SL’s unique biodiversity should be basis of its tourism: Prof. Kotagama

Text and pictures by PRIYAN DE SILVA

Vidyajothi Emeritus Prof. Sarath Kotagama, delivering the keynote address at the International Symposium on ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’, recently, said Sri Lanka’s unique biodiversity should be the basis of the country’s tourism industry.

Prof. Kotagama regretted that it had not been recognized by the tourism industry yet.

“The development of tourism products can be truly different and unique, making Sri Lanka the destination,” he said.

“Sri Lanka remains an isolated island today connected loosely through the shallow sand islands of the ‘Adam’s Bridge’ that spans to connect the Mannar Island of Sri Lanka and Rameshwaran Point of India. It is believed that in the past Sri Lanka had land connections with the main Indian continent on at least four occasions. The last such connection is believed to have been 15,000 years ago. On the other hand, the island has undergone subsidence too, creating a smaller island and restricting the organisms to this isolated land. These upliftments have contributed to the ‘dilution’ of the flora and fauna through invasions from the continent, while the ‘subsidence’ has contributed to isolation and thus through evolution to ‘speciation’ (creation of new species). Combining these impacts with the land formation have made the biodiversity of Sri Lanka unique, especially in the Central highlands and the South Western sector.”

“The geological formation broadly recognizes a central highland with low rolling plains around it leading to the coastal zone which provides a diverse landform across the country with different characteristics. The low lands rise up to the highest levels in three steps or peneplains. Each peneplain rises sharply from the former level creating a distinct isolated land form. Each of these peneplains have a unique biological diversity  It is further fractured by the ridge pattern of the mountain ranges and the 103 river systems that flow down to the sea from the central highlands. These river systems large and small create river basins that are geographically isolated from each other contributing to a diverse distribution pattern of the biodiversity and to the unique feature of ‘point endemism’ – which is a phenomenon where organisms are restricted to very small areas in the country.”