On Thursday, 20 May 2021, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS) will be hosting a webinar titled “Conserving Horton Plains: What the Science Tells Us” at 6 p.m. via Zoom. This most recent instalment of the WNPS Monthly Lecture will be conducted by biodiversity scientist Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda.
Dr. Pethiyagoda has published widely on Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora, including more than 60 research papers. In addition, he has authored several books on Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora, through the Wildlife Heritage Trust (WHT), a foundation he endowed in 1991. The WHT built up Sri Lanka’s largest specimen collection for research, which was gifted to the National Museum in 2009. It has also helped several outstanding young biodiversity researchers expand their careers by undertaking postgraduate research and some 150 new species were discovered and described through this work.
Dr. Rohan is also an Editor of the journal Zootaxa, has headed several state entities, and served as Environment Advisor to the government and as Deputy Chair of the Species Survival Commission. He has won wide international recognition for his work, including a Rolex Award.
Horton Plains National Park
Declared a national park under Section 2 of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance in 1988 and managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in accordance with the management prescriptions given in the Protected Area Management Plan prepared for the area in 2005, Horton Plains National Park is well recognised for its rich biodiversity given to a high level of endemism.
Horton Plains National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka and occupies a land area about 3,109 hectares (ha). It is a sensitive and fragile montane ecosystem encompassing a remarkable combination of flora and fauna, bearing great importance as one of the major catchment areas of our island.
It contains the largest single extent of montane grasslands and dwarf forests on mountain slopes. The lower part of the grasslands acts as a sponge in storing the headwaters of a number of important rivers. Comprising a gently undulating highland plateau at the southern end of the central mountains massif of Sri Lanka, its surroundings forests and the adjoining Peak Wilderness sanctuary consolidate Sri Lanka’s most important catchment area of almost all major rivers. The plains are also of outstanding habitats and endemic plants and animals representatives of the country wet and montage zones.
Conservation efforts
Speaking with Dr. Pethiyagoda about the importance of conservation efforts with regard to the national park, he shared that there is often a disconnect when it comes to what is being said in the science of discovery, what is needed, and the eventual administrative action that takes place in order to bring conservation into effect.
Just about everyone who visits a protected area in Sri Lanka comes away with many ideas of how its management could be improved, and it is evident that Horton Plains is no exception. Despite its small size, Horton Plains is one of Sri Lanka’s most unique and priceless biodiversity assets; however, it faces graver threats than most other protected areas.
Some such challenges faced by the plains are identified as over-visitation, fires, alien species, pest species, illegal mining, forest dieback, population declines, pollution, and climate change, among many others. While a great deal of research has been done on most of these problems, Dr. Pethiyagoda stated that translating scientific findings into management interventions remains a formidable challenge.
In this lecture, Dr. Pethiyagoda commented, he would be exploring the threats that confront Horton Plains and discuss how we could respond to these threats in the most effective and suitable manner.
WNPS notes that the solutions Dr. Pethiyagoda proposes may be perceived as provocative, controversial, and perhaps even aggressive. However, unless these recommendations are openly discussed among serious-minded conservationists, the decline of this jewel in the crown of Sri Lankan biodiversity is set to continue.
The 40-minute lecture will be followed by an extended discussion time so that listeners can ask questions or challenge the solutions Dr. Pethiyagoda offers.
‘Conserving Horton Plains’ by Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda
Date: 20 May 2021
Time: 6 p.m. via Zoom
To sign up: https://forms.gle/GSAjK2S1kPBDWD7h7
