IS SRI LANKA CULLING ITS WILD ELEPHANTS – BY PROXY? island.lk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from island.lk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana
In 1949, a year after Sri Lanka gained independence, a Committee on the Preservation of Wildlife (Sessional paper XIX – 1949) recommended that when development takes place, elephants living in the proposed areas be driven into national reserves and sanctuaries and that temporary corridors be set between these protected areas for the purpose of these drives. Their well-meaning recommendations were based on the knowledge that they had at the time, primarily anecdotal evidence, with little or no comprehensive research available on elephant distribution, ranging patterns and behaviour. At that time, the human population of the country was less than eight million and the supposed wild elephant population was about 1,500. We now know that this latter figure was far from accurate and that that the true figure probably exceeded 10,000.
Humans Vs Conservation and Management of Wild Elephants dailynews.lk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailynews.lk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“The state of the planet is broken. Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal.”
– Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General, December 2020
In Sri Lanka, the current Infection Fatality Ratio (IFR) for Covid-19, as per official figures in media reports, stands at approximately 0.5%. That is 1 in every 200 people who contract the virus sadly passes away. Yet, hope is on the way. The amazing development of vaccines, in record time, may soon help contain this pandemic. We caused it, and we will soon have the means to cure it.
On the other hand, if we continue to destroy our forests, irreparably damage our climate, pollute the land and sea, and jeopardize the country’s water catchment areas, then human mortality would not be contained at just 0.5%. Instead, in time, we would all, 100% of us, face extinction. We will take most other species into oblivion with us, as well. At the current rate of destruction, it is not inconceivable that this may happen in less than a hundr
“The state of the planet is broken. Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal.”
Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General, December 2020
In Sri Lanka, the current Infection Fatality Ratio (IFR) for Covid-19, as per official figures in media reports, stands at approximately 0.5%. That is 1 in every 200 people who contract the virus sadly passes away. Yet, hope is on the way. The amazing development of vaccines, in record time, may soon help contain this pandemic. We caused it, and we will soon have the means to cure it
On the other hand, if we continue to destroy our forests, irreparably damage our climate, pollute the land and sea, and jeopardize the country’s water catchment areas, then human mortality would not be contained at just 0.5%. Instead, in time, we would all, 100% of us, face extinction. We will take most other species into oblivion with us, as well. At the current rate of destruction, it is not inconceivable that this may happen in less than a hundred ye