|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 28 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
News | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Use traditional wisdom to mitigate drought effects - Prof. Maddumabandara by Florence Wickramage What is seen today is a drought in thinking and planning and if this situation was not corrected the country would have to face a natural drought by the year 2025, said Prof. C. M. Maddumabandara, addressing a media workshop in Colombo recently. Prof. Maddumabandara was speaking at the workshop on "Achieving Environmental Sustainability by Integrating Environmental Aspects into Formal Education" at the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS). Prof. Maddumabandara quoting Albert Schweitzer that "man has lost the capacity to foresee and forestall and that he would end by destroying the earth and added that the time is ripe to use traditional wisdom to mitigate drought effects. Stressing the importance of including Environment as a subject in schools Maddumabandara said that the young student's mind was the base on which foundations on the importance of Environmental Sustainability should be built. Stating that traditional wisdom had steered the country to prosperity through generations, he added that "Risk Evasive farming, Bethma System and Resource Conservation had been a priority in the past. Due to these methods environmental sustainability of bio-diversity was achieved. Chairman of the Secondary Education Modernisation Project (SEMP) of the Ministry of Education Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe stressed that formal education need not necessarily be a vehicle but that all the subjects taught in schools should include environment as an essential component. Spiritual sustainability, moral sustainability and cultural sustainability should be emphasised in grooming future generations towards a sustainable society Prof. Ranasinghe added. Others who addressed the workshop included Education Ministry's Science and Technology Director Douglas Ranasinghe, Project Director SEMP Anura Dissanayake, Environment Consultant Dr. Risto Hamari, P. M. Tillekerathne Bandara and L. C. Seneviratne. Dr. W. L.Sumathipala delivered the vote of thanks. The workshop was organized by the Media Resource Service of the SLAAS in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Association for Science Communicators and the Lanka Association for Sustainability (LASS) and sponsored by the Secondary Education Modernisation Project of the Ministry of Education. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
