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Still wild about our wilds
Leading conservationist, Thilo Hoffmann who was recently bestowed the title of ‘Sri Lanka Ratna’ for his contribution to the protection of fauna and flora in this country talks to Lankika de Livera
He is a Swiss national by birth, but loves Sri Lanka with fervour akin to a son of its soil. For 52 years, Thilo Hoffmann lived and worked in Sri Lanka. While he rose to be the Chairman of A. Baur & Company he worked tirelessly to safeguard our forests and wildlife.

He knows every nook and cranny of this country, having travelled far and wide, savouring the beauty of its wilderness and the peace and quiet of the dense forests. He reminiscences of the years gone by and sighs that more could have been done to preserve these places.

On November 14 this year, the President of Sri Lanka awarded Thilo Hoffmann, the title of ‘Sri Lanka Ratna’ for his yeoman service for the conservation of this country’s fauna and flora. ‘Sri Lanka Ratna’ is the highest honour conferred to non-nationals, awarded for exceptionally outstanding and most distinguished service to Sri Lanka and humanity in general. Mr. Hoffmann, now 83 years old was not present to receive the award personally as he was at the time convalescing from a lung operation.

Having first come to Sri Lanka in 1946, he joined Baurs as a scientific advisor, and rose to the position of chairman. He still holds the position of Honorary Chairman and now divides his time between Switzerland and Sri Lanka.

Wild life enthusiasts remember how Hoffman campaigned to preserve the Sinharaja forest which had been earmarked for a timber industry, fighting at times a lone battle against the authorities and other powerful vested interests to save this rainforest. It is he who was responsible for restoring Horton Plains back to its natural habitat, after it had been turned into a potato plantation.
The Udawalawe National Park became a reality due to his efforts as did the Maduru Oya National Park. The Bundala National Park and the Anavilundawa Sanctuary were declared Ramsar sites, on his research and proposals.
As President for eleven years of the Wild Life and Nature Protection Society, he did away with the clause that promoted the right of members to shoot “game” legitimately – by banning it.

Hoffman believes that the concept of eco-tourism and development of remote areas is going to be detrimental to the country in terms of nature and wild life. “They are going to the most remote areas and destroying the wilderness in the name of development and tourism. The very things that attract tourists to this country are being destroyed. What most tourists want is sun and sand, so keep them in those areas without pushing them into the Knuckles and other places which should be protected. Eco-tourism has become a fashionable term, but it has been misunderstood and is really causing harm,” he says.

Hoffman has written innumerable papers and articles on wildlife and conservation. The extensive material named “The Hoffmann Archives” is now housed at the headquarters of A. Baur and Company and is available as reference material for conservationists.

One of Sri Lanka’s leading ornithologists, he is the author of the standard book on the threatened birds of the country, and a co-revisionist of G.M. Henry’s classic “A Guide to the Birds of Ceylon”. He was chairman of the Ceylon Bird Club and the Asia Section of ICBP, the predecessor of BirdLife International. The celebrated Serendib Scops Owl, the first new species of bird to be discovered in Sri Lanka in 130 years was given the scientific name Otus thilohoffmanni, as its discoverer Deepal Warakagoda, wished to honour Mr. Hoffmann for saving Sinharaja, where it was first seen, and his other work in conservation and ornithology.

His blue eyes twinkling with recollection, Hoffman spoke affectionately about his wife Mae who predeceased him a few years ago. She had supported him in all he did. “She was a town girl, but accompanied me where ever I decided to go, however difficult the conditions were. She never complained.”
“I don’t know why and I cannot explain, but I feel a strong bond to this country. Almost all the photographs I have taken in my whole life have been taken in Sri Lanka,” he says.

Excerpts from the interview:
=There is a common misconception in this country that wild life and nature appreciation is for the elite – what are your observations on this and on over-visitation of wild life parks?

Conservation is basically for the people. I don’t believe that the wild life parks should be visited by large numbers of people and especially those who are not really interested in nature. For those seeking fun there are so many other places like the beaches, the mountains and towns with many other things. We must not misuse a national park as a place for having fun. All over the world in wild life parks they are restricting numbers. An over-visited park shows signs of it. Animals become shy and they no longer can be seen. The refuse and the dust reduce the value of a park. In Yala, those who come on pilgrimage to Kataragama drive into the park as an extension to their tour. Most of them are really not interested and do not have a love of nature.

Sustainable use and people-participation were concepts brought to this country by foreigners, I believe mostly from America. Within these concepts, the villagers living close to the parks should benefit materially by the park and thus become embroiled in the conservation process. Those living in the peripheries of Yala, Uda Walawe, Bundala, Gal Oya are not villagers who had been there at the time of setting up parks. Those traditional people actually moved away. The people living close to the parks now are really new settlers. Those living in the peripheries with paddy fields, access to tanks etc are not interested in getting involved with the conservation process.

What are the measures that can be adopted to curb over-visitation to our National Parks?
If people can stand in queues to book the bungalows within the National Parks, I don’t see why they cannot wait in a vehicle queue at Palatupana, to get into Yala. Only a certain number of vehicles should be permitted inside the park at any given time.

Yala has withstood over-visitation but now Uda Walawe is also coming to that. Wilpattu with its villus has a delicate eco-system and if it is over-visited it will be destroyed. Even Horton Plains is a place where over-visitation has threatened its existence. Urgent measures have to be adopted with this regard.

You have long proposed getting the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary declared a National Park. How is this progressing?
This is to protect it, firstly by creating a consciousness in the people of its value. In a sanctuary or national park no one can legitimately cut down trees or kill any animals and creatures. One would require an entry permit to enter a national park. The excuses the authorities give are the Adam’s Peak pilgrims. But of course this could go on with permits being issued. Perhaps there would then be more control and people would not be consuming alcohol, littering and misbehaving as is happening now.

My proposal originally was to join the Peak Wilderness, Horton Plains and Hakgala into “The Highland National Park”. But it is not possible now as Hakgala has got isolated. But still the Peak Wilderness together with the Horton Plains could be the “Highland National Park”. The Peak Wilderness is a remarkable place where from low elevations above sea level, there are places where it rises up to five to six thousand feet.

A Strict Natural Reserve is an area which is only accessible for scientific research purposes and thus it becomes sort of ‘unreal’ to people. But a national park allows people to go there while preserving the place. This is what I want for the Peak Wilderness area.

I have come to know that the Forest Department has been given control over certain portions of the Peak Wilderness. Now this is illegal. Only the Wild Life Department can be the authority of a sanctuary. The Forest Department cannot.

What was the moment that you felt a great sense of achievement in your endeavours to conserve the fauna and flora of our land?
It was the moment when I realized that my efforts had been fruitful and that the Sinharaja Forest was to be kept a protected area. The Government at the time had signed a contract with the Canadian company to fell all the trees of the Sinharaja forest over a planned period of forty years to be fed into a foreign-funded timber factory at Kosgama.

A huge amount of money is generated by way of ticket sales at the gates of the national parks. But why is it that there is inadequate money to sustain the parks?
The money generated now goes into the state coffers and they dole out a certain percentage for the upkeep of the parks. This percentage is always insufficient. Monies generated in the parks should go back into the parks and only the surplus should be going into government coffers.

Now the wild life parks are being looked at as money-making concerns. This is all wrong. The parks should be self-supporting.

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