WNPS Monthly Lecture: Building a Thousand Species Refuge

*the song "born free" has been suppressed due to copyright reasons and this has affected the overall quality of the audio. Pioneering Private Conservation at scale in Sri Lanka, WNPS PLANT’s network of lands now helps protects over a thousand species across almost thirty locations in the endemic rich Southwestern regions. Sri Lanka’s forest cover has degraded over the past decades in a massive way. Protecting both State-owned and privately owned forest patches is vital to save our endemic and endangered flora and fauna. The southwestern regions also have the highest development activity within the country, where nearly 50% of the island’s human population live, as do the vast majority of our endemics. Sri Lanka is known as a global biodiversity hotspot for its high number of species, in a relatively limited area, threatened with extinction risk. Sadly, Sri Lanka has one of the highest recorded rates of primary forest destruction as well. Habitat loss and severe fragmentation are destroying Sri Lanka's native ecosystems and species. The biggest threat to our forests and wildlife habitats are human activities such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, illegal land grabs, and ill-advised development projects. What is WNPS PLANT and what were its origins? What exactly do the teams do, and where and why and how? What drove the acceleration of an entirely new concept in Sri Lanka within just three years? Is this a solution or temporary phenomenon, can it be sustained or will it die a natural death? What challenges and issues are being faced? Which critically endangered species occupy PLANT sites? What new insights are being gathered for conservation in Sri Lanka? Where does the money come from and what model is being adopted? Which partners have supported this journey and why? Can WNPS handle this massive undertaking? How are authorities and communities responding? What do the future plans entail? These are some of the many questions that are posed and we hope to unravel as the WNPS speaks publicly in a major forum for the first time about one of its most exciting and ambitious undertakings. Against a backdrop of massive deforestation, land fragmentation, and species extinction, the lecture will share insights gained during these early years of execution, along with a gleam of hope. Speaking on this topic will be the Chairman of PLANT and Past President of WNPS, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne. The forum will be excellent for conservationists, donors, students, scientists, academia, nature lovers, policy makers, and indeed the general public, who seek to understand the different ways in which conservation challenges can be approached and responded to. Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne is the Chairman of PLANT (Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Ltd), and a recent Past President of WNPS. During his tenure, supported by a passionate team, they engineered a massive transformation and a renaissance of the WNPS. The key conceptualizer of PLANT, the Emerald Trails, and the notion of a Sri Lanka Leopard Day, he is also the Editor of the Loris Journal and a past Chair of the Wildcats Subcommittee. He held several leading corporate and other roles across his multifaceted career and played catalytical roles in many as a CEO or Chairman. A published photographer, he yearns for travel and the great outdoors, enjoys music, and is passionate about Sri Lanka. A Business Transformation Practitioner, Conservationists, and Social Catalyst, he has several academic and business awards to his credit. Sriyan was involved with different Chambers, and in local and global Charities, and has served on several Boards, including Youth Business International in UK.