Diving legend Rex de Silva to delivery Wildlife and Nature Protection Society lecture

• Event on 16 November to focus on “from ocean depths to the stars: The evolution of a naturalist”

History often repeats itself, it is just that the technologies involved differ; being now more powerful and destructive. The history of conservation in Sri Lanka is no different and it is a rare privilege to find someone who spans these eras, and who is still actively involved in the study and understanding of the natural world. For the solutions for today’s problems may have already been found; just forgotten. We need reminding, lest we forget for all time.

An ‘International Legend of Diving’, the first and only person from the Indian Ocean region to be so honoured, Rex De Silva’s name is writ large in the annals of conservation in Sri Lanka. A veritable ‘Man for all Seasons’, a veteran in years if not in spirit, he has visited the wilds of Sri Lanka from the days prior to its independence, when the country still enjoyed 30% or more of forest cover, to today, when every protected area is being encroached on, and the precious fauna and flora they harbour pushed to the point of no return.

Rex will deliver the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society Monthly Lecture on 16 November at 6 p.m. Cinema Hall BMICH. The lecture is open to members and non-members, entrance free.

As a teenager, De Silva grew up in the vicinity of the jungles of Gal Oya, then still relatively untouched, and explored their hidden pathways while learning of the animals that lived in them, and of their behaviour. These were days when shooting was still permitted, though only during the ‘open season’. In fact, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) was initially set up by hunters who realised that their ‘game’ and the forests they hunted were fast disappearing. Rex De Silva was an active part of the change in ethos from that of hunting to protecting, and for which the WNPS stands for so strongly today.

In later life, as a professional diver, De Silva explored the wonders of Sri Lanka’s marine world as well, and has recorded its wondrous diversity on film and in word. For he is no passive conservationist, but actively pursues his study of the creatures he has grown to love, and wish preserved for posterity. Today, he is recognised as the leading authority on the Sharks of Sri Lanka. His book of that name published last year, a result of the meticulous study of these magnificent and greatly maligned creatures over several decades, is now the undisputed reference for anyone wanting to research them in Sri Lanka. 

A respected ornithologist, De Silva’s studies on the migratory habits of sea birds and shore birds (waders) has added vastly to the knowledge of that subject in Sri Lanka. 

A fellow of the Linnaean Society of London, De Silva has either authored, or co-authored, 115 scientific research papers and other publications. He is also a Member of the Institute of Biology (Sri Lanka) and is a Field Investigator for the Global Shark Attach File (GSAF).

Rex De Silva walked amongst giants of the outdoors whose exploration of remote places, where those lesser feared to tread, has led to much of what we know about them today; true pioneers who not only showed others the way but, in so doing, lit the lamp of learning so that the connections between the natural world and ourselves could be better understood. Rodney Jonklaas, Cedric Martenstyn, Arthur C. Clarke, Mike Wilson, P.B. Karunaratne, V. Athukorala, Langston Pereira, to name but a few, were his companions on many a journey on land or under the sea. Rex De Silva is a valuable link between all of their collective learning and of what we need to know today to prevent their ultimate destruction.