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First Linnean Medal Winner in SL wants to help his country

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/10

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lankan engineer turned naturalist Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, who recently became the first Sri Lankan to be awarded the Linnean Medal for his outstanding contribution to science and the second Asian to be a recipient of the Medal, says he now wants to help address some of the problems caused by the present economic crisis.

Sri Lanka is looking at a decade or two of extreme stress and poverty he told The Island : “My main concern is the under-12 generation, who are at serious risk of being malnourished. Anything we can do to make sure every child gets sufficient food, especially protein, is worth doing. Malnutrition will result in stunting, lowered intelligence and poor education outcomes. This is the greatest challenge of this hour, and I want to engage with it. There are many others who are willing and able to address the biodiversity crisis.”

Pethiyagoda channelled proceeds from his book, Freshwater Fishes of Sri Lanka to a foundation he had created, the Wildlife Heritage Trust (WHT) dedicated to biodiversity research in Sri Lanka. Headquartered at Agrapatana, WHT became a national focal point for emerging scientists. “We built up a huge reference collection there”, explains Pethiyagoda, thanks to zealous fieldwork by Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, Mohammed Bahir, Sudath Nanayakkara, Dinesh Gabadage and others. WHT went on to host large numbers of world-renowned scientists such as Robert F. Inger, Alain Dubois, Maurice Kottelat, Peter Ng, Fred Naggs, Franky Buossuyt, Chris Schneider and James Hanken. They in turn mentored young Sri Lankan students, most of whom went on to be outstandingly productive.

“Four of the students who worked closely with WHT in the early 2000s are now university professors”, says Pethiyagoda, “Madhava Meegaskumbura, Suyama Boyagoda, Anjana Silva and Kalana Maduwage. I think Anjana and Kalana were perhaps the youngest people to be appointed full professors in their respective universities”, says their former mentor with pride. “Kelum was perhaps the most productive. He was responsible for the discovery and description of dozens of new species of amphibians, while Bahir focused mainly on the crabs, going on to describe some 40 new species. Madhava became the first graduate in Sri Lanka to be first author of a paper in Science, which is among the world’s most pre-eminent scientific journals. In all, I think more than 150 new species have been described from WHT’s collections.”

As a result, the turn of the century saw immense activity in biodiversity research activity in Sri Lanka. WHT published increasingly more papers, among which Pethiyagoda was an author in more than 60. And WHT’s specimens came to be widely studied by other scientists across Sri Lanka. Not content with research, WHT went on to publish more than 30 natural-history books authored by others, including guides to the amphibians and snakes (also in Sinhala), along with biographies of such eminent naturalists as WWA Phillips and GM Henry. It also published a peer-reviewed scientific journal, “Journal of South Asian Natural History” and a popular magazine “Sri Lanka Nature”.

“The largest initiative I undertook was to establish a National Institute for Biodiversity Research,” says Pethiyagoda. “Both Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe, who were president and prime minister at the time, supported the project wholeheartedly. Donors pledged more than US$ 20 million to create the institute and, through an endowment, to fund it in perpetuity. It would be a government-owned research institution but funded privately, rather like SLINTEC. But it came before its time. All this was too much for some people, and a vicious campaign against the institute began. Sadly, several individuals associated with leading NGOs such as the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society, Ruk Rekaganno and EFL also took up cudgels against the institute. So vicious was the opposition that eventually, I gave up and the donors withdrew. Eventually, the millions of dollars went to India. Sri Lanka’s loss was India’s gain.

“By 2008 the atmosphere was so toxic that I decided to close down WHT as well. I donated WHT’s specimens to the National Museum, where it is now perhaps the biggest single component, certainly in terms of type specimens, of their collectionMuch of WHT’s library went to Peradeniya. And I myself decided to migrate to Australia and take up a fellowship at the Australian Museum.”

Pethiyagoda has continued his research work. “We have so much talent, and the dedication, passion and abilities of these youngsters is astonishing”, he says with pride. “They give me so much hope for the future.”

So, what makes the Linnean Medalist tick nowadays? “When I see a teenage birdwatcher carrying around a well-thumbed copy of Professor Sarath Kotagama’s ‘Siri Lanka Kurullo’, published by WHT in 1998,” he says, “my eyes well up. This was the first comprehensive birding guide published in Sinhala, and it transformed ornithology from a pursuit of the English-speaking urban elite to a pastime for the masses. If that was all I did in my life, it would have been enough.”

But it was not enough, and Pethiyagoda went on to found the Agra Arboretum. Here, in 1998, he set out to transform a 50-acre tea estate back into submontane forest. “Now, almost a quarter century later,” he explains, “we have learned valuable lessons on how this can be done at the landscape level. Even after I sold the property in 2008 to Raja Gnanam, he and his sons continue with the reforestation and conservation work and Sudath Nanayakkara, who has managed the property since the inception, continues to curate it. This project also benefited from recognition by the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2000. In some ways it complements Sam Poppham’s arboretum at Dambulla, though 1500 metres higher.”

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Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/14

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.

The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.

Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.

Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.

News

CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process

Published

3 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.

Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.

The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.

Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.

Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.

Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.

The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.

Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.

The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.

The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.

SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.

Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

News

GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015

Published

3 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

Dhammika

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.

Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.

(SF)