Colombo East-West Group Corr.
Wildlife researcher, Shri Lal Nishanta Hettiarachchi's new book, 'Siri Laka Vana Gomu' or Forests of Lanka was launched at a public function held by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Trust at the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science auditorium in Vidya Mawatha last Saturday. The Additional Secretary to the President, R. Maligaspe presided.

Environmentalist Jagath Gunawardena and Executive Director of the Wildlife Department, Jinasiri Dadallege emphasised the importance of wildlife conservation and protection. They expressed the view that serious and methodical research into wildlife in the country is equally important.

Senior Asst. Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Sunil Sarath Perera who has been involved actively in environment and wildlife research made an assessment of the new book by the author Nishanta Hettiarachchi and commended him for the reasonably indepth research he has made in his effort. Although some Lankans have made rather superficial descriptions of some aspects of wildlife of this country indepth research is sadly rare. Hence the new researcher deserves encouragement to continue the good work he has begun.

Sinhala literature offers some information about plants and animals of the country. But such information is hardly analytical and substantial. Books on indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine provide better information on plants and animals, particularly insects, fish and reptiles. However such information is confined to the field of medicine and has not been sufficiently popularised. Therefore people know little of what is contained in those books.

Foreign writers like Emerson Tennent, Leonard Woolf, John Still, Hugh Nevill, R. L. Spittel, Robert Knox, M. D. Raghavan and others have made an attempt to describe the flora and fauna of the country to some extent. Of all of them the information provided by Tennent is fuller and more significant. Robert Knox's accounts are rather shallow.

Vicent Legge's 'A History of the Birds of Ceylon was the first book of information on Lanka's birds. The best book on the subject was written and published by G. M. Henry titled 'A Guide to the Birds of Ceylon’ in 1955. To Prof. Sarath Kotagama goes the credit of writing and publishing the best book available in Sinhala on Lanka's birds. It is a book written in clean lucid Sinhala avoiding as far as possible Sanskritic jawbreakers.

It is always commendable to engage in indepth research on wild life of Lanka with a sense of commitment and responsibility concluded the speaker.