Exceptional wealth of biodiversity in Sri Lanka is acknowledged nationally and internationally. In spite of that it is under a threat of natural and man-made causes. This emphasizes the need of conservation of our rich biodiversity to achieve a sustainable development for the country.
The focus of the program is to provide a sufficient knowledge and hands on experience on Sri Lankan Biodiversity and its Conservation within a short period of time enabling participants to expose themselves to wealth our rich biodiversity.
The programme is designed to introduce essential concepts of biodiversity and its conservation which are vital in sustainable development activities and to provide a deep insight of Sri Lanka’s vast biodiversity through hands on practical experience by exploring main natural ecosystems of Sri Lanka.
Eligibility for the following the course lies entirely on your interest! If you appreciate and are deeply interested on world biodiversity and its conservation, you can apply for this course using the form provided at the end of this brochure. As the course is conducted entirely in English candidates are expected to have a satisfactory knowledge of English.
Target group is broad as this short course covers multidisciplinary subject areas. If you are a customs officer, plantation manager, environmental manager in public, private and non government organizations, government servant, journalist, lawyer, law enforcing officer, aurvedic medical practitioner or are involved with the tourism industry, you may follow this course and make use of the knowledge gained. However, any person who is enthusiastic about Sri Lanka’s natural wealth and its conservation can follow this course!
Dates & Course Duration
The course will be conducted two times a year.
Group I – from 13th January – 19th February, 2012 (on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)
Group II – from 16th July – 11th August, 2012 (everyday except on Sundays)
Course fee
Rs. 40,000 for local candidates,
USD 700 for SAARC counters,
USD 1000 for other countries.
(The fee includes the cost for course material and, travelling and accommodation incurred by participants on field trips).
Course structure
Introduction to Biodiversity- basic concepts related to biodiversity and conservation
Inventorizing and Monitoring Biodiversity- methods of identifying and describing different groups of organisms, field sampling and monitoring techniques, basics of data analysis
Introduction to wilderness survival techniques- tips and techniques that are necessary to conduct studies in the field at remote, less accessible sites
Basics of Bioeconomics and Biopolitics- Legal and political aspects related to biodiversity and its conservation at national, regional and global scales
Ex Situ conservation – methods applied in conservation of systems outside protected areas
In situ conservation- basics behind the concepts, designing and management aspects of protected areas and the current system of protected area management in Sri Lanka.
Terrestrial Ecosystems of Sri Lanka- salient features and distribution of all major terrestrial ecosystems found in Sri Lanka.
Fresh water coastal and marine ecosystems of Sri Lanka- salient features of main freshwater coastal and marine ecosystems of Sri Lanka.
Species diversity in Sri Lanka- diversity of different animal and plant groups found in Sri Lanka and their significant characters.
Paleobiodiversity of Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan biota in the past
Ecotourism in Sri Lanka: present status and future trends- salient features of ecotourism, its positive and negative impact, conducting ecotourism in a sustainable manner with special reference to Sri Lanka.
Use of GIS and land use planning in BD conservation- Basic introduction to Geographycal Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) and their use in field explorations
Ecosystem changes and the climate change- Introduction to climate change and it’s impacts on Biodiversity and mitigating measures with special reference to Sri Lanka.
Greening the living environment – Environmental friendly designs and constructions
Case studies and Field visits to different institutions/ecosystems of Sri Lanka
(e.g. Botanical Gardens and Plant genetic Resources Centre at Peradeniya, Montane ecosystems at Horton Plains, Dry zone ecosystems at Giritale & Manampitiya, Rain forests at Kitulgala, Coral reef ecosystems at Hikkaduwa, Ocean environment at Mirissa, Mangroves and Turtle Hatchery at Rekawa, Coastal dry forest and other wetland ecosystems at Bundala)
Evaluation
Participants are requested to make a presentation at the end of the short course on a selected topic explaining a current conservation issue in Sri Lanka and proposed remedial measures which will be evaluated by a panel of judges.
Application deadlines:
30th December, 2011 (for the group I)
30th May, 2012 (for the group II)
Related Downloads:
Brochure
Application Form (MS Word) (PDF)
For further details, please contact one of the two coordinators
Dr. Anoma Perera,
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
E-mail: anomap@pdn.ac.lk; anoma29@gmail.com
Phone: +94 81 2394520
Dr. Suranjan Fernando
Center for Applied Biodiversity Research and Education, Katugastota, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
E-mail: suranjanfernando@gmail.com
Phone: +94 0750118842
Prof. B.S.B. Karunaratna
Director/ PGIS
