Gota directly involved in Keith Noyarh abduction, assault!

Feb 19, 2017

Former defence secretary Nandasena G Rajapaksa was directly involved in the abduction of former ‘The Nation’ co-editor Keith Noyarh, who was kidnapped on 22 May 2008, taken to an Army safehouse in Dompe, beaten up and questioned before being freed due to pressure by civil society and international organizations and diplomatic missions, the Mt. Lavinia court was told yesterday (18).

The CID informed the court that the main suspect Maj. Bulathwatte, arrested early yesterday morning, had rented the safehouse by producing his personal identification and documents. After abducting Noyarh, Bulathwatte had informed his chief, Army intelligence chief Brig. Amal Karunasekara, who in turn notified head of state intelligence Kapila Hendawitharana. Hendawitharana then informed Gotabhaya that they had taken the journalist, after which the then defence secretary had telephoned Bulathwatte to his mobile phone and gave him instructions, the court was also told.

The CID said it would submit all the telephone no. and calls times details at the hearing. Following this revelation, lawyers for the accused refrained from making any attempt at obtaining bail for their clients. Some had immediately telephoned Gotabhaya and informed him about the development.

Thereafter, a team of lawyers including Udaya Gammanpila, Nalinda Indatissa and Misbah met Gotabhaya at his home and discussed the course of action they should take. There, it was decided to relaunch the ‘war heroes comedy’. Also, colonels Shammi Kumararatne and Mahatanthila have been given the task of silencing the witnesses from the Army.

What The Trump Election Could Mean To Sri Lanka

By Emil van der Poorten –February 19, 2017 

Emil van der Poorten

While the in-box on my laptop seems to overflow with Donald Trump jokes and comment of a more serious nature about the implications of the election of an amoral and totally unprincipled man to head the most powerful nation in the world, little attention appears to have been paid to what effect this aberration in democratic practice in the USA will have on our little “land like no other.”

What follows is not intended to fill that void but would be, essentially, random musings of a Sri Lankan who lived in North America for more than three decades, fortunately, only adjacent to what one Canadian magazine columnist named Allan Fotheringham described as the “Excited States of Amnesia.” Given, what has transpired recently in the land of the Stars and Stripes, that might well serve as an accurate description of the US now, if not also in the recent past, given the fact that the “bastion of democracy” did, before Trump, elect Bedtime with Bonzo Reagan and “Dubya” Bush!

That Donald Trump’s election is going to be (another) “shot heard around the world” is beyond argument.  That it might lead to another world war is a fearsome possibility. If there is a “meantime” what is the likely response of a small nation like ours going to be and, more important yet, what should and could we do given that reality?

Not so long ago, we had a dictator demonstrating in our own bailiwick the most reprehensible traits that “the Donald” is expected to (if he hasn’t already) show in ample measure. Among these is to fill every lucrative nook and cranny with toadies to whom he could dictate terms and who would display nothing short of craven obedience to him, upto and including sharing their ill-gotten gains. What is more significant than the mayhem of the Rajapaksa years is the fact that we did succeed in ridding ourselves of that pestilence. In other words, unlike the vast majority of citizens of the USA (and other democratic countries), we have the advantage (?) of having previous experience to apply to a similar fate. The single most important difference being that the US is “big brother” to most of the rest of the world.

Before the Iron Curtain came down nations with the level of power and influence that we possess, in the ‘fifties and ’sixties, had another super-power to turn to for, at least, moral support. Why? The USSR and its satellite nations such as those in Eastern Europe would invest in industrial development projects in what was then Ceylon, as witness our first tire factory and the huge, though technologically prehistoric, monstrous cloth mill at Thulhiriya.  Now “the Donald” and Mr. Vladimir Putin appear to be “on the same page,” are “two birds of the same feather,” pick your analogy!

Beginning with what has been increasingly confirmed as the more-than-tacit support of the new Czar of Russia to “You’re Fired” Trump during the campaign leading up to the most recent US Presidential Election, Trump it is evident that simply intends to follow the precedents set by the leader of the other super-power, “modern” Russia. By a variety of means, beginning with making the Supreme Court of the USA a creature of the President he will, in all but name, become the supreme potentate of the US.

Obviously, there is not a great deal that a country as small and as insignificant as we are can do about turning what seems like the tide of world history.

