expressed reservations about the water-hole count to many conservationists in Sri Lanka. “Population estimation is best done using the most standardized methods i.e. line transect or dung count,” Dr. Desai has said in an e-mail, being extremely critical of “pointless and questionable methods” such as water-hole counts which have been tried and found to be failures in India. He has wondered why Sri Lanka is repeating the mistakes made by India. Meanwhile, back in 2008 in ‘Gajah’, the Journal of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group (available online at http://www.asesg.org/ PDFfiles/Gajah%2028% 20Aug%2008.pdf), another elephant expert Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando had questioned the need to get the “number” of elephants in a country, region or for that matter globally. Why do we need to know the ‘number’, Dr. Fernando of the Centre for Conservation and Research has questioned, explaining that as Asian elephants live in low visibility habitats and are secretive and largely nocturnal, the numbers are elusive. He also questions how we can use the ‘number’ to plan conservation strategies. “Can we determine a-priori how many elephants we want to have in a country, will we cull them if there are more, or can we ask them to breed more if there are fewer?” he asked. Dr. Fernando who has been in the jungles, studying elephants for over 18 years states that counting of elephants is done in various ways that range from ‘quick and dirty’ to highly technical. It could be direct aerial, vehicle, foot and waterhole counts of elephants; indirect estimates based on sign, dung and footprints; and individual identification based on genetics or photography and mark-capture or rarefaction curves. He states that counts are probably of value at local scales, for planning and monitoring the impact of management activities. However, it needs accuracy and precision, he cautions, warning that “unfortunately, the quick and dirty methods are neither accurate nor precise, so we have to rely on the more technical methods. These require a high degree of training, skill, expertise, funds, time and dedication.” Dr. Fernando suggests that IUCN criteria such as ‘extent of occurrence’ and ‘area of occupancy’ are more relevant for management at country-wide scales than the elusive ‘number’. Around 4,000 people including 1,200 DWC staff undertook the survey after being stationed at “1,553 points” in the seven wildlife regions on the night of August 11, said a DWC spokesperson. Each point was manned by a wildlife officer and two others or a wildlife officer and one other, who were on attala (platforms in trees) or close to the waterhole, armed with binoculars, a DWC spokesperson said, explaining that those who helped with the survey included students from the Rajarata and Peradeniya Universities, recruits from the Civil Defence Force and villagers in the area. In the north, the survey was carried out by DWC officials and soldiers. The seven regions are north-western (Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Vavuniya); Mahaweli (Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, parts of Matale and Badulla); central; east; southern; Yala-Bundala; and north. Referring to the modus operandi followed, the spokesperson said, on Thursday night they observed the elephants which came to the water-holes and the count proper began on Friday and Saturday, with the operation winding down this morning. When asked whether there was the likelihood of one elephant being counted twice or more times, the spokesperson said it was unlikely. Those doing the survey were well-versed in taking down the vishesha lakshana (special features) and identifying each elephant from the shape of the ear, the placement of pigmentation (gomera), the tail details etc. However, as most elephants come to water in the night, the practicality of this was questioned by scientists. “Many thousands of watering points are used by elephants including large reservoirs with perimeters of many tens of kilometres, rivers and streams which cannot be manned adequately,” a source said. Another pointed out that the number of elephants counted will be proportional to the number of points as most enumerators will feel compelled to report that they saw some elephants. Many teams were deployed at points where large numbers of elephants were known to gather like Minneriya - Kaudulla, the spokesperson said, when the Sunday Times asked how 400 elephants could be counted when they converged on the tank-bed at the same time. Queried why the teams have been tasked with noting the detailed description of the elephants’ tusks, the spokesperson said it was nothing new. The same document had been used in the 2008 survey in the Mahaweli region. All the survey data will be analyzed to formulate a conservation strategy, the spokesperson added. One of the pages of the document used by officers conducting the census Rs. 23 million from Wildlife Fund; 2000 bags from Florida centre The Cabinet approved Rs. 23 million from the DWC’s Wildlife Fund for the ‘Survey of Elephants in Sri Lanka’ while a hotel chain forked out Rs. 1.8 million for the counting in the Yala area, the Sunday Times learns from the DWC. An interesting “input”, confirmed by the DWC, was the provision of 2,000 bags for those involved in the counting by Bruce Read of the Ringling Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, America. A web search shows amidst all the propaganda material about “caring for Asian elephants” that the Ringling Bros. Center is largely an elephant breeding centre that provides baby elephants for circuses. Incidentally, the Ringling Bros. Center also boasts on its website that among the experts from around the world who visit it are Dr. Raman Sukumar and Dr. Charles Santiapillai, a long-time collaborator of Bruce Read. Both Dr. Santiapillai linked to the Peradeniya University and Dr. Sukumar from India have been associated with the survey, DWC sources said. Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110814/News/nws_13.html

The elusive New Year messenger

Today is Avurudu but have you heard the messenger of the New Year, the koha? �The song of the koha, or the Asian Koel, is a special part of the Avurudu season, like the Western cuckoo is termed the first harbinger of Spring. But do we hear the koha’s melodious song as frequently as in the past or is it fading away like other Avurudu symbols such as erabadu flowers and cadju puhulam?

Some readers reported hearing koha’s song less frequently this year. “I haven’t heard the koha in my neigbourhood,”lamented Gayani Karunatilake, who lives in Nugegoda.�Reaction is varied. Responding to a query posted on the Facebook group“Nature”, Kavinda Jayasooriya said he noticed koha calls had increased this year.

Posting on the same group, Jagath Gunawardane, an ardent birdwatcher, said that based on his observations the koha’s call was less frequent now. “The calling reached a peak during the last days of March, and now we are having a reduction in calling. It will be even less during the New Year days,”he predicts.

