WNPS lecture to put spotlight on conserving Horton Plains

• On 20 May from 6 p.m. via Zoom

‘Conserving Horton Plains: What the Science Tells Us’ is the theme of the latest Monthly Lecture of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) which will be held on 20 May from 6 p.m. via Zoom. The lecture will be delivered by expert Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda.

Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda

The WNPS Public Lecture is presented in association with Nations Trust Bank and open to all.

For registration visit https://forms.gle/GSAjK2S1kPBDWD7h7.

WNPS said just about everyone who visits a protected area in Sri Lanka comes away with many ideas of how its management could be improved, and Horton Plains is no exception. Despite its small size, Horton Plains is one of our country’s most unique and priceless biodiversity assets—and sadly it faces graver threats than most other protected areas. 

Over-visitation, fires, alien species, pest species, illegal mining, forest dieback, population declines, pollution, climate change... the list goes on and on. While a great deal of research has been done on most of these problems, translating scientific findings into management interventions remains a formidable challenge. 

In this lecture, Rohan Pethiyagoda explores the threats that confront Horton Plains and discusses how he could respond to these. The solutions he proposes are often provocative, controversial, and perhaps even aggressive—but unless these recommendations are openly discussed among serious-minded conservationists, the decline of this jewel in the crown of Sri Lankan biodiversity is set to continue. The 40-minute lecture will be followed by an extended discussion time so that listeners can ask questions or challenge the solutions he offers. 

Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda is a biodiversity scientist who has published widely on Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora. He has published more than 60 research papers, in addition to authoring several books on Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora, through the Wildlife Heritage Trust (WHT), a foundation he endowed in 1991. WHT built up Sri Lanka’s largest specimen collection for research, which was gifted to the National Museum in 2009. 

WHT has also helped several outstanding young biodiversity researchers expand their careers by undertaking postgraduate research and some 150 new species were discovered and described through this work. Rohan is also an editor of the journal Zootaxa, has headed several State entities, served as Environment Advisor to the government, and as deputy chair of the Species Survival Commission. He has won wide international recognition for his work, including a Rolex Award.

Conducted successfully over two decades, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society’s Monthly Lecture series plays an important role in sharing scientific information and knowledge with the public and also acts as a launchpad for conservation initiatives. Join online at this month’s WNPS Monthly Lecture, focusing on Horton Plains National Park and what science tells us about its future.