Exploring scenic wonders
Sinharaja artistically done up in calendar form:
“At dawn, amidst the wide expanse of the Sinharaja rainforest, a
flock of as many as 40 birds or more take flight. It is a carnival of
riotous birdsong and diversity as a bird sends out a high pitched
whistle, which is answered by the twittering of another and dozens of
other species travelling together….”
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Facts about
Sinharaja
* The Forest Reserve was
designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978
* It was named as a World
Heritage Site in 1988 by UNESCO
* It is the last tract of
virgin rainforest in Sri Lanka
* Consists of a wide variety
of plant life
* The name of the forest
means ‘Lion King’ |
The SLT 2010 calendars takes the viewers on a journey through the
Sinharaja Forest, as each page picturesquely illustrates the diversity
of the forest from 300m to 1170m, through rich and colourful imagery of
rare birds, plants, insects and mammals, drawing attention to the
vivacity and exuberance of the forest.
In recent years, the environment and the need for conservation has
drawn immense interest the world over, as realization has dawned
throughout the globe of the importance of ecological stability for the
survival of all life forms – including humans - and the frightening but
very “real” fact that the earth’s resources will, in fact, run out,
unless proper measures are taken to conserve these natural resources.
Thus, in an effort to increase awareness on the importance of conserving
biodiversity for future generations, the United Nations declared the
year 2010 as the ‘International Year of Biodiversity’.
Conservation and protection of nature has always been an area that
has been close to the heart of Sri Lanka Telecom. Thus, as the Company’s
contribution towards the declaration made by the United Nations, Sri
Lanka Telecom chose to depict the rich heritage of Sri Lanka through its
calendars for the year 2010. The main aim of this is to educate the
public and raise awareness on the rich heritage of Sri Lanka and the
importance of nature conservation.
The imagery for the Sri Lanka Telecom calendars are carefully
selected after much evaluation by the SLT team working together with a
team of professional resource persons who are experts in the field.
The resource persons for the 2010 calendars include: renowned
ornithologist in Sri Lanka, Prof. Sarath Kotagama, with over 35 years of
experience with the Sinharaja Forest. He is the Professor of
Environmental Science at the University of Colombo and he is also the
Vice President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL),
which is a non-profit organization affiliated to the University of
Colombo and which works towards nature conservation; Professor of Botany
at the Colombo University Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke; Senior Professor of
Botany at Colombo University Professor Savithri Gunatilleke;
Herpetologist and visiting lecturer at Kelaniya University Kelum
Manamendra-Arachchi; Senior Lecturer at the Department of Zoology,
Colombo University Dr. Mayuri Wijesinghe.
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The
splendors of Sinharaja |
PR
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