Sunday Times 2
He left an indelible mark in conservation in Sri Lanka
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society wishes, with profound sadness, to announce the passing away, on May 13, 2014, of one of its most illustrious former Presidents, ‘Sri Lanka Ratne’ Thilo Walter Hoffmann, at the age of 92, after a short illness. His contribution to the cause of conservation in Sri Lanka ranks him as one of the greats of that movement, and under his leadership and guidance, the WNPS was at the forefront of those battles.
In 1946 just after World War II, Hoffmann was selected to take up an appointment as an Advisor with A. Baur and Co. Ltd. in Ceylon (as it was called then). His extensive work took him to remote parts of the island. He took this opportunity to explore and observe Sri 
Lanka’s natural habitats, and its fauna and flora. For more than six decades, he explored the island and, most importantly, to record its changes over the years. This knowledge was helpful to him when as President of the WNPS, he with the help of notable others in the conservation movement, persuaded the authorities to save the Sinharaja Forest, and have many other areas declared as National Parks and Sanctuaries. For the cause of the former campaign, he proposed the change of the name of the society from the Wildlife Protection Society to that of the Wildlife & Nature protection Society, a change that was wholeheartedly endorsed by the membership, and endures to this day.
Hoffmann was elected Treasurer of the WNPS in 1961, Hon. Gen. Secretary between 1962 &1967, and President between 1968 &1979. At the end of his tenure of office as President, he was instrumental in increasing the membership of the society from approx. 500 to over 5,000 in number.
Of the many other notable achievements of the society under his leadership, the following must rank at the top:
- The amalgamation of the Wilpattu West Sanctuary with the Wilpattu National Park.
- The declaration of the Uda Walawe National Park in 1972.
- The formation of the society’s Schools Nature Club Programme in 1976.
- After much difficulty, the society was granted the lease of Crown Land near the Wilpattu & Yala National Parks for the building of WNPS bungalows.
In 1986, Thilo Hoffmann was appointed, in his own right, as a Project Manager of the Mahaweli Environmental Project and as a Member of the Mahaweli Environmental Panel, bodies that were responsible for the establishment of the Maduru Oya, Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya (Flood Plains) National Parks.
In 1985, in recognition of Hoffmann`s contribution to the cause of conservation of nature and wildlife in Sri Lanka, the Thalawila Bungalow in Wilpattu was named after him by the Ministry of State.
Hoffmann was also for many years the central figure in the Ceylon Bird Club. He served as an Advisor to the Fauna and Flora Advisory Committee from 1965 to 1993 as a representative of the WNPS and later as that of the Bird Club.
In 1988, the UNEP named him as a `GLOBAL 500 ` Laureate. In 2004, he received a Presidential Award for his outstanding contribution to the betterment of the environment of Sri Lanka. The following year, President Chandrika Kumaratunga bestowed on him the title Sri Lanka Ratne, the highest honour the country can accord to a foreign national!
Thilo Hoffmann has left an indelible mark in the field of conservation in Sri Lanka, and on the WNPS in particular. His will be a hard act to follow, but to follow it the WNPS must, to ensure that all that he worked so hard for is conserved for posterity, and for the health and prosperity of this island Nation.
May his heavenly sojourns be in the pristine environment he strove so valiantly to preserve on earth.