Conservation of birds in Sri Lanka

History

Protection of birds is an age-old custom in Sri Lanka. Endowed with the great Dhamma of Lord Buddha, the people of Sri Lanka respected the lives of other living beings. With the bringing of the Dhamma to Sri Lanka, in the 3rd century BC, it has been recorded that, Arahat Mahinda, Son of King Dharmasoka of India, reflected at a sermon to the king of Sri Lanka, King Devanampiyatissa as follows.According to the recent analysis done by BirdLife International (2007), 25 species of Sri Lankan birds are threatened. This includes resident species and regular visitors as well as vagrants. Another 26 species are categorized as ‘Near threatened’.

            “O Great King, the birds of the air and beasts have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all other beings, and thou are only the guardian of it.”

Historically then, birds in Sri Lanka, have enjoyed the protection from the state and through its culture. The majority of ancient Sri Lankans were not interested in birdlife as a source of food or sport. But, with the medieval European invasions it changed. The idea of sport, and killing of animals for food and fun, became the practice of the ‘elite’. This gun toting elitism continued and traces of it are still abundant. All the present day fauna protection regulations came to be as a result of the unscrupulous killing and slaughter of animals. The protection acts were merely to regularize the process, and as a byproduct with a little bit of concern, they helped to function as means of protecting the fauna at large.

Legislations

Regulations were first mooted by Colonel Clark, R.A. in the year 1889. And due to persistent agitation the first two ordinances were passed in 1891. With special reference to birds the first such a bill or ordinance was passed to prevent the wanton destruction of non-indigenous birds, beasts and fishes in 1893. This was followed by the Wild Bird Protection Act No 10 of 1906.

The protection provided to birds by the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance could be identified under two categories.

• Total protection to all birds is provided within the protected areas.
• Outside the Protected areas all birds except those in schedule II are totally protected. (Schedule II includes a list of species that are not protected. All species not listed as therefore protected)

The ordinance is also supplemented by several other legislations such as Forest ordinance (No. 16 of 1907), Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, (No. 2 of 1996) and Coast Conservation Act (No. 57 of1981) which provide conservation of species and habitats.

International Conventions

Sri Lanka has signed and become a party of many International Conventions related to avian conservation. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973. This convention is a system of rules for regulating trade in species, considered to be affected by international trade or likely to be affected in the future. Total of 46 species of Sri Lankan birds are listed in Appendix I and II of the convention.

The Ramsar convention for protection of wetlands of International importance was signed in 1971 and ratified in 1991. This convention provides the guidance for protection of wetlands which are important habitats for the avifauna especially the congregations of waterbirds. At present, three International Ramsar sites have been declared in Sri Lanka and two of them are identified as Important Bird Areas.

Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS and also called Bonn convention) provides framework for the conservation of migratory species and Sri Lanka is a party to this convention. Since 145 species of birds are migrants and 117 are vagrants to the island, implementation of this convention is vital for the conservation of these species. Many of the species migrate to Sri Lanka are listed in the convention for protection.

Threats

The principle threat to the avifauna of Sri Lanka is habitat loss and fragmentation. Most of the species recognized as threatened have been brought to this status due to habitat loss in forests and wetlands. Conservation action requires protecting existing natural habitats. Limited to a few locations and at rather insignificant level is the killing of birds for food etc.

A new threat that has an adverse effect on the avifauna is the “commercialization of bird watching”. The use of tape lures to attract rare and elusive birds (mostly endemics) to be shown to foreign visitors by using breeding or communication calls has clearly had its impact. The practice, on the merit of clear evidence, resulted in prohibiting tape lures within Sinharaja Wilderness Area.