Presentation made to a audience of ambassadors to highlight biodiversity of Sri Lanka.

1. Biodiversity
Sights and Insights from Sri Lanka
Hemesiri Kotagama
Department of Natural Resource Economics
Sultan Qaboos University
Hemesiri Kotagama

2. Biodiversity is the Variety of Life
• Beautiful and the ugly
• Big and small
• Vicious and innocent
• Visible and invisible
• Discovered and undiscovered
• All … life.
Hemesiri Kotagama

3. Expressions of Biodiversity
Ecosystem
Diversity
Species Diversity
Genetic
Diversity
Hemesiri Kotagama

4. Ecosystem Diversity
Sights from Sri Lanka
Hemesiri Kotagama

5. Flowering Plants
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Vietnam
Bangladesh
Philippines
Thailand
Indonesia
Myanmar
India
China
Number of Species / 10,000 Sq Kms
Species Diversity
Sights from Sri Lanka
Hemesiri Kotagama

6. Amphibians
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sri Lanka
Philippines
Thailand
Myanmar
China High endemicity (85%)
Species Diversity
Sights from Sri Lanka
Hemesiri Kotagama

7. Species Diversity
Sights from Sri Lanka
Reptiles
0 5 10 15 20 25
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Malaysia
Myanmar
Indonesia
India
China
SNAKES - 94 ( 46% Endemic). Only 5 lethal
Hemesiri Kotagama

8. Mammals
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Sri Lanka
Vietnam
Thailand
Indonesia
China
Hemesiri Kotagama

9. Birds
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Malaysia
Sri Lanka
Philippines
Thailand
Myanmar
Indonesia
Pakistan
India
China
Number of Species / 10,000 Sq Kms
Hemesiri Kotagama

10. Sri Lanka has Very
Diverse Floristic Regions
too …
Hemesiri Kotagama

11. ENDEMISM
Very high numbers of
endemics in both plants and
animals
Hemesiri Kotagama

12. ENDEMISM Among the flowering
plants > 35%
Hemesiri Kotagama

13. ENDEMISM among the Flowering
plants in the wet zone > 65%
Hemesiri Kotagama

14. Endemism high among least mobile vertebrate
fauna - > 50% in Amphibia and Reptiles,
Hemesiri Kotagama

15. FRESH WATER CRABS 59 SPP
100% ENDEMIC
Even higher
endemism among
the
INVERTEBRATES
Land snails – 204 species . >
80% ENDEMIC.
Hemesiri Kotagama

16. Fishes they are unique…
• Nearly 50% endemic
Most of them are restricted
to South - western and
Mahaweli region
• Diversity in size /
morphology / habitats /
ecology
• Introduced
24spp
Hemesiri Kotagama

17. A large mammal - elephant in a small
island
- most unusual
Hemesiri Kotagama

18. One of 35 HOT SPOTS
of the world
Hemesiri Kotagama

19. Our biodiversity has numerous unique features
contributing to make SRI LANKA a true
“LAND LIKE NO OTHER”
Hemesiri Kotagama

20. What has Contributed to this High
Diversity?
Hemesiri Kotagama

21. Sri Lanka is an Island with a Coast Line
that Extends over 1340 km
Hemesiri Kotagama

22. Sri Lanka Has Many Climatic Zones
Hemesiri Kotagama

23. Sri Lanka has a High
Variation in Elevation –
from Sea Level to about
8200 feet
Hemesiri Kotagama

24. 103 River Basins
Hemesiri Kotagama

25. Several Thousand
Man Made Lakes
Hemesiri Kotagama

26. No Lake dwelling fish, High number of fish
with accessory respiratory organs indicate
that Sri Lanka did not have natural inland
water bodies
Hemesiri Kotagama

27. 14 Great Soil
Groups
Hemesiri Kotagama

28. Hillocks, rock outcrops, catchments,
escarpments are floral and faunal
refuges (least distrubed)
Hemesiri Kotagama

29. Why should Biodiversity be
Conserved
Hemesiri Kotagama

30. MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT
• Maximize social welfare/ satisfaction
• 1950: Material development
• 1960: Equitable development
• 1970: Qualitative development
• 1980: Righteous development
• 1990: Sustainable development
• 2000: Participatory development
Hemesiri Kotagama

31. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• A development process that best satisfies the
present generation whilst leaving options for
the future generations to best satisfy
themselves.
• An option that links present and future
generation is the environment.
Hemesiri Kotagama

32. Hemesiri Kotagama

33. Hemesiri Kotagama
COMPONENTS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES

34. Option Values of Biodiversity
Genetic Engineering Pharmaceutical Prospecting
Hemesiri Kotagama

35. Medicine
• About 80% of the
people in developing
countries use plants as
a primary source of
medicine.
• 57% of the 150 most-
prescribed drugs have
their origins in
biodiversity
Source: © AMNH-CBC
prepared by M.F. Laverty and E.J. Sterling
Hemesiri Kotagama

36. BIOPROSPECTING?
Bioprospecting is:
“the examination of biological resources
for features that may be of value for commercial
development”
Hemesiri Kotagama

37. Financial value of biodiversity
Estimates of annual markets for some products derived from
genetic resources
Products Annual Sales (billion US$)
Low High
Pharmaceuticals 75 150
Botanical medicines 20 40
Agricultural produce 300+ 450+
Ornamental horticulture 16 19
Crop protection 0.6 3
Biotech (except health & agriculture) 60 120
Personal care & cosmetics 2.8 2.8
ROUNDED TOTAL 500 800Source: ten Kate K and Laird SA (1999), The Commercial Use of Biodiversiy, Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Hemesiri Kotagama

38. BIOPROSPECTING
Bioprospecting is BIG business!
PHARMACEUTICALS: US$300 billion
AGROCHEMICALS and SEED: US$60 billion
ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE: US$16-19 billion
NATURAL MEDICINES: US$10 billion
Hemesiri Kotagama

39. AN ISSUE OF SIGNIFICANCE
Biological diversity rich nations are a prime target
for bioprospecting
So is Sri Lanka
Hemesiri Kotagama

40. • De Silva, S. and H.B. Kotagama (1997) “Value
of Carbon Sequestration and Sink Service of
Forests in Sri Lanka: Justification for
International Resources Transfer for Forest
Conservation.” Sri Lankan Journal of
Agricultural Sciences Vol. (35) 1998, 1-9.
Hemesiri Kotagama

41. • Pushpakumara, Kotagama, Marambe,
Gamage, Silva, Gunaratne, Wijesundara and
Karaluvinne. 2002. Sri Lankan Journal of
Agricultural Economics. Volume 4. Part 1. Pp.
39-71. Prospects of Pharmaceutical
Prospecting to Finance Biodiversity
Conservation in Sri Lanka.
Hemesiri Kotagama

42. • Vmp (L) = {NR*.p*.r*.a*.Vi/n}/ A
• where: Vmp(L) is potential revenue that could be generated from
• pharmaceutical prospecting per hectare per year,
• NR is number of plant species at risk of extinction,
• P is the probability of discovering a drug from a plant,
• r is the royalty rate on pharmaceutical prospecting,
• a is the probability of appropriating revenue generated from
pharmaceutical prospecting,
• Vi is the value of a plant based drugs per year
• n is the number of plants that had been used in developing drugs
• A is extent of land under biodiversity conservation.
• Estimate 50 – 800 US $ / Ha
Hemesiri Kotagama

43. • Empirical evidence suggests that
• there exists a reasonable potential for
• pharmaceutical prospecting to
• generate revenues to conserve forest
• biodiversity in Sri Lanka. This
• potential has improved due not only
• to the availability of high
• biodiversity but also the high
• availability of TKB. Based on the
• forgoing economic analysis it could
• be recommended that Sri Lanka
• should attempt to formally
• appropriate the benefits from
• pharmaceutical prospecting,
• dispelling bio-piracy.
Hemesiri Kotagama

44. “Seeking
Justice”
Hemesiri Kotagama

45. Hemesiri Kotagama