WNPS marks Wetlands Month with talks by two experts View(s):The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) will mark World Wetlands Month with a timely lecture on wetland conservation - Wetlands of Sri Lanka: Traditional Wisdom, Society and Science in a Changing Climate on February 19 at 6 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH. Drawing on the legacy of Sri Lanka’s ancient hydraulic civilisation, Dr. Amerasinghe will demonstrate how traditional tank cascade systems represented sophisticated ecological engineering. Prof. Uthpala A. Jayawardena in her lecture on ‘Safeguarding Sri Lanka’s Wetlands in a Changing Socio-Environmental Landscape’ will examine the complex pressures currently threatening wetlands; how traditional community-based management systems that once valued wetlands have gradually weakened in the face of rapid socio-economic transformation. Today, wetlands are frequently misunderstood as idle or unproductive lands, leading to their conversion for infrastructure, housing and commercial development. Together, the two presentations will demonstrate that successful wetland conservation depends on blending policy innovation with cultural values that recognise the true worth of these ecosystems.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2026 06:07 UTC