Resurrecting a piece of Jaffna’s scientific history

By David Ebert

DILMAH  Conservation, along with its partners the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) and the Centre for Children’s Happiness, Jaffna (CCH), celebrated the opening of the first building of the new Field Research Station facility in Thondamanaru, Jaffna on 1 February.

The construction of the building was coordinated through the ‘Reconciliation through the Power of Nature’ program carried out by Dilmah Conservation and its partners the FOGSL and CCH and was handed over its custodians, the Field Work Centre (FWC), as well as the people of Jaffna. During the ceremony, Dilmah Conservation also announced the initiation of the Merrill J. Fernando Award forHabitat and Species Conservation, an annual award aimed at supporting conservation efforts in the ecologically diverse Jaffna peninsula.   

The field research centre in Thondamanaru had its beginnings way back in the mid 1950s, when the idea of carrying out a hydrological survey of the Thondamanaru lagoon and its surrounding habitats was advocated in an attempt to change the salinity of its brackish waters in the hope of improving the ground water for the area’s inhabitants.

The specific Thondamanaru area was best suited for scientists to observe the gradual changes that would take place among the flora and fauna of the extensive waterways and varied habitats located within short distances of each other.

What started out as a single-building outpost for volunteer university students and academics to shelter in while carrying out the required testing procedures, in the following years grew into a fully functional field research centre that boasted a comprehensive laboratory, library and hostel facility as well. The centre soon gained prominence among botanists, subsequently playing host to a regular influx of academics and students eager to put into practice their field research skills; that is until the fateful year of 1984.

The ethnic conflict was still in its infancy at the time and the location was proving to be a strategically important piece of infrastructure that could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the separatists by the Government forces. Hence, the facility was ordered to be evacuated within 48 hours, after which the Government planned to raze the buildings that had for decades served as a receptacle for the valuable scientific data amassed throughout the centre’s history.

The reverberations of the centre’s loss were felt far and wide; affecting not only the country’s scientific community but significantly setting back the efforts and productivity of the Northern Province’s scientific community, themselves losing a facility that was considered a symbol that typified their own contribution in the fields of biology and botany.

Even though the equipment and papers of the FRS were evacuated to several alternative locations around the country prior to its destruction, the biggest setback however was the location itself and the ease of access that it provided to students for the study of a number of different habitats and the different species of aquatic life.

Prominent ornithologist and environmentalist Professor Sarath Kotagama speaking to the Daily FT detailed the larger impact of the loss, stating: “The material losses of the buildings were insignificant compared to the loss faced by the people of Jaffna. What they actually lost was a location where they could bring students and do practical work and Thondamanaru was unique in that position because on one side you get seawater, on the other side you get fresh water and then on another side you get brackish water; this gave them the opportunity to study three separate ecosystems in one place.” Professor Kotagama who was a part of the FRS in the 1970’s, brought the plight of the Thondamanaru FRS to the attention of Dilhan Fernando and Dilmah Conservation who pledged support to rebuild the station and as a result, the foundation stone was laid for the beginning of construction on 24 January 2012 on a stretch of land across from where the original facility was located, donated by the Chief Priest of the Selvasannithy Murugan Temple, Sivasiri Thangarajah Iyer.

Dilmah Conservation Director and MJF Charitable Foundation Trustee Dilhan Fernando who spoke at the event said that Dilmah built the FRS for the people,e stating: “It is the people that made this centre and Dilmah is proud to not only have been involved in the process of not just rebuilding the Field Research Station but also being part of the larger process to create reconciliation, understanding and most importantly appreciation of nature and its life-giving qualities.”

A source from Dilmah also confirmed that the company looks forward to a planned further expansion of the centre which would significantly improve its scientific scope and research facilities with the construction by the end of the year, of a laboratory, library, auditorium and hostel as well.  The Thondamanaru Field Research Station was officially declared open by the Governor of the Northern Province G.A. Chandrasiri and Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda in the presence of the Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurasinghe, Professor Sarath Kotagama, founder member of the FRS Sterling Perera, Dilhan Fernando and a host of other dignitaries who were present in Thondamanaru for the event.