Event Title
Biodiversity Conservation in the Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities in Tropical World
Location
Hart 115
Start Time
12-5-2016 11:45 AM
End Time
12-5-2016 12:00 PM
Description
Sri Lanka is rich in biodiversity and endemism, and considered a global biodiversity hotspot containing many key biodiversity areas. Sri Lanka has lost most of the primary forests; only 1.5% remains intact with total vegetation cover diminished below 20%. Yet, less than 10% of natural landscapes are under state-legislated protection. Over 20% of Sri Lanka’s vegetation cover occurs outside the protected area networks that are subjected to multiple land tenureship. Our recent surveys revealed that such unprotected lands provide habitat for threatened species, highly-exploited species, and locally-rare species. Greater than 100 species of avifauna and butterflies have been recorded from rural home gardens and traditional farms. These landscapes provide suitable habitats for much of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity while establishing landscape-scale connectivity across multiple ecosystems. Therefore, exploring biodiversity outside Sri Lanka's protected area network and planning conservation amongst multi-use anthropocentric habitats are foremost in importance.
Biodiversity Conservation in the Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities in Tropical World
Hart 115
Sri Lanka is rich in biodiversity and endemism, and considered a global biodiversity hotspot containing many key biodiversity areas. Sri Lanka has lost most of the primary forests; only 1.5% remains intact with total vegetation cover diminished below 20%. Yet, less than 10% of natural landscapes are under state-legislated protection. Over 20% of Sri Lanka’s vegetation cover occurs outside the protected area networks that are subjected to multiple land tenureship. Our recent surveys revealed that such unprotected lands provide habitat for threatened species, highly-exploited species, and locally-rare species. Greater than 100 species of avifauna and butterflies have been recorded from rural home gardens and traditional farms. These landscapes provide suitable habitats for much of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity while establishing landscape-scale connectivity across multiple ecosystems. Therefore, exploring biodiversity outside Sri Lanka's protected area network and planning conservation amongst multi-use anthropocentric habitats are foremost in importance.
Comments
Moderator: Heather Pacheco-Guffrey