SLT calendar on 'Wild Fruits of Sri Lanka'
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) launched its calendar for 2016 on 'Wild
Fruits of Sri Lanka' at the SLT premises in Fort recently.
Senior Lecturer, Zoology Department, University of Colombo, Prof.
Devaka Weerakoon, former Deputy Director of Customs, Biodiversity,
Cultural and National Heritage Protection Division, Samantha Gunasekara
and Senior Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardana were also present.
Each year, SLT produces these calendars under the main theme
'preserving heritage for tomorrow', with sub-themes that alternate its
focus between the arts, culture and biodiversity of Sri Lanka.
The importance of this heritage has been forgotten by society and it
is currently dying or in decline and there is a pressing need to revive
it and ensure its sustainability so that future generations will benefit
by this rich heritage.
Chairman, SLT, P.G. Kumarasinghe Sirisena said, "The value of wild
fruits has not been clearly understood or has been forgotten over the
years. Wild fruits are becoming increasingly rare mainly due to clearing
of forests and also due to the degeneration of indigenous knowledge
concerning wild fruits, harvesting techniques and preparation."
"This is why we decided to base our 2016 Calendar on the theme 'Wild
Fruits of Sri Lanka' as the first step to conservation is educating the
public. Through these calendars and other programs that we have lined up
for the coming year aligned with the theme 'Wild Fruits of Sri Lanka',
we hope to raise awareness among the public about the importance of wild
fruits toto preserve them for future generations," he said.
Approximately 120 species of wild fruit types have been recorded in
Sri Lanka. Even though some species are flourishing due to high demand,
others are on the verge of becoming rare today.
SLT Calendar 2016 was produced after much research and with the
support and advice of Dr. Field Ecologist, Centre for Applied
Biodiversity Research and Education Samantha Suranjan Fernando. |