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Prof. Sarath Kotagama felicitated

Barely a week after he was honoured with a distinguished award in the United States, internationally acclaimed ornithologist, Professor Sarath Kotagama walked into the Sri Lanka Foundation institute auditorium last evening to be felicitated by the Associated Newspapers Ceylon Limited.

Prof. Kotagama was the third Asian to receive the coveted "Distinguished Service Award for Environment Education and Journalism" by the International Society for Conservation Biology. Speaking to the audience, he said his achievement was teamwork.

"All those who worked with us and who fought to protect our natural heritage will share this with me," he told the audience.

Kotagama, who received the best bird watcher award at S. Thomas's College when he was a junior student, became an Ornithologist in 1980.

He was a writer on fauna and flora, both in Sinhala and English.

Sunil Sarath Perera who spoke on Kotagama's contribution to environment education came out with a gamut of examples of his innovative use of language. In Perera's examples the audience found something common in Kotagama and Cumaratunga Munidasa.

Among the audience who paid tribute to Kotagama was Justice Minister W. J. M. Lokubandara who was fascinated with Kotagama's achievement.

Both Lokubandara and Prof. Kotagama are from the Uva and the former felt that the latter's achievement was a rare tribute to impoverished mountainous province.

Lokubandara then went on to speak about the beauty of the Sinhala language. Former Peradeniya University Vice-Chancellor C. J. M. Lokubandara spoke about the link between Kotagama and Uva and nature and people in Uva.

Pointing to a frog -Bufo Kotagamai- named after Prof. Kotagama, Prof. Lokubandara told the audience in a tone mixed with humour that Kotagama will be remembered for centuries, "as long as the frog survives".

Lake House chairman Nalin Ladduwahetty who said his relationship with Prof. Kotagama went back to 1980, when the latter was still a student said for him it was a great pleasure to pay tribute to the ornithologist whose commitment to environment protection was welknown.

Among the other speakers were Deputy Environment Minister Indika Bandaranaike and two of Prof. Kotagama's proteges Dr. Devaka Weerakon and Nila de Silva.

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