News
Wildlife populations decline by 69% in 50 years
There has been a 69 per cent decline in the wildlife populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, across the globe in the last 50 years, according to the latest Living Planet Report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).Biodiversity loss and climate crisis should be dealt with as one instead of two different issues as they are intertwined, the international wildlife conservation organisation said in the report, highlighting the link between the two issues for the first time.
The highest decline (94 per cent) was in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, the report released October 13, 2022 showed.Africa recorded a 66 per cent fall in its wildlife populations from 1970-2018 and the Asia Pacific 55 per cent, according to the WWF report.Freshwater species populations globally reduced by 83 per cent, confirming that the planet is experiencing a “biodiversity and climate crisis”, the organisation found. Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes were responsible for about half of the threats to monitored migratory fish species, it noted.
WWF identified six key threats to biodiversity — agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change — to highlight ‘threat hotspots’ for terrestrial vertebrates.
Marco Lambertini, director-general of WWF International, said:We face the double emergencies of human-induced climate change and biodiversity loss, threatening the well-being of current and future generations.
“A nature-positive future needs transformative, game-changing shifts in how we produce, how we consume, how we govern and what we finance,” read the report. It is clear that unless we stop treating these emergencies as two separate issues, neither problem will be addressed effectively.The Living Planet Index (LPI), featuring about 32,000 populations of 5,230 species across the world, showed that vertebrate wildlife populations are plummeting at a particularly staggering rate in tropical regions of the world.Mangroves continue to be lost to aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development at a rate of 0.13 per cent per year, according to the findings. Many mangroves are also degraded by overexploitation and pollution, alongside natural stressors such as storms and coastal erosion, added the report.
Mangrove-loss represents loss of habitat for biodiversity and the loss of ecosystem services for coastal communities, it read. “In some locations, it can mean the loss of the very land where coastal communities live,” it read.Around 137 square kilometres of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh has been eroded since 1985, reducing land and ecosystem services for many of the 10 million people who live there, the analysis showed.
“Climate change in India will impact key areas, such as water resources, agriculture, natural ecosystems, health and the food chain,” Ravi Singh, secretary-general and chief executive, WWF India, said.
He talked about the need for an all-inclusive collective approach that can put us on a more sustainable path and ensures that the costs and benefits from our actions are socially just and equitably shared. – Down to Earth
It has been reported quoting police sources that the death toll from the renewed unrest at the Negombo Prison which this morning, has risen from nineteen to twenty five (25).
A clash initially broke out between two groups of inmates (a group of remand prisoners and a group of convicted inmates serving sentences) at the Negombo Prison at around 1.00 p.m. on Sunday (05).
Two inmates died in yesterday’s clash, while around 40 others sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at hospital.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the children of Sri Lanka are well capable of viewing the world with creativity and critical ways of thinking, and that the Government is committed to equipping them with the required knowledge and modern technologies necessary to realize their full potential.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while attending the opening of the ’Arumasiya’ Exhibition and the occasion of laying the foundation stone for a new three-storey building at Balangoda Vidyaloka Central College, on the 4th of July.
During the visit, the Prime Minister officially declared open the exhibition showcasing the students’ innovations and creative talents and commended them for their remarkable achievements. The Prime Minister also participated in the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the construction of the College’s new three-storey building.
Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:
“It is a pleasure to participate in this special event at Balangoda Vidyaloka Central College, the school where Sri Lanka’s first female Prime Minister received her education
I had the opportunity to visit the exhibition featuring the outstanding creations and innovations of the students. What I witnessed was a group of talented young people who have moved beyond textbook learning and are capable of viewing the world with creativity and critical thinking.
We are introducing a new education reform process that moves away from a rote-learning, examination-oriented system towards a practical and skills-based one. The Government is now systematically completing all the necessary preparations to implement the new education reforms scheduled to commence in 2027.
Our objective is to ensure that every child leaving school has access to vocational and technical education that matches their individual talents and meets the demands of the modern labour market. We are committed to transforming vocational education into a field that enjoys the same dignity and recognition as university education.
Finally, I commend the Principal and the academic staff of Balangoda Vidyaloka Central College for organizing this exhibition, and to the students and parents whose dedication made this event a success.”
The event was attended by Members of Parliament for Ratnapura District Wasantha Pushpa Kumara and Sunil Rajapaksha, the Mayor of Balangoda and members of the Municipal Council, the Zonal Director of Education, the Principal and academic staff of Balangoda Vidyaloka Central College, parents, and students.
Prime Minister’s Media Division
The appointment of a Special Parliamentary Ombudsman (SPO) to inquire into the complaints against the Attorney General, as promised in the NPP manifesto, is on hold, pending the establishment of an Independent Office of the Public Prosecutor and provincial Sub Officers.
Authoritative sources told The Island that the Justice and National Integration Ministry was awaiting the recommendations, regarding the new legislation for the establishment of such an Office, from a Committee of Technical Experts, chaired by Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, PC.
Responding to a query raised in Parliament by SJB lawmaker Ajith P. Perera about the delay in appointment of SPO, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said the government couldn’t take a decision until the Kodagoda Committee made recommendations.
Nanayakkara said that the positioning of the SPO couldn’t be decided before they differentiate the powers of the Attorney General and the an Independent Office of the Public Prosecutor and provincial Sub Officers.
According to the NPP manifesto, provincial Sub Officers were to be established under a senior Additional Solicitor General.
Opposition sources pointed out that the relevant Cabinet decision was taken on 7 May 2025. According to the Cabinet Office, the government decided to establish an Independent Office of the Public Prosecutor and provincial Sub Officers in line with a proposal made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her final report on Sri Lanka, submitted in September, 2024.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
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