In 1981, a schoolboy, Aravinda de Silva (now dengue specialist at the University of North Carolina) met two foreign ornithologists, planning an expedition to the Sinharaja forest. Their method of studying birds entailed killing and mounting them. Aravinda saw their equipment, which included firearms smuggled in American diplomatic bags.
Aravinda told his friend Ravi Algama (now a successful lawyer), who called fellow-bird watcher, Lalanath de Silva. The three friends went to the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The expedition went ahead after diplomatic pressure was exerted. Lalanath petitioned President Jayawardene, arguing a violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty. The President ordered the expedition to be stopped.
That was how EFL was born.
The garage of Ravi’s home was EFL’s HQ until 1989. In Ravi’s words: “These students had many things in common including a love for the wilderness, an interest in camping, hiking and bird watching and perhaps a surfeit of idealism and naivety.” The third member of the founding trio, Lalanath de Silva, is a renaissance man. An experienced public interest litigator, he is also an accomplished musician - flautist, composer and conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka.
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| EFL Board 89-90: L to R: Yasmin Samarawickrema, Ravi Algama, Lalanath de Silva (Chairman & Executive Director), Iranganie Serasinghe and Lalith Wickramanayake |
An early supporter of EFL was the actress, Iranganee Serasinghe. A nature-lover from childhood shewas a founder member of the organisation Ruk Rakganno, (the Tree Protection Society).
EFL spent its fledgling years gathering data and formulating plans for future environmental safeguards in Sri Lanka. Drawing up the Environmental Law course syllabus for the Law College and Faculty in 1989-90 was an important step because the main thrust of its work is to use legal expertise to protect the environment. One of the most successful programmes it ran was a series of seminars for Rangers of the Forest Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation, giving them specialised legal training, to prosecute encroachers, poachers and those engaged in illegal logging. The number of successful prosecutions increased significantly after these seminars.
EFL’s main aim is to monitor the enforcement of the law of the land for the benefit of the land and the people. Today EFL has fully-fledged legal and scientific departments managed by two professionals, a permanent staff of twelve and supporting staff island-wide.
In 1984, EFL filed its first legal case in the Supreme Court against the Director General of Wildlife. A politician had given people permission to cultivate within the Gal Oya National Park. These people soon started killing the animals. The judge issued a stay order and EFL's standing in such cases was firmly established.
Many successful court actions followed but EFL recognised that mediation, where all parties come to an amicable settlement, where no one "wins" at the expense of the others, was a more appropriate way of settling these problems. A Mediation Centre was set up in 1998 with the assistance of the Asia Foundation.
A current EFL project at Maha Oya will assess impacts of sand-mining on the environment and communities. The project is currently providing training on alternative livelihoods for communities engaged in sand and clay mining.
Children in the area are taught the merits of protecting the environment and made aware that sand and clay mining should not be a future livelihood. An important feature of this project is collaboration with a number of government agencies including the Coast Conservation Department, the Department of Irrigation and National Aquatic Resources Authority.
EFL has developed strong global links. John Bonine, Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, said EFL was instrumental in: “first wedding strong-willed activist lawyers to one another in Sri Lanka to fight for ecological rights; then wedding public interest lawyers in the region to one another; wedding law students and young lawyers to careers in the public interest; and wedding a sense of social justice and human rights to the struggle to preserve the common heritage of our environment.”
Sharmini Ratwatte currently chairs the EFL board whose other members include Prasanna Jayawardena, Uditha Egalahewa , Mario Gomez, Ravi Fernando, Rukshan Jayawardene and Eric Wikramanayake.
Founder Ravi Algama said: “It is certain that EFL’s challenges in the next 30 years, will be different to those we faced in the first 30 years”. Ravi and co-founder Lalanath de Silva are worried that the need for economic growth and foreign investment following the victory over terrorism will endanger the environment. Current director Eric Wikramanayake is optimistic that these challenges can be met.
He believes that EFL can work with the government and the private sector to make a significant contribution towards conserving Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural heritage. “What we have is a model that is affordable, environmentally friendly, and will attract high-end tourists while helping to conserve the environment and biodiversity,” he says. |
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