Hemesiri Kotagama

BiodiversitySights and Insights from Sri Lanka

Hemesiri KotagamaDepartment of Natural Resource

EconomicsSultan Qaboos University

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

Expressions of Biodiversity

Ecosystem Diversity

Species Diversity

Genetic Diversity

Hemesiri Kotagama

Ecosystem Diversity Sights from Sri Lanka

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

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

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

Mammals

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Sri Lanka

Vietnam

Thailand

Indonesia

China

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

Sri Lanka has Very Diverse Floristic Regions too …

Hemesiri Kotagama

ENDEMISM

Very high numbers of endemics in both plants and animals

Hemesiri Kotagama

ENDEMISM Among the flowering plants > 35%

Hemesiri Kotagama

ENDEMISM among the Flowering plants in the wet zone > 65%

Hemesiri Kotagama

Endemism high among least mobile vertebrate fauna - > 50% in Amphibia and

Reptiles,

Hemesiri Kotagama

FRESH WATER CRABS 59 SPP 100% ENDEMIC

Even higher endemism among the INVERTEBRATES

Land snails – 204 species . > 80% ENDEMIC.

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

Hemesiri Kotagama

A large mammal - elephant in a small island

- most unusual

Hemesiri Kotagama

One of 35 HOT SPOTS of the world

Hemesiri Kotagama

Our biodiversity has numerous unique features contributing to make SRI LANKA a true

“LAND LIKE NO OTHER”

Hemesiri Kotagama

What has Contributed to this High Diversity?

Hemesiri Kotagama

Sri Lanka is an Island with a Coast Line that Extends over 1340 km

Hemesiri Kotagama

Sri Lanka Has Many Climatic Zones

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

Hemesiri Kotagama

103 River Basins

Hemesiri Kotagama

Several Thousand Man

Made Lakes

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

14 Great Soil Groups

Hemesiri Kotagama

Hillocks, rock outcrops, catchments, escarpments are floral and faunal refuges

(least distrubed)

Hemesiri Kotagama

Why should Biodiversity be Conserved

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

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

Hemesiri Kotagama

Hemesiri Kotagama

COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES

Hemesiri Kotagama

Option Values of Biodiversity

Genetic Engineering Pharmaceutical Prospecting

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

Hemesiri Kotagama

BIOPROSPECTING?

Bioprospecting is:

“the examination of biological resourcesfor features that may be of value for commercial

development”

Financial value of biodiversity

Estimates of annual markets for some products derived from genetic resources

Products Annual Sales (billion US$)Low High

Pharmaceuticals 75 150Botanical medicines 20 40Agricultural produce 300+ 450+Ornamental horticulture 16 19Crop protection 0.6 3Biotech (except health & agriculture) 60 120Personal care & cosmetics 2.8 2.8ROUNDED TOTAL 500 800Source: ten Kate K and Laird SA (1999), The Commercial Use of Biodiversiy, Earthscan Publications Ltd.

Hemesiri Kotagama

Hemesiri Kotagama

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

AN ISSUE OF SIGNIFICANCE

Biological diversity rich nations are a prime target for bioprospecting

So is Sri Lanka

Hemesiri Kotagama

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

“Seeking Justice”

Hemesiri Kotagama