Sarath Ekanayake, had a different view. “During March-April this year, kohas could not be seen or heard in my surrounding area around Kandy,” he said.

“I saw the koel in February but haven’t heard the calling.”�Mr Ekanayake also shared an interesting observation from a villager of Ambalangoda who said the koha was being found in large numbers in home gardens in the area, sometimes in flocks of five to seven birds.

Another interesting observation that the koha is now making that “culturally important” call not only in April, but in a highly random manner throughout the year. �The Asian koel is omnivorous, and the large numbers of crows solve their housing needs so the bird can adapt to rapid urbanisation. Ornithologists in general do not see a decline of its numbers. “But no one can say that even the koha is perfectly safe as there can be unexpected phenomena affecting even common birds,” says Chandima Fernando of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL).

“The house sparrow was once very common around Sri Lanka. But they are not to be seen any more in many areas. This population decline could have occurred over a period of time but because we haven’t monitored them, we didn’t realise they were in trouble,” he said.

Addressing the Annual BirdWatchers’ Conference organised by FOGSL on March 30, Mr. Fernando said everyone could help in the conservation of birds by properly documenting and sharing those casual observations.

“If you observe the birds around you throughout the year, you can easily monitor any changing patterns of different birds” he added. “Different people have different perceptions on whether the Asian koel is found in their gardens as frequently as last year and whether its song is heard.

“If we kept a record last year on days we heard the koha, or the numbers in which they visited our gardens, then we can compare those records and make conclusions as we have a data set to compare.”�These simple observations collectively could be used as scientific data to monitor any decline or change in population.

Mr. Fernando also revealed that FOGSL plans to launch another Citizen Science program called “Garden Bird Watch” and welcomes the Sunday Times readers interesting in joining the initiative to send an e-mail to fogslcs@gmail.com or call FOGSL secretariat on 011-2501332.

Perhaps this Aluth Avurudu is the best time to pay some attention to the common birds. Why not start by observing the koha this year? If you can capture any photographs of kohas, send them to the Sunday Times.

The bandit bird

The Avurudu song of the koha is the song of the male vying with other cuckoos to impress a mate. The melody signals the start of the breeding season, which usually coincides with the April festive season.�As the koha’s melodious song is seasonal it is commonly believed that the Asian koel is a migratory bird but Prof.Sarath Kotagama says this is a misconception. The Asian koel could be seen in our home gardens throughout the year if we look closely.

The Asian koel, like many other cuckoos, lay eggs in the nests of other species. Different cuckoos target the nests of different birds. Our beloved “Avurudu koha”selects the crows as foster parents for its young.�The male koel deliberately distracts the crows to allow the female koel to lay its egg in the crow’s nest. A single egg is usually laid, and sometimes the female egg even throws out the host’s egg.

Some baby cuckoos eject the host fledgeling but the koha young are not hardwired to that bad habit. Nevertheless they are very active and quick and eat most of the food brought to the nest by the foster-parents, which eventually causes the baby crows to starve.
By the time the crow mothers realise something is wrong the koel is strong enough to flee the nest and the angry foster parents.
The male Asian koel is blackish with red eyes, while the female is spotted and often mis-identified as a different species.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130414/news/the-elusive-new-year-messenger-40857.html

Huge shell-creatures dragged out live to satisfy foreign demand

Foot-long helmet shells were among rare and protected species found being smuggled out of Sri Lanka as worries grow that demand for perfect shells is leading to a disturbing practice of wresting the molluscs live from the seabed for big money from buyers. �A Chinese male nabbed at Katunayake airport on April 2 had nine shells a foot in diameter, among them some of the most highly-valued and rare species, according to Samantha Gunasekara of the Customs’ Biodiversity Unit.

A graveyard for shells.

The culprit, a worker at the Norochcholai Power Plant, was given a warning before being released. The shells were confiscated.
Mr. Gunasekara told the Sunday Times there appeared to be an increasing demand for Sri Lankan shells in foreign markets. Last week, this paper reported that coral and shells found on March 28 in the baggage of three Chinese working at Mattala Airport had been skilfully dug up from the seabed, suggesting that an organised operation was at work.

In October last year, another man was found trying to smuggle out high-value shells. It was a well-planned shipment that indicated the demand for Sri Lankan shells had given rise to organised smuggling attempts, Mr Gunasekara said.

Prasanna Weerakkody; a marine naturalist, said it was unlikely that the helmet and spider shells found in the April 2 smuggling attempt had been washed ashore and collected legally. He believes the prime condition in which they had been found indicates they had been collected by divers from the sea bed.

Creatures with large shells mostly live in deeper sea, and by the time their shells get washed ashore, they get marked eing tossed and rolled along the ocean bed by the currents over a long distance and from collision with coral beds and other submarine obstacles.
When the shells are collected live they are piled on land or buried together with other shells, and the creatures within eventually die.
Mr. Weerakkody believes that people diving for sea cucumber, ornamental fish or chank (conch) shells are also now collecting the large helmet and spider shells.

Shanaka of Kalpitiya, who makes a living diving for sea cucumber and chank, said helmet and spider shells had not previously been collected on a commercial scale because they had not been in great demand. That was changing, he disclosed. The Chinese brought to work on the Norochcholai power plant were keen to obtain these shells.

While Shanaka made assurances that large shells such as helmet shells could still be seen on the sandy sea floor in deeper ocean, he also emphasised that divers react to demand in collecting shells for sale. The revelations send an important message that the authorities should be vigilant about this trend.

Experts warn tourism could create more demand for shells and that divers would increasingly resort to collecting the shells live from the seabed rather than harvesting them when they are washed ashore.

