- A conversation with Prof. Sarath Kotagama
Conservation and Sri Lanka is a multifaceted issue. Our (relatively) tiny island is an amazing hub of biodiversity, with an incredibly rich diversity of flora and fauna that puts other countries to shame. And we understand this; we celebrate it, and both locally and internationally. However, Sri Lanka’s environment and wildlife face many threats. Almost daily, we see reports of cases of deforestation, the killing of wild animals, encroachment into protected areas, pollution, and increased human-wildlife conflict. This is in addition to global-scale issues like climate change.
On 19 August, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS), Sri Lanka’s oldest (and the world’s third oldest) nature protection society, will host their monthly Public Lecture, speaking to the Sri Lankan conservation legend, Vidya Jothi Emeritus Prof. Sarath Kotagama on how we can protect and conserve our biodiversity for the future.
Prof. Kotagama has been at the heart of conservation; from his 17-year-old environmental activist self, when still at school, to the 70-year-old he is today. An eminent ornithologist, his principal research was on the rainforest bird flocks of the Sinharaja World Heritage Forest, which he carried out, continuously, for over 30 years. Since 1974, Prof. Kotagama has lectured at the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo and at the Zoological Division, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Open University of Sri Lanka, having supervised over 500 undergraduate student projects, over 50 master’s, and over 25 PhD programmes between 1989 and now. He is currently a scientific advisor to the Ministry of Wildlife Resources Conservation. He has also served as a consultant to many government and non-government organisations, and as a member of several advisory committees in the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), Department of National Museums, and the Sri Lanka Foundation.
Ahead of his WNPS Public Lecture, titled “Protection, Conservation, and Future Challenges”, Brunch chatted with Prof. Kotagama for some of his views on conservation.
Starting out young
For Prof. Kotagama, an appreciation for nature and conservation was ingrained in him as a child, having grown up in a remote village called Kotagama, close to Wellassa in the Monaragala District. By his own admission, Prof. Kotagama spent his childhood in the jungle and this influenced him to be environmentally friendly and develop a close relationship with nature. Studying at S. Thomas’ College, Bandarawela, and then S. Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa, he was also mentored in bird-watching. “I then decided I would become a birder,” Prof. Kotagama said, adding that he decided to study birds at the age of 13, going onto pursue the field of study at university and then with his PhD as well.
His principal research into the rainforest bird flocks of the Sinharaja Forest began in the 1980s, as part of efforts to ensure that the rainforest was saved. Even though, at the time, these research efforts, combined with the research efforts of botanists from the University of Peradeniya, the activities of the WNPS, and other actors, were able to provide enough statistics to convince the then Government to change their direction with regard to logging in the Sinharaja Forest, there was still no guarantee that the forest would be protected in the future. These research efforts did, however, make the application for Sinharaja to be considered a heritage site possible, and it is, to date, the only wilderness heritage area in Sri Lanka having been declared a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Ornithology in Sri Lanka and threats to avian conservation
With birds and avian behaviour in general, Prof. Kotagama shared that it’s important to look at our endemic birds, 90% of which are found in the Hill Country and the Wet Zone, where much of our national development has taken place over the last 100 years, leading us to one of the most pressing threats facing not just endemic birds but almost every form of wildlife in Sri Lanka: Habitat destruction.
“Much of their habitat has been taken away, and their livelihoods are at risk in a way,” Prof. Kotagama shared, stressing that while some endemic birds like the jungle fowl are widely distributed across the island, almost 90% of our endemic birds are limited to the small pieces of jungle that make up about 3% of our country, a dismal figure of forest cover to have in Prof. Kotagama’s opinion.
A bigger threat, and one that has a global impact, is climate change, with rising temperatures affecting the nature of our forests. Increased temperatures would mean that birds, especially those in the mountain regions, would struggle to survive. “Recent reports show that the temperature is definitely going to go up, and mountain climates are going to become dryer. What will that mean for the birds? This is something we need to look at, and we have not even started. We have looked at the biology of some species, but we are far from understanding some of their basic needs.”
Prof. Kotagama shared that there are very few ornithologists in Sri Lanka, which is part of what makes understanding the needs of birds so difficult, noting that, to him, there were possibly only five dedicated ornithologists, and even from this number, only three work exclusively on birds, with the others doing different fields of study.
Another very concerning aspect of conservation for Prof. Kotagama is the lack of priority given to climate change, adding that habitat destruction and climate change are not the only conservation issues that need attention, and that he will be discussing these other issues as well during the WNPS Public Lecture.
It is important, Prof. Kotagama noted, to prioritise basic research when it comes to conservation, and that the importance of basic research is often overlooked, which contributes to the wrong things being prioritised because of a lack of basic information on a particular species and a lack of understanding of the direct impact that species has on its ecosystem.
Conservation and humanity
Commenting on why conservation is such a difficult topic to build engagement with, Prof. Kotagama explained that a lot of it is to do with how people grow up. “It doesn’t matter to them because it doesn’t touch their life,” he said. “It touched me because of the way I was brought up in school and at home. I was in nature, and in wildlife areas. But for people, both the global population and Sri Lankans who have been brought up in built-up environments, what is the personal interaction that they have built up with nature and wildlife?”
Prof. Kotagama also drew attention to the term “wildlife”, sharing that it does carry negative connotations, adding that no one wants to live with “wildlife” or be part of a “wildlife system” because of the underlying message that it is wild. And no one wants to interact with the wild. We spend a lot of energy cleaning and protecting our homes and environments from the wild, from nuisance plants to pests like insects and snakes. This is especially true with those in urban areas; those in villages and who live in wilderness areas are automatically more amenable to nature, but those in urban areas are not.
On a personal level, Prof. Kotagama has always preferred the term “biological diversity”, which over the years has adapted to become “biodiversity”, though this is more among the international community and the term is yet to sink in in Sri Lanka. Once this shift in mindset of moving away from using the term “wildlife” and towards using “biodiversity” is achieved, Prof. Kotagama feels there will be more respect for and engagement with conservation and a more integrated lifestyle that embraces biodiversity.
Youth also have an important role to play in conservation, Prof. Kotagama shared, adding that youths need to be engaged in conservation with a view to the future, and that youths shouldn’t be involved in conservation simply because they’re youths. “You need to get youths involved today for tomorrow when they become adults and older citizens. We were involved in our youth and that’s why we’re involved today. When you disconnect them, as youths, from conservation, you will have a disconnected generation of adults as caretakers. The purpose of conservation activities with youths must be a little more thoughtful and laid out so that they can learn something to enable themselves to become better ambassadors for nature in the future.”
The WNPS Monthly Lecture, “Protection, Conservation, and Future Challenges: The views of a Legend of Conservation”, with Prof. Sarath Kotagama will take place on 19 August at 6 p.m. online via Zoom. To sign up, please visit the WNPS Facebook page.