However, with a modicum of good sense and wisdom and the experience of navigating the shoals of democracy over the past five, going on six, decades we can contribute to making some difference to the way that things unfold internationally.  After all, the Scandinavian countries have had, given their skimpy populations, a seemingly disproportionate positive impact on the recent history of the world. Also, the contribution of post-war Germany, recovering from a total devastation of its economy and a terrible heritage of “super race” disease and anti-Semitism should not be overlooked as an example of a nation able to make a 180 degree change of course becoming the most open of the European countries to refugees from countries considered to be beyond the pale in the matter of “racial purity” is, to me at least, an example of a nation that can change course very dramatically.

I would even go to the extent of saying that we had, in the recent past, and, still have, politicians demonstrating the best in statesmanship, honour, skill and dignity, not simply those with seemingly bottomless pockets, as was best demonstrated, with Royal Assent it were, during the Rajapaksa years.

If ever there was a time that such people need to emerge from the shadows of the thieves and thug that we have only recently ridden ourselves, this is it!

We can kill two birds with one stone as it were: demonstrate to the world that economic progress does not have to be divorced from considerations of decency and justice and, as a concomitant, ensure the return of our people to a life of dignity, both financial and otherwise.

Apart from the example of the Scandinavian countries, inclusive of the much –reviled (in Sinhala chauvinist circles at least) Norway, there are places such as the otherwise-inconsequential Bhutan that have chosen the humanist road for their people, measuring progress by “An index or happiness” rather than the malevolent Gross National Product.

Read More

Making the Public Service efficient: Fix the system 

February 19, 2017, 9:32 pm

Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) targets public sector corruption (file photo)

In the run up to the last Presidential election, Public Sector institutions were a focal point of criticism of politicians, saying they were riddled with corruption, waste and inefficiency. Surprisingly, the same politicians, after being in power for two years, raise the same issues now and blame the public servants citing the same reasons, confirming the situation remains unchanged. When the people come out and protest on public roads, politicians again find fault with public servants.

The government should realize the urgent need for public service reforms to change this situation. In today’s competitive world, a strong and efficient public service is critical to the country’s success. Its role in implementing the government’s development programmes is crucial to their successful conclusion. Public servants need to be free of interference and have the freedom and independence to implement their mandates. In this context public service reforms is a priority, without which it is futile to hope for good governance and proper implementation of development projects and programmes of the government.

The government has not taken any meaningful measures to effectively manage the Public Service. The expectation of the people from the public service is greater efficiency and better service. Successive government’s actions for short-term political gain, only reduced the public sector institutions to mere loss making entities riddled with inefficiency, waste and corruption. The people’s mandate to the government is to change it.

Governments in the past attempted to make the public service efficient, and all initiatives started with this goal ended doing the opposite. The perennial expectation that the public sector will be a source of jobs, absence of political will and commitment, stiff resistance to change by the employees of all ranks from the top to bottom of the Public Service, and opposition from public sector Trade Unions stifled them and contributed to their failure.

One can appreciate the euphoria felt by the people with the change of government. However, changing the government will not change the ways the public servants were used to, and are even harder to change them, than changing the government. The malaises confronting their institutions run deep and the public service has been in the process of decomposing. The malaise needs to be addressed to ensure quality public service.

A change in government in itself will not address the malaise confronting the public service. It can, however, open a window to addressing the fundamental question about organizing government. The government is already late, but not too late; to use this window positively, to make meaningful and effective reforms in the public service.

Public Servants should enter this process. They should, however, stay away from partisanship, even the appearance of partisanship. The only thing that gives the Public Service strength, credibility and standing with the people of this country, is its non-partisan status, and the ability to serve all politicians without fear or favour.

The public service is where the best are underpaid and the worst overpaid, where rules and regulations are multiplying, where non-performers are left to linger, where too many management layers are suffocating change; where departments are increasingly being saddled with confusing mandates, and where distrust of government institutions is pushing many to look to the courts for solutions.

The governments have created an abundance of oversight bodies, management constraint measures and vapid performance and evaluation reports. It has only made the machinery of government thicker, more risk averse, and created a veritable army of public servants kept busy turning a crank not attached to anything. We have created a big whale that can’t swim. That’s all what we have done.

This is what the government is doing and tried to do, thinking that you can simply pile on responsibilities to the existing machinery, and somehow emulate private sector management practices; while retaining the command and control approach to operations where things went off the rails.

Controls are fine as long as they are the right controls. But the biggest obstruction to change in the public sector today are the excessive controls, reporting requirements, and limitations on authority, that prevents managers from focusing on excellence and innovative ways in how they do their jobs.