In popular tourist destinations such as Hikkaduwa or Kirinda there are many shops selling a variety of shells. Although they do buy shells found on beaches, they offer suppliers a higher price for shells collected live because of their prime condition.

An expert on aqua-life attached to Wayamba University, Dr Sewvandi Jayakody, said that on March 31 she had found a youth collecting live cowries from the reef at Hikkaduwa. (The cowrie is a gastropod snail that makes the kind of speckled decorative shell used for the Avurudu game of pancha).

The boy she had accosted had the pockets of his three-quarter trouser full of cowrie shells, and her query he said he had only been collecting dead cowries.�On inspection, however, Dr Sewvandi had found live cowries, including a tiger cowry – a species in high demand.

When she threatened to inform the police, the youth had thrown the live cowries back into the sea.
Dr Sewvandi raised alarms about collection of live shells, saying this would be particularly dangerous for threatened species.
Already the conch – a gastropod species that makes chank shells – is decreasing in many areas due to over collection. Chank is the famous shell used as a musical instrument in traditional cultural events. The shell of this mollusc is the famous “hak gediya” (conch) played at traditional events.

Amazing seashells

Seashells are calcareous external coverings, or external skeletons, of two groups of marine Mollusks – gastropods or snails, which have shells formed in spirals, and clams or bivalves, with shells in two halves joined by a hinge, explains Dr Malik Fernando in his book “Shells of the Sri Lanka Seashore”.

Gastropods – the name means stomach-footed – are molluscs that creep along using a muscular, disc-shaped foot. Their soft bodies can retract for protection into the shell attached to the body.

Dr Fernando, who has also compiled a Provisional Checklist of Marine Aquatic Shelled Molluscs of Sri Lanka for the National Red List 2012 of Threatened Fauna and Flora, says there are more than 500 gastropod snail species in our oceans, but says the number should be much higher. Literature shows that gastropods are extremely diverse, with more than 40,000 species worldwide.

Mantle tissue located under and in contact with the shell secretes proteins and mineral extra-cellularly to form the shell. Seashells grow from the bottom up, or by adding material at the margins. Since their exoskeleton is not shed, mollusc shells must enlarge to accommodate body growth.

Collecting shells has been a popular pastime. But if there is something protruding from the opening, or you see a hard cover over the opening, this means it is still occupied. “Take a photo and leave the little guy where you found him,” advises Dr. Fernando.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130414/news/huge-shell-creatures-dragged-out-live-to-satisfy-foreign-demand-40864.html

වස්‌ගමුව වනෝද්‍යානයේ ජාවාරම්කරුවෝ රජවෙලා!

ජයන්තිපුර

වස්‌ගමුව යනු විශේෂයෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අලි ඇතුන්ගේ ප්‍රධාන වාසස්‌ථානයක්‌ වන අතරම මහවැලි ගඟේ සහ අඹන් ගඟේ ප්‍රධාන ජල පෝෂක ප්‍රදේශයකි. එවැනි වැදගත්කමක්‌ ඇති මෙම ජාතික වන උද්‍යානයේ වැලි කැණීමට විදුලි වැට ඉවත් කිරීම හේතුවෙන් එහි ඇති අලි ඇතුන් ගම්මානවලට කඩාවැදීම වර්ධනය වී ඇති අතර වැලි කැණීමට එන පුද්ගලයන් වන උද්‍යානයේ නොයෙක්‌ නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාවල නිරත වන බවද "දිවයින" ට වාර්තා වේ.

ජාතික වටිනාකමක්‌ ඇති මෙම වන උද්‍යානය හා එහි සම්පත් රැකගැනීම සිදු කරන්නැයි අදාළ බලධාරීන්ගෙන් ජනතාව ඉල්ලා සිටින අතර ඉතා කඩිනමින් මෙම නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියා මැඩ පැවැත්වීමට කටයුතු කළ යුතුව ඇති බව පරිසර සංරක්‌ෂණ භාරයේ අධ්‍යක්‌ෂ සංජීව චාමිකර මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් කියා සිටියි.

Source:http://divaina.com/

අසිරිමත් ගල්ඔය

”බදුල්ල සහ මොණරාගල දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කයන්හි නැගෙනහිර බෑවුමේ එලන ලද දැලක් සේ දිය කඳුරු අතුගංඟා ඇළ මාර්ග ආදියෙන් පෝෂණය වී මුහුදු මට්ටමේ සිට අඩි 5000ක් පමණ වූ ”මඩොල්සිලම” කඳු වැටියෙන් ආරම්භ වී ඉඟිණියාගල කඳු දෙක අතරින් පහළට ගලා බස්නා ගල්ඔය ගඟ එතැන් සිට විශාල තැනිතලා භූමියක් ඔස්සේ සැතපුම් හැට දෙකක් පමණ මාර්ගයක් පසු කොට, නැගෙනහිර වෙරළේ කල්මුණේට දකුණින් පිහිටි ”කලි ඕඬේ” ප‍්‍රදේශයේදී මහා සාගරයට එක් විය.

අප රටට නිදහස ලැබීමත් සමග නිදහස් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප‍්‍රථම අග‍්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා වශයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප‍්‍රථම බහු කාර්ය වාරි යෝජනා ක‍්‍රමය ඞී.එස්. සේනානායක මැතිතුමා විසින් 1949/1950 වසරේ ආරම්භ කළ අතර එම යෝජනා ක‍්‍රමයේ මූලාරම්භය වූයේ ඉහතින් සඳහන් කළ ඉඟිණියාගල කඳුදෙක අතරින් ”ගල්ඔය” හරස් කරමින් අඩි 3600ක් දිගැති වෑකන්දක් (ජලාශ බැම්මක්) බැඳීමයි.

