Well known wildlife researcher to deliver lecture on ‘The Future of Nature in Sri Lanka’
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Dr. Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi
Dr. Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi will deliver the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society’s monthly lecture on June 15 at 6 p.m. at Jasmine Hall, BMICH. His topic will be ‘The Future of Nature in Sri Lanka’.
Dr. Manamendra-Arachchi will discuss his 40 years of experience in wildlife research. He will focus the audience’s attention on the ideas he has expressed, and predictions he has made since the 1980s, and discuss the future of Nature in Sri Lanka, as he sees it, and what needs to be done to ensure its preservation. The lecture, will be delivered primarily in Sinhala.
Dr Manamendra-Arachchi is well known for the volume of work that he has undertaken over four decades. His numerous publications – research papers and books – are invaluable reading.
He is credited with discovering, and scientifically describing, over 70 species of amphibians, reptiles and mammals of Sri Lanka; over half of the hitherto known 100+ species of amphibians. He has published a considerable number of research papers at both local and international levels on Zoo-Archaeology, Paleontology, Ecology and Taxonomy.
In Dr. Manamendra-Arachchi’s view, taxonomy is important for wildlife conservations and research is necessary to ensure the survival of species. He believes that after the 1990s, the importance of the country’s biodiversity was enhanced through the attention paid by Sri Lankan researchers to fish, gecko, lizard and snake species; he had played a major role in this renaissance. However, as a realist, he understands the importance that the biodiversity of Sri Lanka has in boosting its National income.
In 2022, in recognition of Dr. Manamendra-Arachchi’s contribution to Science, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura honoured him with a Doctor of Philosophy degree. He has also been recognized, both locally and internationally for his achievements – the Presidential Award for Taxonomy and Zoo-Archaeology in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2009, and in 2008 the award for the Top Ten discovery of remarkable new species’’ from the International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University.
The monthly lecture of the WNPS supported by the Nations Trust Bank is open to all, free of charge.
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