Not only have we overloaded the machinery, we have also misdiagnosed the patient. The thinking that we could somehow make the public sector as efficient as the private sector was misguided. This thinking conveniently overlooks the fact that the public and the private sectors are different in many ways. The blame game plays very differently in both sectors, and the private sector has an unrelenting bottom line, while the public sector has none. In the private sector managers learn to delegate down. In the public sector, managers learn to delegate up.

Many think the public sector should simply be run like the private sector. Is it that easy? There is no bottom line government. There is no market share. There’s no tangible measurement. The private sector doesn’t have what you call Parliament. It doesn’t have a Presidential Secretariat, Prime Minister’s office, Cabinet of Ministers or a Ministry. In the private sector you don’t manage blame, you get things done. It you don’t get things done, you’re out of business. In government, you never go out of business.

The whole public service employment model is outmoded in every respect. In today’s competitive world and fast changing technology, a high performing public service is critical to the success of the government’s development effort. Today’s public servants need to be accustomed to electronic tools, used to new technologies and continuously performing at peak productivity, and looking to use their talents to serve the people better. The red tape, barriers to innovation, desire to avoid responsibility risks and to protecting the status quo need to be changed,

The modern technologies have entered our lives. People want government e-services to be available in the same way as the services in the private sector they use in other activities of their lives. They need services accessed and delivered electronically. The public service must keep up. Modern technology is a means to dramatically improve services as well as reduce cost.

Public servants must be empowered and encouraged to serve as responsible risk takers, fostering a spirit of innovation and responsible risk-taking, throughout the public service. Being innovative means trying new things that may not always work out successfully. Only if managers and employees feel comfortable in innovating to do their jobs better and more efficiently, will the government get the results it is expecting from a 21st century public service.

Just as much as the expectations of public servants today are different than what they were fifty years ago, so too are the expectations of the people. The people expect the government to be effective and responsive. Not surprisingly, what they want from the government is both greater efficiency and better service. The challenge facing the senior leadership of the public service today is to deliver on these expectations of the people.

The country wants a public service that:

Is able to take risks

Is accountable and adaptable

Enhances productivity and removes barriers to efficiency and innovation

Spends prudently and with restraint

Maintain an effective working relationship with elected officials and citizens

Is able to attract, develop, and retain knowledgeable employees

Raja Wickramasinghe

(Retired Public Servant)

SAITM and private medical schools: One bad start should not lead to throwing away a good idea 

Undergraduates in medical faculties of State sector universities in Sri Lanka have been up in arms against SAITM right from the very beginning – Pic by ShehanGunasekara

Offering a medical degree without approval by medical authorities

Monday, 20 February 2017

Opposition to SAITM

SAITM, the abbreviation for Sri Lanka's newest private university, South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (available at: http://www.saitm.edu.lk/), has been denoting a derogatory meaning in Sri Lankans' present local vocabulary.

SAITM and private medical schools.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Impact of caste in contemporary Sri Lanka

By Basil Fernando-February 15, 2017 12:48

It is a basic tenet of social sciences that a person’s environment has a profound impact on every aspect of their social behaviour, as well as the overall social psyche. When discussing the maladies that affect Sri Lanka, the main topic is usually the failure of politicians and other responsible parties to competently run a functioning system under the legislative, executive and judicial branches. There is no doubt that there have been catastrophic failures in all these aspects. However, these alone do not explain the people’s continuous inability to oppose what is wrong in the institutional setup and to make their influence felt in changing the situation.

Impact of caste in contemporary Sri Lanka.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Update: Nine killed in Katukurunda boat tragedy

2017-02-19

At least nine bodies had been recovered following a boat tragedy in the seas off Katukurunda today, the Police said. 

They said around 20 boats had left Beruwala coast to attend a festival in Kalutara this morning and one of the boat had capsized. Police said another eight persons were receiving treatment at the Nagoda Hospital. 

The bodies were taken to the Hospital. 

The Navy and the Police are continuing search for other victims.   