එයින් නිර්මාණය වූ විශාල ජලාශය සේනානායක සමුද්‍රය හැටියට නම් කළ අතර එය එකල ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විශාලතම වාරිමාර්ග ජලාශය විය. ජල ධාරිතාව අක්කර අඩි 770,000ක් වූ සේනානායක සමුද්‍රය ඉදිකිරීමේ අතුරු ප‍්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ජලාශයේ ආසන්න ජලධාර ප‍්‍රදේශය වපසරිය හෙක්ටයාර් 2590ක් වූ ගල්ඔය ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානය හැටියටද වාරි ජලාශය සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර අභය භූමිය වශයෙන්ද ගැසට් නිවේදන මගින් ප‍්‍රකාශයට පත් විය.

මෙලෙස ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානයක අවශ්‍යතාවය උද්ගත වූයේ සමුද්‍ර ජලාශයේ ආසන්න ජලාධාර ප‍්‍රදේශ වනාන්තරය ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීමට වුවද පසු කාලීනව සංවර්ධනය සඳහා දැවැන්ත ලෙස ප‍්‍රදේශයේ වනාන්තරය එළි පෙහෙළි වූයෙන් උන් හිටි තැන් අහිමි වූ අලි ඇතුන්, දිවියන්, කුළුමීහරකුන් ඇතුළු විවිධ වනසතුන් සහ පක්ෂීන් නව වනෝද්‍යානයේ සෙවණ පතා ඊට සංක‍්‍රමණය වූහ. එතෙකුදු වුවත් සංක‍්‍රමණ ජීවන රටාවකට හුරු පුරුදුව නොසිටි විශාල සත්ව සමූහයක් තම ජීවිතයෙන් සමුගත්හ.

1971 වර්ෂයේ සිට වසර 05ට අධික කාලයක් මෙම උද්‍යානයේ සේවය කළ බැවින් වනෝද්‍යානයේ සතුන්ගේ චර්යා රටාවන් මෙන්ම සැඟවුණු තොරතුරු නිරීක්ෂණ කිරීමට මහඟු අවස්ථාවක් මට ලැබිණ.

ගල්ඔය ජාතික උද්‍යානය 1954 වසරේ නිර්මාණය වූ වකවානුවේ සිටම එය වන අලිනට තෝ තැන්නක් විය. වසර පුරාම පවතින පිරිසිදු ජලය කොළ පැහැති වනාන්තරය, අනිකුත් ජාතික උද්‍යාන තුළ වසර පුරාම පවතින වාහන ශබ්ද ඝෝෂා මෙහි නොපැවතීම නිසා සැබවින්ම මෙම උද්‍යානය සතා සීපාවාට පමණක් නොව මිනිසාටද නිසල පරිසරයකි. අලින්ගේ ස්වභාවික හැසිරීම් අධ්‍යයනය කරන ගවේශකයින් හට මෙය කදිම ස්ථානයකි. එබැවින් අනිකුත් තොරතුරු හෙළි කිරීමට පෙර වනඅලින්ගේ චර්යා රටාවේ ඉතා කලාතුරකින් දකින්නට ලැබෙන එහෙත් මම නිරීක්ෂණය කළ දර්ශණය ඔබ හමුවේ තබමි.

දිනය 1971 නොවැම්බර් 12යි. නිමක් නැතිව ඈතට දිස්වන මහ සයුරක් බඳු සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර ජලාශයේ එවකට වන ජීවී සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ මා යටතේ සේවය කළ නියාමක සාමෙල්අප්පු (දැනට මිය ගොස්*, ගෝමිස්අප්පු, විශ්ව කුලරත්න (මියගොස්) සමග මම එදින හබල් ඔරුවකින් කුරුල්ලන් නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමේ චාරිකාවක යෙදී සිටියෙමි. ගෝමිස්අප්පු ඇතුළු වනසත්ව නියාමකවරුන් තිදෙනා මාරුවෙන් මාරුවට හබල් ගාති.

එකල ගල්ඔය වනෝද්‍යානය සතුව බෝට්ටුවක් තිබුණේ නැත. හබල් ඔරුව ලබාගත්තේය. කල්මුණේ සිට ධීවර කර්මාන්තය සඳහා පැමිණ සිටි ධීරවයකුගෙනි. මගේ සේවකයින් තිදෙනා හෙම්බත්ව සිටිත්, දහවල් මද්දහන පසු වී හෝරාවක් පමණ ගත වී ඇත. යාන්තමට බඩගින්නද දැනෙයි.
”දැන් හබල් ගෑවා ඇති. ඔය ළඟ පෙනෙන දුපතට ඔරුව අල්ලන්න. මම උපදෙස් දුනිමි. සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර ජලාශයේ උපරිම මට්ටමට ජලය පිරුණද ජලයට යට වූ උස්බිම් සමූහයක් ජලය මතුපිටින් ඉහළට නෙරා ඇත්තේ කුඩා දුපත් ස්වභාවයක් පෙන්වමිනි.
අසල තිබූ දුපතට ගොඩ වූ අපි රැුගෙන විත් තිබූ දිවා ආහාර පාර්සල් රැුගෙන ගල් තලාවක් මත වාඩි වී එය අනුභව කරන්නට වීමු. දැඩි අව්රශ්මියෙන් පෙළෙන අප දෙසට සමුද්‍රය හරහා හමා එන සුළඟ ගතට ලබාදෙනුයේ සිසිලකි.
නිසෙල්මන බිඳිමින් ”අන්න.. සර් එහා දුපතේ අලි දෙන්නෙක් ආහාර බුදිනවා...” කියමින් විශ්ව කුලරත්න දබරැඟිල්ල දිගු කරමින් කොළ අතු කඩා කමින් සිටි අලි දෙදෙනකු පෙන්වීය. 
”මේ දෙන්නට මහ කැලේ කන්න නැතිවද මේ දුපතට ඇවිත් තියෙන්නේ...” අලි දෙදෙනා දුටු මට ඉබේම කියවිනි. දුර දක්නයෙන් පරීක්ෂා කළ මම ”කුලරත්න මේ පිරිමි දෙන්නෙක්... නේ...” කීවෙමි. වැඩුණු අලියකුගේ නලල් තලය සහ පිටකොන්ද අග කොටස දෙස හොඳින් බැලීමෙන් ලිංග භේදය නිවැරදිව කීම වනජීවි නිලධාරියකුට ගැටලූවක් නොවේ. මෙසේ විනාඩි හතරක් පමණ ගත වන්නට ඇත. අලි දෙදෙනා ආහාර බුදීම පසෙකලා මුහුණට මුහුණලා ඉදිරියට ඇවිද ගොස් (එනම් එකිනෙකාගේ විරුද්ධ දිසාවට ඇවිද යමින්) නළල් තල දෙක ස්පර්ශ කර ගති. මෙසේ තුන් වතාවක් ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා නළල් තල ස්පර්ශ කර ගත්තේ කිසියම් සන්නිවේදනයක් හුවමාරු කර ගැනීමට විය යුතුය. මෙය මැනවින් නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට මගේ දුරදක්නය මට පිහිට විය.

