Latest News and Updates

World Sea grass day celebration -2024
CELEBRATION 2 nd WORLD SEAGRASS DAY 2024 AND UN ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION FLAGSHIP AWARD Blue for blooming: vitalising seagrass resilience for livelihoods Date: 1 March 2024 Venue: Jetwing Blue Hotel, Negombo Time: 8:00 hrs. to 18:00 hrs. Sri Lanka celebrated 2 nd world seagrass day at Jetwing Blue…

Commemoration of the World Seagrass Day on 1st March 2024 - Jetwing Blue Negombo

 

Sri Lanka, nestled in the Indo-Pacific seagrass bioregion, boasts half of the world's seagrass, yet much of it remains unexplored. The country's rich marine biodiversity is underscored by the fact that fifteen

Commemoration of International Mountain Day - 2023 ================== The United Nations General Assembly has declared 11 th December, from 2003 onwards, as the International Mountain Day aiming to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and…
Conducted 9th Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Finance from 7-9 th November , Aliya Hotel, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
International Mangrove Ecosystem Conservation Day 2023 Background Mangrove is the only tree that grows in saltwater. Mangrove forest is a rare but spectacular and prolific ecosystem, which is usually found along sheltered coastlines in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globally, mangrove…

Englishman Mr. F.H.(Sam) Popham, in 1963, Initiated and Introduced Popham's method of "Assisted Natural Regeneration" in this site.

The National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS) together with the Ministry of Environemnat renovated and added value to this remarkable "Eco Tourism Destination

Re-introduction Labeo lankae to Thubikulama Tank by Secretary,  Ministry of Environment
Commemoration of International Biodiversity Day – 2023 Ministry of Environment Sri Lanka The Earth Summit held in 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was ratified with the objectives of Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Utilization and sharing its benefit…

With the collaborative effort of the Ministry of Environment and The University of Colombo, all preparations are being made to make the 8th International Tourism Research Conference “Rethinking Tourism” & International Symposium on Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism – 2022, a reality on 23rd Decem

The genus Miniopterus is a monophyletic assemblage of many species characterized by remarkably conservative morphology. The number of recognized species has more than doubled over the last two decades, mainly with newly recognized Afrotropical and Malagasy species. A molecular phylogenetic analysis…
Worker ants in a selected region of the Rilagala Forest Reserve, which is situated in Nuwara-Eliya District, Sri Lanka were surveyed for the first time on 26 July, 2019. Ants were collected from two localities by employing 100 m transects. Honey baiting, soil sifting and pitfall trapping were…

YZA participated in a cleaning and tree-planting program organized by Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) at Attidiya for World Environmental Day on 26th June 2022. The event was occupied and supported by the members of WNPS, members of YZA, Airport Base Ratmalana, DWC Range Office

One-day Training Programme on Ecotourism

A very successful one-day training programme on Ecotourism was held on the 2nd June 2022 at the NIFS Popham Arboretum, Dambulla. This is the very first training programme conducted at the NIFS Popham Arboretum on ecotourism. This event was organized to celebrate the World Environment Day (5th June)

Ricefishes of the genus Oryzias occur commonly in the fresh and brackish waters in coastal lowlands ranging from India across Southeast Asia and on to Japan. Among the three species of Oryzias recorded from peninsular India, two widespread species, O. carnaticus and O. dancena, have previously been…
Bats perform critical ecosystem functions, including the pollination, seed dispersal, and regulation of invertebrate populations. Yet, bat populations are declining worldwide primarily due to habitat loss and other anthropogenic stressors. Thus, studies on bat ecology, particularly on environmental…
Red List
Introduction: The Red List is one of the best indicators of the health of a species as it is an assessment that takes into consideration most of the internal and external factors that influence the long-term survival of the species being assessed. It is a very useful tool that provides the basis for…
National red List of Flora 2020
Biodiversity is an asset of tremendous value both locally and globally. It is essential that this precious diversity of flora and fauna are preserved for future generations. The National Red List 2020 – Conservation Status of the Flora of Sri Lanka, calls upon our urgent attention to protect native…
Alien invasive species are considered a serious threat to biodiversity, and all nations are gearing towards minimizing their impacts. Early detection and rapid response are identified as one of the most effective methods for minimizing their detrimental impacts. The present study reports the…
The researches are delightned to present the results of their field survey in Sri Lanka and describe ten new species of Sericini: Selaserica fabriziae sp. nov., Sel. sororinitida sp. nov., Neoserica pophami sp. nov., Maladera haniel sp. nov., M. kishi sp. nov., M. windy sp. nov., M. karunaratnae sp…
Cyrtodactylus punctatus Knuckles Ground Gecko
The genus Cyrtodactylus has recently been classified phylogenetically into several clades, subclades, groups, and some into Sri Lankan Cyrtodactylus . Certain complexes from the Indian subcontinent have been assigned to the “ C. triedrus group”. This group is comprised of medium-sized species (SVL…
Complete taxonomic description, color photographs, and line drawings of the newly discovered Oberonia mahaeliyensis (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Malaxideae) are provided in this publication.
A group of researchers from the Botany Department of University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka has freshly discovered three Thalloid Liverworts (Marchantiopsida) to the existing liverworts plant community. Plagiochasma appendiculatum Lehm. & Lindenb., Riccia crispatula Mitt., and Fossombronia cristula…
A group of researchers from Sri Lanka has delighted with a new Balsaminaceae species (Impatiens jacobdevlasii) from Knuckles (Dumbara) massif of Sri Lanka. With the new species named from the locality, the number of Balsam species belonging to Sri Lanka has increased to 25. The new species has been…
Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda was this week awarded the Linnean Medal which is considered as the Nobel Prize for naturalists, at a ceremony in London. He is the first Sri Lanka to win the annual medal bestowed since 1888 to a botanist or a zoologist, or to one of each, in the same year. Dr. Pethiyagoda is…
Anisogomphus ceylonicus (Hagen in Selys, 1878) is one of the rarest of the Sri Lankan Odonata. It was first discovered from Ramboda over 140 years ago based on a female specimen, which was originally described as Gomphus ceylonicus and later assigned to the genus Heliogomphus by F. C. Fraser. Almost…
Macromia flinti Lieftinck, 1977, is an endemic dragonfly in Sri Lanka and one of the rarest known odonates in the country. Originally described based on a single specimen collected in 1970, it had not been reported in the past 50 years and thus was considered a globally Critically Endangered Species…