Video by Rathnasiri Premalal

Video by Rathnasiri Premalal

Thomas More On Religious Freedom In The Island Of Utopia (Ceylon?): Part X

By Laksiri Fernando –February 19, 2017 

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

“This is one of their most ancient laws, that no man ought to be punished for his religion.” – Thomas More

In the context of Sri Lanka’s current debates on religion and religious freedom, it is interesting to relate what Thomas More said about religious practices and freedoms in the Island he called ‘Utopia.’ As this book, Thomas More’s Socialist Utopia and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), has continuously argued, there are strong indications that More was not just writing a Plato’s type utopia (Republic), but basing himself on information he had received from a Portuguese traveler about Ceylon. What is published here is Chapter 8 of that book to allow free access to anyone. The publication link to the original book is: https://www.createspace.com/4688110

Among his descriptions about religions, religious practices, and most importantly, religious freedoms in that Island, there is a story that he relates which would not have come in a usual description of an ideal society. That was about a newly converted Christian abusing the traditional religions going against the religious freedoms that was accorded in that Island. It was with praise that Thomas More talked about religions and religious freedoms in that Island (Ceylon).

While leaving the readers to go through the following chapter for that story and other religious matters, it is important to note the existence of religious freedom and tolerance when the Portuguese came to Ceylon in early 16^th century related by a prominent historian, P.V.J. Jayasekera, in his new book, Confrontations with Colonialism. As he says, the “Buddhists initially extended their support to the Portuguese missionaries to set up their churches and maintain their priests…the attitude of the Sangha was that the Catholic missionaries were also teachers of people, like themselves, and saw no harm in their preaching a different faith” (pp. 185-186, quoted by Liyanage and Herath).

Such a religious freedom, freedom of conscience and tolerance should be the ideal for Sri Lanka today.

 RELIGIONS OF UTOPIANS

“One should not honor only one’s own religion and condemned of others, but one should honor other’s religions.” – Emperor Asoka[1]

AS THOMAS MORE depicts, Utopia is a multi-religious society with several religions. “There are several sorts of religions, not only in different parts of the island, but even in every town,” he says. This looks like Ceylon in the 15^th century.[2] However, he emphasizes that the greater and wiser sort worships a supreme deity as the father of all and “the beginnings, the increase, the progress, the vicissitudes, and the end of all things come only from him.” This supreme god is called Mithras, quite reminiscence of Brahman in Hinduism. According to Isha Upanishad, “Om – That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite and the infinite proceeds from infinite.”[3]

It is interesting to note that More relates a story through Raphael. When Raphael and others were in the island, they introduced Christianity to the Utopians and they were inclined to receive it after hearing the story of Christ, and his sacrifices for the truth. They were obviously not near Christiany before, and Mithras was not the like the Christian god. They were newly converted and baptized by the visitors. According to the story, the natives even selected one among them as a Priest. But what is important is the following. “Those among them that have not received our religion, do not fright any from it, and use none ill that goes over to it; so that all the while I was there, one man was only punished on this occasion,” Raphael had said. This means that the natives were tolerant, and only one occasion they opted to punish one of the newly converts. Why? The following is the description of the matter.

“He being newly baptized, did, notwithstanding all that we could say to the contrary, dispute publicly concerning the Christian religion with more zeal than discretion; and with so much heat, that he not only preferred our worship to theirs, but condemned all their rites as profane; and cried out against all that adhered to them, as impious and sacrilegious persons, that were to be damned to everlasting burnings.”

Then what happened was, “he was seized, and after trial he was condemned to banishment.” This was done “not for having disparaged their religion, but for his inflaming the people to sedition.” Then More says, “This is one of their most ancient laws, that no man ought to be punished for his religion.”[4]

Religious Freedom

It was ‘religious freedom’ that was characteristic of religions in Utopia according to More. It was guaranteed in the first constitution that Utopus apparently introduced. Before his coming into the scene, the original inhabitants were divided and fought against each other on the issues of religion. That was one reason why he could easily subdue them. After doing so “he made a law that every man might be of what religion he pleased, and might endeavor to draw others to it by force of argument, and by amicable and modest ways, but without bitterness against those of other opinions.” No one could use force to convert no another, neither reproach nor violence, anyone who does otherwise “were to be condemned to banishment or slavery.”

Thomas Moore the Thinker

On behalf of the Utopians, More argued that “it [is] indecent and foolish for any man to threaten and terrify another to make him believe what did not appear to him to be true.” They are left for their freedom of belief and conscience. Nevertheless, he argued that “they all formerly believed that there was a state of rewards and punishments to the good and bad after this life,” something like Karma. There can be some who think otherwise who do not believe anything after life but they are not punished in Utopia unlike in Europe during the same period, “so that men are not tempted to lie or disguise their opinions; which being a sort of fraud, is abhorred by the Utopians.”