ඉක්බිතිව අලි දෙදෙනා දුපතෙන් පහළට ඇවිද ජලයට බැස සමුද්‍රය හරහා පිහිනන්ට වූහ.

එකෙනෙහිම මම බත්පත පසෙකලා. ”කෑවා ඇති ඉක්මනට යමු. මට ඡායාරූප ගන්න  ඕනෑ” කීවේ මගේ සේවකයින්ටය. ඉක්බිතිව විනාඩි 20ක් උපරිම වේගයෙන් ඔරුව හබල් ගෑමෙන් සාමෙල්අප්පු අපගේ  ඔරුව පිහිනා යන අලි දෙදෙනා සමීපයටම ගෙන ආවේය.

ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා සහ අප අතර දුර යාර දහයකට වැඩි නොවේ. වෙනදා ගොඩබිමදී නම් කෝපයෙන් අපට පහර දීමට හඹා එන අලි දෙදෙනා ”පූස් පැටව්” දෙදෙනෙක් ලෙසින් එහෙත් වරින් වර අප දෙස නෙත් යොමු කරමින් ගොඩබිම දෙසට පිහිනා යති. වේලාව ප.ව. 2.30 පමණය. මම ඡායාරූප තුනක් ගතිමි. මගේ කැමරාව පැරණි පන්නයේ බොක්ස් (ඊදං) කැමරාවකි. පිහිනා යන අලින්ගේ වේගය විනාඩියකට යාර විස්සක් පමණය. මේ වන විට වසර හතරක් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සේවය කොට ඇති මා අසා තිබුනේ අලින් පිහිනා යන විට හොඬවැල අග කොටස දිගටම ජලය මතුපිටින් ඉහළට ඔසවා තබාගන්නා බවයි. එහෙත් මා නිරීක්ෂණය කළේ වෙනත් ආකාරයකි. එනම් හොඬවැල අග කොටස තත්පර හතරක් ඔසවා තබාගෙන අනතුරුව එය දිය යටට ගෙන තත්පර හතරක් පමණ තබාගෙන නැවත ඔසවන බවයි.

හොඬවැල දිය යට තබා ගැනීමේදී වාත බුබුලූ (දිය බුබුලූ) ඉහළට ජලය මතුපිටට නොපැමිණි බව මම හොඳින්ම නිරීක්ෂණය කළෙමි. එයින් මා නිගමනය කළේ හුස්ම ඉහළ පහළ දැමීම හොඬවැල ඔසවා තබාගෙන සිටින විට දී සිදු කරන බවයි.

ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා මෙලෙස සැතපුම් තුන්කාලක් පමණ එක එල්ලේ පිහිනා ගොස් ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානයේ ප‍්‍රධාන ගොඩබිමට ප‍්‍රවිශ්ඨ වූහ. එවිටම මම තවත් ඡාරූපයක් ගතිමි. අපද ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා පසුපස ඔරුව හබල් ගාමින් ගිය නමුත් ගොඩබිමට ළං වීමට නොහැකි වූයේ වනය තුළට ගිය අලි දෙදෙනා මොහොතකින් ආපසු හැරී අප කරා හඹා එන්නට වූ බැවිනි. ඉදිරියට යන ඔරුව හරවාගත්තේ ආයාසයෙනි.

මෙම අලින් ගොඩබිමට පිහිනායාමට දිසාව සොයාගත්තේ කෙසේද? පිහිනා යාමට පෙර ඔවුන් නළල්තළ ස්පර්ශ කරගත්තේ ඇයි? අදටත් මට ගැටළුවකි.
වනෝද්‍යානයේ පිහිටීම

ගල්ඔය ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානය අම්පාර දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කයට මායිම්ව ඌව පළාතේ මොණරාගල දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කය තුළ පිහිටා ඇත. උද්‍යානයේ මූලස්ථානය ඉඟිණියාගල වේ. ඉඟිණියාගල-අම්පාර දුර කි.මී. 17 වන අතර මොණරාගල සිට අම්පාරට දුර කි.මී. 93කි. වනෝද්‍යානයේ භාරකරුගේ කාර්යාලය පිහිටා ඇත්තේ ඉඟිණියාගල. (දුරකථනය 0632242002) සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර බැම්ම පාමුලට නුදුරුවය. එම වෑකන්දේ උස අඩි 272කි.

