The Fauna of Sri Lanka - IUCN

Message from the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka
It is with great pleasure that I write this message for this comprehensive publication on the status of fauna
in Sri Lanka, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment. Being the government focal member, the Ministry
of Environment has been actively involved in biodiversity conservation activities in collaboration with IUCN
– The World Conservation Union in Sri Lanka, during the past two decades. Such collaborations have
resulted in several valuable outputs, including publications such as the 1999 Biodiversity Conservation
Framework for Action, and several workshops to raise awareness and/or build capacity to conserve the
rich biodiversity in the island. The Ministry decided to co-finance the printing of this publication through
financial assistance from the ADB/GEF funded Protected Area Management and Wildlife Conservation
Project, in order to disseminate it and provide information on the current status of fauna in Sri Lanka,
among a wider group of stakeholders including researchers, students, teachers and policy makers. I am
confident that this publication would contribute towards promoting research on the different groups of
fauna in the island, and also be used to develop and implement relevant conservation policies. I wish to
thank all the researchers who contributed with very interesting papers on the status of different groups of
fauna, in order to make this publication a success.
Mr. Jayalath R. W. Dissanayake
Secretary
Ministry of Environment
Sri Lanka
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