More explained different religious beliefs that existed in Utopia. One was related to the belief of rebirth. “They think that the souls of beasts are immortal, though far inferior to the dignity of the human soul,” he said. “They are almost all of them very firmly persuaded that good men will be infinitely happy” or in another life. “So that though they are compassionate to all that are sick, yet they lament no man’s death,” he further added.

Read More

Sri Lanka's antivenom leap forward

By making its own antivenom, Sri Lanka could boost its technology capacity and become a model exporter for others.

Home to more than 180 venomous snakes, Sri Lanka works towards finding the right anti-venom to save lives [Madushan Blair/Al Jazeera]--Sri Lanka boasts 92 different species of snakes, but most deaths are attributed to only three - the highly venomous cobra, Russell's viper and krait [Madushan Blair/Al Jazeera]

Common kraits, cobras, Russell's vipers, saw-scaled vipers and hump-nosed pit vipers lie coiled in their containers with water bowls, foliage and coconut shells [Madushan Blair/Al Jazeera]--Currently, 2500 vials of the antivenom have been produced as part of a test batch. First freeze-dried, it can be stored at room temperature.  [Malaka Mp/Al Jazeera]

by

Smriti Daniel

@@smriti_daniel-18 Feb 2017

Colombo, Sri Lanka - In 2006, a Russell's viper sank one fang into Sanath Weeraratne's left hand.

Weeraratne immediately started to bleed profusely as the anticoagulant properties in the venom took effect. He knew what could come next: more bleeding from the rectum and the gums and blood-stained vomit.

The blood could seep into the brain and affect other organs, and this could be fatal. Fortunately for Weeraratne, the two people he was with were experts themselves. They identified the snake that had bitten him, applied first aid, and rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was successfully treated.

He tells Al Jazeera that the accident was a turning point in his life.

It led him to his job as a caretaker at Sri Lanka's first national serpentarium, home to some 185 venomous snakes. Common kraits, cobras, Russell's vipers, saw-scaled vipers and hump-nosed pit vipers lie coiled in their containers - with water bowls, foliage and coconut shells.

The small three-man team at the serpentarium keeps odd hours because some of these snakes, such as the kraits, are most active at night.

Weeraratne and his team must see to the serpents' health and extract their venom, which is collected and sent to a lab in Costa Rica. It is there that the first polyspecific freeze-dried antivenom to offer protection specifically against Sri Lankan snakes is being produced.

The serpentarium was set up and is operated by the United States-based Animal Venom Research International (AVRI). Its executive director, however, is the Sri Lankan-born Roy Malleappah, a herpetological field operations specialist. It has taken him and his team years of dedicated work to make the Sri Lankan antivenom a reality.

A medical breakthrough 

The antivenom was developed in close collaboration with the Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP) in Costa Rica, while the University of Peradeniya - partly funded by the National Research Council of Sri Lanka - is responsible for the clinical trials, which are now ongoing.

The antivenom ICP and AVRI have produced is polyspecific - covering multiple species including, for the first time, Sri Lanka's hump-nosed pit viper. It is the most common cause of snakebite envenoming in Sri Lanka and is known to cause serious systemic toxicity and death. 

Sri Lanka has one of the highest snakebite rates in the world, yet statistics are hard to come by as many cases go unreported. The island boasts 92 different species of snakes, but most deaths are attributed (PDF) to just three - the highly venomous  cobra, Russell's viper and krait.

The national serpentarium itself is located in Dambulla in central Sri Lanka. Locals here know well what damage a snakebite can do. There is always a rash of incidents in March, when farmers go into the fields to harvest paddy and find snakes hiding amid the green stalks.

Weeraratne himself remembers a trip to a village in this area. "Every single house I visited told me that they had lost someone to a snakebite: from fathers to a 17-year-old who was sitting for her A-Level exams. The stories are enough to bring tears to your eyes."

Even among those who survived, there were some who would struggle with chronic kidney disease for the rest of their lives.

READ MORE: Cheating death - Papua New Guinea's snake man

An island-wide community survey in 2016 extrapolated that, over a 12-month period, there were more than 80,000 bites, 30,000 envenomings and 400 deaths from snakebites.

Today, the antivenom used in Sri Lankan hospitals is imported - typically from India, where many of the same species exist.

"However, the reaction to the antivenom has become part of the problem," says Sarath Kotagama, a conservationist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Colombo.