ළඟා විය හැකි මාර්ග
කොළඹින් ගමන් ආරම්භ කරන අයකුට රත්නපුර, උඩවලව, තණමල්විල, වැල්ලවාය, බුත්තල, මොණරාගල හරහා සියඹලාණ්ඩුව (එනම් ලාහුගල හන්දිය) හන්දියට පැමිණ දකුණට තිබෙන අම්පාර මාර්ගයෙන් වඩිනාගල හන්දියට පැමිණ වමට හැරී ඉඟිණියාගල මාර්ගය දිගේ සේනානායක සමුද්‍රය පසු කර උද්‍යාන භාරකරුගේ කාර්යාලයට පැමිණිය හැක. දුර කි.මී. 372කි. නැතහොත් වඩිනාගල පසුකොට අම්පාරට ගොස් ඉඟිණියාගලට ළඟා විය හැකිය.
ඊට අමතරව කොළඹ සිට මහනුවර හරහා මහියංගන බිබිල මාර්ගයේ බිබිල නගරය පසු කර ඊට නුදුරින් ඇති කනුල්වෙල හන්දියෙන් වමට හැරී පිටකුඹුර, බුලූපිටිය, මුල්ලේගම, නාමල්ඔය පසුකොට ඉඟිණියාගලට පැමිණිය හැකිය. නැතහොත් බිබිල, පදියතලාව, මහඔය හරහා උහනට පැමිණ අම්පාර හරහා ඉඟිණියාගලට පැමිණිය හැකිය. දුර කි.මී. 368කි. එකී සියලූ මාර්ග ජීප්, වෑන්, බස් රථ ධාවනයට සුදුසු තත්ත්වයෙන් පවතී. කාර් රථ වලින් යන්නේ නම් ඒවා උසැති තත්ත්වයේ වාහනයක් විය යුතුය.
 

සංචාරකයන්ට පහසුකම්
දකුණු ඉන්දියාවේ කේරළ ප‍්‍රාන්තයේ පෙරියාර් විල් අභය භූමිය (^Periyar Lake Sanctuary) හා සමාන සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර අභය භූමිය (වනජීවි සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව) සංචාරකයින් සඳහා බෝට්ටු සේවාවක් පවත්වාගෙන යන එකම ස්ථානයයි.
දිනපතා සේනානායක සමුද්‍ර ජලාශයේ මෝටර් බෝට්ටු දෙකක් (2) ක‍්‍රියාත්මක වන අතර එකවර සංචාරකයින් (10) දස දෙනෙකුට බෝට්ටුවක යා හැකිය. අය කිරීම අයකුට වරුවකට රු: 350/- බැගිනි. සේවා ගාස්තුව මුළු කණ්ඩායමට රු: 400/-කි. ඉඟිණියාගල වැව් බැම්මෙන් ගමන් ආරම්භ කොට මග පෙන්වන්නා විසින් අලින් විවිධ පක්ෂීන් උද්‍යානයේ දැකුම්කළු ස්ථාන පෙන්වා පැය දෙකක (2) සංචාරයෙන් පසු ගමන අවසන් කෙරේ. මුලූ දවසේ සංචාරයක් නම් ගාස්තුව අයකුට රු: 650කි.

ජීප් සහ වෑන් රථ වලින් යන අය සඳහා උද්‍යානය තුළ කි.මී. තිස් පහක මාර්ග පද්ධතියක් නඩත්තු කෙරේ. සවස් කාලයේ වැව් තීරය සමීපයට ළඟා වන සංචාරකයින් හට තණකොළ බුදින හා පිපාසය සංසිඳුවාගන්නා අලි රංචු දැකිය හැකිය. මේ සඳහා ඉඟිණියාගල උද්‍යාන කාර්යාලයෙන් මුදල් ගෙවා බලපත‍්‍රයක් ලබා ගත යුතුවේ.

රාත‍්‍රී නවාතැන් ගැනීම සඳහා ඇති එකම සංචාරක බංගලාව එක්ගල්ඔය (Ekgaloya)  ඉඟිණියාගල සිට කි.මී. විස්සක් දුරින් පිහිටා ඇත. එය වෙන් කරවා ගැනීම බත්තරමුල්ල වනජීවි සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තු (දුරකථනය - 0112888585) කාර්යාලය සහ ඉඟිණියාගල කාර්යාලය (0632242002) හරහා සිදු කර ගත හැකිය.
එළිමහනේ කූඩාරම්වල රාත‍්‍රී ගත කිරීම සඳහා උද්‍යානය තුළ කොස්සපොළ මකරය, ඩ‍්‍රැකියුලා දුපත, නිල්ගල මකරය පාරේ මග දොරොව්ව සහ පරිවියන් ආර නමින් කූඩාරම් පොළවල් (Camp Sites) පහක් (5) තිබෙන අතර ඒවායේ නතර වීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය උපකරණ සියල්ල සංචාරකයින් විසින් රැගෙන යා යුතු වේ.
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජල ජීවි වගා සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය ඉඟිණියාගල වැව් බැම්ම සමීපයේ සංචාරක බංගලාවක් පවත්වාගෙන (දුරකථනය - 0632242084, 0112675316) යන අතර, වාරිමාර්ග දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සහ ලංකා විදුලි බල මණ්ඩලයේ සංචාරක බංගලා අම්පාර නගරයේ සහ ඊට නුදුරුව පිහිටා ඇත.
 

source:http://lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/107532

No mystery illness affecting Sinharaja elk

Wildlife Conservation Department Director General H. D. Ratnayake today refuted recent reports of a spread of an unknown illness among elk and monkeys in the Sinharaja rain forest.

