Lessons from Sri Lanka

I VISITED the island country of Sri

Lanka for the first time last month, when

I was invited to attend the Asian

Regional Biodiversity Program of the International Union for

Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN, or the

World Conservation Union) on Oct. 24-26, and the Regional

Biodiversity Advisory Board meeting on Oct. 27-29.

Both meetings took place in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka

which, literally translated, means ''beautiful land.''

Sri Lanka has a population of about 18 million and a land area of

65,610 square kilometers.

We flew in via Bangkok and reached our hotel at about 3 a.m., in

time to see the day break.

On the way to the hotel, our vehicle was stopped by military

checkpoints five times. A feeling of deja vu swept over me, and

I recalled the dark days of the dictatorship. For a moment I

thought we would never reach the hotel, and that I had made a

mistake in accepting the invitation.

But the next morning I traveled around Colombo, and was

surprised to see that the guns and brown fatigues were gone.

What I saw was greenery all around. In Colombo Park at the

heart of the city, wildlife--elephants, tigers, deer, birds and other

species--was everywhere.

I was invited by friends to go hunting for deer, boar and wild

geese in the highlands, where sustainable hunting is practiced. I

begged off because of our tight schedule.

Conference issues

The conference was opened by Aban Marker Kabraji, IUCN

regional director for Asia. After she spoke, it was the turn of

Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, minister of public information, home

affairs and plantation industries. It surprised me that his

ministry also handled the Wildlife Bureau, in contrast to our

system in the Philippines.

Wickramanayake spoke of the high respect Sri Lankans had for

nature and the protection of the environment, as embodied in

the teachings of Buddha.

Instead of recommending the sites to visit, he told us: ''Go out

and see for yourselves, see the richness of our natural

environment and how the people commune with nature.''

Mahinda Wijeskera, minister of forests and the environment,

then cordially welcomed us and spoke of the bond of unity and

respect between man and nature.

It was the large-scale and rapid destruction of the world's

biodiversity that prompted the international community to adapt

the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The CBD has been ratified by more than 170 countries including

the Philippines, which is recognized as a leader in marine and

coastal protection.

Along with other Asian countries, the Philippines presented its

National Biodiversity Action Plan at the conference.

The Filipino delegates consisted of Angie Meniado and Janette

Garcia, representing the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources; Arylynne C. Aquino of Enterprise Works; and

myself, representing the Ecological Society of the Philippines.

I attended three workshops, but focused on those devoted to

alien and invasive species and genetically modified organisms

(GMOs).

GMOs are a big issue in the Philippines. But I was surprised to

learn that they are a bigger issue in other countries such as

Bangladesh and India, which stand firm against them.

This should be food for thought for our government leaders.

Site to see

We visited Kandelama, approximately 200 km away from

Colombo near the city of Dambulla. It is indeed a site to see,

with its huge reservoirs ordered built by the king at about 477

A.D.

Kandelama is home to Mt. Sigiriya, a World Heritage site, where

the king built a palace/fortress and ruled from 477 to 495 A.D.

But Sigiriya was more than a gloomy and forbidding fortress. It

served as a royal citadel for more than 18 years.

There are many interpretations of the Sigiriya period, and its

history is replete with legends of love and betrayal. But one

story endures--that of Kasyapa, its creator-king blessed with an

artist's soul.

Kasyapa built a palace and city modeled on the mythical abode

of Kuvera, the god of wealth, atop the Sigiriya rock. In a

sheltered pocket of the rock, he housed the famous frescoes of

which 19 of the more than 500 have survived the test of time.

Five centuries before Christ, Sri Lanka was already throbbing

with vitality and a well-ordered civilization.

Its cities, palaces, reservoirs and works of art bear testament to

the character, imagination, culture, philosophy and faith of its

people.

I had the honor and opportunity to climb the rock fortress, and

saw for myself how one of the world's first gardens were

maintained while the rest of the planet was still in the Stone

Age.

Visitors to Sri Lanka have the privilege of imbibing the richness

of its ancient culture and learning from its people.

Let us draw knowledge from it and other great empires of the

past, and replicate their high respect for nature so we can live in

communion with Mother Earth.

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The author is president of the Ecological Society of the

Philippines and regional councilor of the IUCN.