He explains that what is not always understood is how much variation there i

"The toxicity and composition of the venom is affected by the snakes' diet and other regional variations," says Kotagama, adding that "the Hypnale hypnale group [the hump-nosed pit vipers] are very specific to this country, and so you need a specific antivenom for them".

When a person is brought into a hospital with a bite from a hump-nose pit viper, doctors are at a loss.

"The bite from this snake is not covered by the antivenom we have, even though it is one of the most common bites," says Dr Indika Gawarammana, the lead investigator for the AVRI/ICP antivenom clinical trials at the University of Peradeniya's teaching hospital. 

He explains that symptomatic treatment, such as surgical incisions and pain relief medications, is all that is on offer.

There is another reason doctors sometimes hesitate to treat snakebite victims with the current antivenom, he says.

"The imported antivenom creates adverse effects in a big proportion of those patients who receive it," Gawarammana tells Al Jazeera, citing a range of symptoms from relatively mild skin reactions, such as itching, to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.

Sri Lanka's excellent network of hospitals means that most people are within 30 minutes to an hour of getting help, but the side-effects of the antivenom can mean doctors will insist that patients be transferred to bigger, more distant hospitals where severe reactions can be managed. The delay is increased if a patient is not certain what species of snake bit them.

"This allows complications to set in," says Gawarammana.

READ MORE: African nations face snake venom antidote crisis

Currently, 2,500 vials of the new antivenom have been produced as part of a test batch. First freeze-dried, the antivenom can be stored at room temperature. Malleappah notes that ICP's technology has produced a particularly pure, concentrated and effective version of the antivenom. This is why treatment can begin with only two vials instead of the 10 vials that are currently routine with imported antivenom.

The clinical trials are still ongoing, but Gawarammana says the patients have so far responded very well to the new antivenom.

The allergic reactions have been negligible, necessitating fewer days in the hospital.

"In Sri Lanka, we haven't really calculated the cost to the government of treating the allergic reactions to the old antivenom," he says, noting that, typically, patients would spend days, and sometimes weeks, at home recuperating, thereby adding to the economic cost.

In contrast, the new antivenom has delivered quick recoveries that allow people to return to work within days of being bitten. As part of the trial, the AVRI/ICP antivenom will also be sent to an Australian laboratory to have its efficacy tested.

Maintaining a balance

It is Malleappah's hope that Sri Lanka will be able to begin producing its own antivenom very soon. He is currently arranging for more than 100 horses to be imported to help produce the antivenom in a new Sri Lankan facility. These will be injected with a small amount of snake venom and will generate antibodies that can then be extracted and used to create an antivenom.

Malleappah says this is typically not a lucrative business and so very few pharmaceutical giants are willing to invest money into research and development or manufacturing the product. He believes that if Sri Lanka were to start producing its own antivenom, it would be a boost to the island's technology capacity, and serve as a model that could be exported to other countries in the region.

Gawarammana agrees. "We should have our own manufacturing capabilities. There are lots of issues in this country where the same approach can be used to produce antidotes, for example, for plant poisons. It's important Sri Lanka has the technology."

While people are the focus of these efforts, for the AVRI team, saving snakes is a crucial goal as well.

"I am really sad to see the indiscriminate killing of snakes in this country. It has a huge, catastrophic effect on the ecological balance," Malleappah says.

As another unapologetic conservationist, Kotagama, too, is interested in seeing the antivenom developed.

"Today, every snake is a deadly snake," he says. "If people were confident that they could be treated, that they would not die from this bite, then we would definitely see fewer snakes being killed out of hand."

Are we hit by climate change?

2017-02-20

SL experiencing climate change effects, says Sir Robert Tony Watson

The global climate will change in the present century swiftly at rates unprecedented in recent human history. The risks associated with these changes are real but highly variable. Societal vulnerability to the risks associated with the climate change may exacerbate ongoing social and economic challenges, particularly for those parts of societies dependent on resources that are sensitive to changes in climate. Risks are apparent in agriculture, fisheries, tourism and many other areas that are critical to the livelihood of both the rural and urban populations especially in developing countries such as Sri Lanka.