The Director General said the recent reports that about 20 elk had died and monkeys had been paralyzed due to a mysterious illness were not true. He said the Department sent a team to investigate the situation about two weeks ago, and the report was submitted last week.

Ratnayake said according to the report, there was no evidence of a spread of such mysterious illness among elk or monkeys in the Sinharaja forest.He said however the department was continuously monitoring the situation.

Ratnayake said the team had encountered one elk which had died, and examinations are being carried out to find the cause of the death. The team comprising veterinarians suspect the elk could have died due to food poisoning. However, he confirmed there was no danger to the wildlife in Sinharaja.

Threatened species served up as delicacies for Chinese palates

By Malaka Rodrigo

Crocodile, tortoise and pangolins were being cooked in numbers at a restaurant in Hambantota and served up to Chinese workers at Hambantota Port who had flocked to the eatery to munch on the protected fauna they viewed as delicacies.

Some of the illicit meat that was found during the raid

Local residents yesterday said the Hambantota restaurant had attracted crowds of Chinese nationals working in the area. The restaurant’s Chinese owner, who initially claimed he had not known it was illegal to kill and serve up protected fauna in Sri Lanka, later accepted responsibility and was fined Rs. 320,000 after officers of the Hambantota Wildlife Range raided the restaurant on March 21.
The owner said the animals were regarded as a delicacy in China and that killing and eating them was allowed in that country.

Wildlife officers found 10kg of crocodile meat, 2kg of tortoise meat and 1kg of pangolin meat. The tortoise was cooked and about to be served at the time of the raid.While these animals have long been eaten by a minority of locals in the belief that the flesh has medicinal qualities, the Chinese find the animals to be a particular delicacy.

The Hambantota restaurant owner confessed that the meat he sold illegally had been supplied by locals.Conservationists fear the increased Chinese workforce in Sri Lanka and tourists from China could create a specific demand for these animals and that organised gangs could begin forming to supply the meat in commercial quantities.

The worry is also backed by other recent raids. In last February, it was reported that a Chinese national working at Hambantota port had been caught in Weligama, transporting six tortoises to Colombo. Again in February, Norochcholai police arrested two Chinese men for killing a tortoise they planned to cook and eat.In January, a restaurant in Narahenpita operated by a Chinese national was raided, and the Sunday Times reported at the time that police found live tortoises being prepared for the menu.

Environmentalists have praised the wildlife officers and police for their vigilance in cracking down on such crime but point to a need for preventative programmes in areas where there is a demand for this flesh.

China is the largest consumer of endangered wildlife flesh and products. Demand for elephant ivory, rhino horns, tiger parts and shark fins in East Asian countries with Chinese populations are pushing some of these endangered animals – some of which come from countries thousands of miles away – towards extinction.

It is feared this situation will only worsen as a dread combination of old customs and traditions together with new money, conspicuous consumption and powerful new aspirations drive a massive expansion in the consumption of wildlife parts and products in China alone.

The problem for Sri Lanka’s wildlife is that some of the many Chinese nationals working on local projects would not be aware that killing protected species is unlawful given that this flesh is readily available in China.Conservationists hope this would not fuel a similar desire for such flesh among Sri Lankans because the protected animals would be killed in even greater numbers.

Officials note that the consumption of protected species would not exist but for the presence of local poachers and say these rackets need to be stopped.

Corals shanghaied by Mattala workers

Three Chinese nationals working at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport were caught trying to smuggle 24 sets of coral to Shanghai.
They were stopped at Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake by Customs officers, and a search revealed the smuggled goods, which had been carefully wrapped in wet cloth in the men’s luggage.

The corals had been skilfully extracted from the seabed without any damage to their base. Oysters were also found in the luggage.
The three Chinese told Customs during the search operation on March 28 that they were workers at Mattala Airport and had collected the corals off the southern coast.

They pleaded not knowing that taking corals was an offence.The men were later released after a severe warning and allowed to resume their flight to Shanghai. On March 8, another Chinese was caught trying to smuggle out about 800 shells and pieces of coral. The Customs Biodiversity Unit said some of the shells belonged to protected species.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130407/news/threatened-species-served-up-as-delicacies-for-chinese-palates-40120.html

Water holes around Mattala closed to keep away birds and animals

By Leon Berenger

The Civil Aviation Authority has started to cover up the water holes in and around the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) to prevent birds and other wildlife species from entering the area since they could pose a serious threat to aircraft, a senior official said yesterday.

Civil Aviation Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri said they were also removing sources of fodder such as grass, weeds and seeds that could attract the birds and the animals to the area.�In addition, flares and crackers were also being exploded to scare away the birds and the animals shortly before the arrival or departure of an aircraft, he said.

Mr. Nimalsiri claimed that this was a part of the “eco-friendly action plan” that had come into effect since the opening of the MRIA on March 18. “The only way to prevent the birds and animals from interrupting aviation traffic is to deprive them of their water and fodder. The birds descend on the water holes in search of fish and their presence goes on to attract wild animals in search of food,” the Aviation Chief explained.

He also ruled out any plans to shoot down the birds since it was not environmentally friendly and not the right thing to do.The MRIA is situated in the heart of a large bird sanctuary that attracts thousands of migrant birds each year, and environmentalists have expressed serious concern for their future wellbeing as they could get entangled with flying aircraft.

Since the airport came into operation, there have been two reported cases of mid-air collisions between aircraft and large flocks of birds.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130407/news/water-holes-around-mattala-closed-to-keep-away-birds-and-animals-40385.html

Giant Tarantula Discovered: Venomous Sri Lankan Spider Threatened By Deforestation

It's huge, fast, venomous and the size of a human face. For some, Poecilotheria rajaei, a giant tarantula discovered recently in Sri Lanka, is the stuff of nightmares.

