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Taking nature to the people
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
As dusk begins to fall, they straggle along in twos and threes from their humble homes and gather either in the village temple bana hall, the community centre or even in the open air. The men, women and children, some who have never seen a movie or watched television are preparing for a 'show', albeit of a different kind.

Some have heard about this show by word of mouth or over loudspeakers mounted on three-wheelers. Others have read about it on hand-painted leaflets put up in the village thé kadé (tea boutique) or on trees and lamp posts flanking well-trodden paths.

Once they have gathered, sometimes as many as a thousand, they will see a documentary -either done in their own area or a foreign one, dubbed in Sinhala or Tamil- on a subject vital for the survival of mankind.

The subject matter? Nature. Most people, be they farmers, fishermen, housewives or schoolchildren, in getting on with their routines, hardly notice the beauty around them. "We miss what is around us, what we see everyday. Sri Lanka has the highest biodiversity rating in Asia. It is recognized internationally as a biodiversity 'hotspot' with almost 75% of its fauna and flora being endemic. It occupies the 8th place among the 25 world biodiversity hotspot rankings. We show people documentaries to make them aware of nature and begin to appreciate it. We feel that this will gradually make them want to conserve this vital asset," says Nature Foundation's Secretary Prakash Peiris.

Last week his jeep, packed with audio-visual equipment and projector, rolled into Kamburupitiya in Matara for this mission and then on to many areas in Galle.
Explains the Foundation's President Prasantha Jayasekara, "Sri Lanka's eco-system diversity is unique. It ranges from scorching sand dunes to mist-laden plains swept by cool breezes. From vivid coral reefs to evergreen rainforests and golden beaches to steely blue mountain peaks. Yet the human impact on these resources has brought about tremendous pressure on the eco-system."

The Nature Foundation is attempting to follow the advice of Chinese philosopher Kwang Tzu who said, "If you plan for one year plant rice, if you plan for ten years plant trees and if you plan for hundred years educate mankind." "In most cases our audio-visual unit tailor-makes the nearly three-hour documentaries for each area. We want people to appreciate and then conserve nature," says Mr. Jayasekara.

A documentary titled 'Nava Kekulama' is one such programme. Depicting the importance of nature farming for paddy sans the application of agro-chemicals and artificial fertilizer, the presentation has gone down well with farmers in areas with a high use of insecticides such as Boralanda in Welimada and Tantirimale and Willachchiya in Anuradhapura.

"It is based on a concept of a former Deputy Director of Agriculture, G.K. Upawansa, that of the 26 types of insects found in the paddyfield, only nine are harmful. If we allow nature to take its course the natural predators among these 26 insects will feed on the harmful ones thus eliminating them, whereas agro-chemicals will kill all the insects, good and bad, without selection," says Mr. Peiris. The farmers in Tantirimale and Willachchiya have found nature farming to be quite profitable.

The Nature Foundation's award winner has been 'Thurusevanaka Visithuru', a film on the diversity of the Dombagaskanda rainforest. In 1996, it won the UNDA (now OCIC) award for the best documentary.

If the viewers are farmers the destruction of the environment through soil damage is portrayed and also the consequences of it on their livelihood. If it is a coastal village with fishermen, then the focus will be on the destruction of mangroves and corals and the wanton slaughter of turtles and the effects of all this on the eco-system.

The Nature Foundation works with village-based organizations when organizing the viewing for the people. "Lots of people think we are going to show them a movie and come with preconceived notions that they will have some entertainment. This is also entertainment but of a different kind, with awareness and education involved," says Mr. Peiris.

The Foundation, based in Moratuwa and recieving funding from the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme for the equipment, has already covered 10 districts including Matara and Galle. When they zero-in on an area, the Foundation targets the schoolchildren in the morning and the community as a whole in the evening.

The school show is from 9 a.m. to noon and the other from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. “If the area has elephants roaming around we have the show slightly earlier so that people can get home without difficulty,” says Mr. Jayasekara.

In schools, the Foundation focuses on bio-diversity education. “Most of them are children of farmers and we show them nature farming, the impact of development on biodiversity, fauna and flora becoming extinct, the use of pesticides and the harm caused by it. An added advantage of a scientific presentation is that it helps them with the component in the A/Level curriculum for such projects,” he says.

Sometimes pesticide dealers have attempted to disrupt the evening's event but we find the majority of people hushing them up, says Mr. Peiris on the difficulties the Foundation faces.

Prasantha's and Prakash's passion for nature began with the Young Zoologists' Association. When they were older they became more adventurous and in 1989 went on field trips, dabbled in photography and conducted research on nature. The first projector was bought with funds from the Asia Foundation in 1993 and the first documentary shown at the Moratuwa University. It was on the rainforests and also on conservation and extinction titled the 'Last Show on Earth'.

"The impact on the students and lecturers was amazing," says Mr. Peiris.
The need to forge ahead with their crusade came with stunning clarity in Labunoruwa a few years ago when a man in the audience was informed that his teenage daughter had swallowed pesticide back at home and killed herself. "It was tragic. That's what we had been telling them about - the harmful effects coming in different forms," adds Mr. Peiris.

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