" All countries do suffer from climate change as it affects physical systems including the coral reef system, rainfall, rivers and lakes. However, when you consider the situation in Sri Lanka, it could be observed that the island is vulnerable to climate change. "

Sir Robert Tony Watson is a British chemist who has been described by the New York Times as “an outspoken advocate of the idea that human actions—mainly burning coal and oil—are contributing to global warming and must be changed to avert environmental upheavals,”. 
During his recent visit to Sri Lanka he expressed his views with the on climate change, its consequences and how it affected the world and Sri Lanka in particular. He has worked on atmospheric science issues including ozone depletion, global warming and Paleo-climatology since the 1980s.
He was the former Director of the Science Division and Chief Scientist for the Office of Mission to Planet Earth at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Excerpts:  

What is climate change?  

Over the last 100 years or so, people across the world have released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and they have changed what we call ‘radiation balance’ or ‘atmospheric temperature.’
As a result of this immoral practice, we have seen changes in the temperature, precipitation patterns as well as the sea level. This is climate change.  

How has it affected Sri Lanka?  

All countries do suffer from climate change as it affects physical systems including the coral reef system, rainfall, rivers and lakes. However, when you consider the situation in Sri Lanka, it could be observed that the island is vulnerable to climate change.
The most recent example that could be drawn is the drought that severely affected the whole of Sri Lanka. The country also saw the sea levels rise every now and then, thereby causing saltwater intrusion.
We also monitor changes in commodities like agriculture-based products. The current drive in Sri Lanka is having adverse impacts on paddy fields, and is giving a second chance to dreadful maladies including Dengue and Malaria to raise their ugly heads.
On a different note, we should also discern that Sri Lankans have a responsibility to protect its treasured forests and other natural resources.
The people should care for agriculture, coastal draws, and natural habitats and especially be conscious about conserving water as all these elements directly or indirectly impact on climate change.  

As a scientist, how do you view the eco-system in Sri Lanka?  

Sri Lanka is undoubtedly battered with a massive drought. When I toured the Yala National Park a fortnight ago, I was disappointed to see the tanks drained. We cannot, however, infer that this drought situation is solely due to human-induced climate change; although it significantly contributes to the cause. Anyhow, we should expect similar and much more destructive droughts in years to come.
It is now high time to think of an effective and long-lasting mechanism to conserve water as it affects the eco-system in Sri Lanka.  

As global warming is considered an alarming situation, in your capacity, what do you recommend as safety measures to protect our nation from this danger?  

I believe that all countries fall victim to human-induced climate change; the poor countries suffer the most. We see developed countries equipped with technological, financial and institutional capabilities to address climate change. In the Sri Lankan context, the main weakness I see is that the people fail to manage the freely-available water system. They should assure that water is not wasted.
The people of Sri Lanka should give serious thought to means of managing one’s agriculture, cropping and shifting into the right crop, rising sea levels, putting up seawalls, retreating land of the seabed and so forth, as they determine to what extent climate change affects the island nation.
We now find climate adaptation funds in abundance, which Sri Lanka could benefit from. Sri Lanka should improve on the efficient use of energy. The people should utilise the specified equipment and other apparatus in construction and transportation industries. Further, Sri Lanka should reap the harvest of technological advancements -- people should concentrate more on cost-effective channels of using renewable energy and what we call ‘modern bituminous.’ So what Sri Lanka needs to do is to reduce earth’s gas emission.  

How can the public and private sectors contribute to save the green?  

In my opinion, it is imperative that the administration works closely with the private sector. Climate change could be addressed only if the government puts in place apt policies, follows effective procedures and enforces stringent laws. It should encourage renewable energy and water resource management in agricultural practices. Then, the private sector will see opportunities in establishing advanced energy and irrigation schemes. Thus, both sectors will collaborate to mitigate climate change. It’s a win-win situation.  

You reiterated many a time that humans were instrumental in causing climate change. Why?  

Well, as individuals, all of us can use our energy more efficiently to deal with climate change. The public should push the government towards real action, and the industries towards ‘sustainability.’
As individuals, we can save energy, water and other valuable resources. We should exert pressure on the government and other responsible governing bodies for this worthy cause. The media would undoubtedly be an effective channel of approach. The people should be made aware of the subject and its consequences. They should know how destructive it could get if this practice was to continue. As I mentioned earlier, climate change is human-induced. Hence, the human race does not merely have a duty but a responsibility to resolve this dilemma.  

Finally, what is the message you wish to convey to the world?  

I would say climate change is a very serious issue that could affect everyone. With the height of technology, we surely have what it takes to address, or at least to limit, climate change. Thus, we should utilise renewable energy and adapt to climate change thereby managing water, agriculture and coastal zones more effectively.