But for wildlife advocates, the spider might represent another cause for conservation: The tree-dwelling spider is threatened by habitat destruction.

"They are quite rare," Ranil Nanayakkara, co-founder of the Sri Lankan organization Biodiversity Education and Research, told Wired. "They prefer well-established old trees, but due to deforestation the number have dwindled and due to lack of suitable habitat they enter old buildings."


Habitat encroachment could mean the spider comes into more regular contact with humans. A dead specimen of Poecilotheria rajaei was found by a villager in 2009, and live spiders were recently discovered in an old hospital, among other places, Wired notes.

Deforestation is one of Sri Lanka's chief environmental concerns. According to a 2009 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 80 percent of Sri Lanka was once covered by closed canopy natural forest. By 1994, forest cover had decreased to 24 percent. The report linked deforestation to reduction of the island nation's biodiversity, among other issues.

Although some experts would like to conduct DNA sampling to determine whether the giant tarantula is in fact a new species, taxonomical evidence strongly suggests that it is a member of the genus Poecilotheria.

Poecilotheria are tree-dwelling tarantulas that known for their bright coloring and potent venom.

In 2010, biophysicists at the University of Buffalo identified a protein in tarantula venom that showed promise as a possible treatment for muscular dystrophy.

According to National Geographic, the goliath birdeater tarantula of South America may be the largest spider in the world, with a leg-span that can reach up to a foot in diameter.

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/giant-tarantula-discovered-venomous-sri-lankan-spider_n_3016673.html

Sethu project harmful to Lanka’s resources — SL experts

BY S. VENKAT NARAYAN Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI April 4: A high-level team of Sri Lankan marine scientists, environmentalists, geologists and marine engineers, appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has found that the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) is detrimental to the maritime and environmental resources of the island nation.

According to a report published in The Pioneer newspaper here today, the experts were shocked to learn that India had blatantly violated all global norms like the International Law of Seas and MARPOL Convention, in conceiving the project.

In a report submitted to the Sri Lankan government, the high-powered team has expressed dismay that though the 167-km long channel lies close to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between India and Sri Lanka, the Indian government has not taken into account the environmental and maritime impact the project could have on Sri Lanka.

As per the International Law of Seas accepted by the United Nations in 1968, India should have sought the concurrence of Sri Lanka before launching the project.

"The Sethusamudram Channel lies close to the IMBL between India and Sri Lanka. Both countries should get the concurrence of each other for any construction activities which fall near the IMBL. India has violated this age-old practice and Sri Lanka will definitely take up this issue," the newspaper quoted an unnamed source close to the Sri Lankan government as saying. He said that the Sri Lankan leaders, irrespective of party affiliations were upset over the indifference shown by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government towards the island nation while taking up the SSCP.

"You can expect a strongly worded statement by the Sri Lankan government any time now. The Sethusamudram Project in all likelihood will end up in the United Nations," said the source.

The MARPOL Convention (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) is a marine environmental convention designed to minimize pollution of the seas including dumping, oil spillage and exhaust pollution.

It was formed on October 2, 1983 (as a mark of respect to Mahatma Gandhi) and as of December 2005, 136 countries, representing 98 per cent of the world’s shipping tonnage, are parties to the Convention. It has been accepted all over the world that the Gulf of Mannar as well as the Palk Bay are ecological hot spots and nothing should be done to disturb their present status.

The scientific team found that the initial dredging, infinite maintenance dredging and subsequent shipping through the channel will be disastrous to Sri Lanka.

Ariyaratne Hewage, Secretary, Sri Lankan Education Ministry, was the chairman of the committee while Professor Shantha Hennayake, a geologist of international repute and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, was the vice-chairman .

The report submitted by the committee to the Sri Lankan Government has noted that, though the region through which the channel is being built is an ecologically and environmentally fragile area, no action has been taken by the Indian Government to minimize the environmental and maritime impact it could have on Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan experts have noted that the studies, primarily the project document and the Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) study carried out by India prior to the commencement of the SSCP, are inadequate.

"These studies have not identified and evaluated the full extent of the impact. The channel design has not been optimized for minimum impact. The most pressing concern for Sri Lanka is that none of the Indian studies have proposed any mitigation measures for the impact occurring on Sri Lanka," Prof Hennayake told the Indian daily.

He said Sri Lanka has nothing against India building any channels or canals so long as they do not disturb the ecological and environmental balance of the region.

"However, this is a project which is detrimental to both India and Sri Lanka. Any dredging work along the placid waters of the Palk Bay is a sure recipe to environmental disaster.

"Strangely, India confined the study of the environmental and ecological impact of the project to their side and forgot the existence of Sri Lanka. This is saddening," he said.

The experts have warned that the marine wealth (especially fish) in the region will be destroyed permanently with the commissioning of the SSCP.

"The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay, lying between the two countries, are unique, biologically rich areas linking two large marine ecosystems. This stretch of the sea is a rich source of all types of fish. Unless we accurately forecast and adequately mitigate the impact of the dredging of the channel this could destroy this sensitive and fragile marine ecosystem located between the two countries. It would also impact the fishing communities on the northern and north-western coast of Sri Lanka as they mainly fish in the potential area of impact on the Sri Lankan side of the channel," said the recommendations submitted by the expert committee.

The study found that modelling studies were also inadequate. "Modelling needs to be backed by better field data to reach levels of accuracy required to satisfy the requirement of such a major undertaking. Increase in volumetric water exchange across Adam’s Bridge due to the canal and its impact on the ecology of the region has not been studied," said the report.

Source:http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=76232