“Very strong winds (60-70) kmph, accompanied with heavy rainfalls and very rough seas are likely to continue further over the sea areas around the island, Arabian Sea areas and Bay of Bengal Sea areas due to the active south-west monsoonal condition,” it said issuing a warning.

“Naval and fishing communities are advised not to venture into the sea areas marked by RED color on the map above until further notice.”

Those who are out at these sea regions have been advised to return to land or move to safer areas immediately.

The fishing and naval community are requested to be attentive to future forecasts issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.

The Department’s Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre warned of strong winds of up to 60-70 kmph, and rough seas around the island.

“The swell waves (about 2.5 m – 3.0 m) height (This is not for land area) may increase in the sea areas off the coast extending from Kalpitiya to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle and Hambantota. There is a possibility that near shore sea areas off the coast extending from Kalpitiya to Matara via, Colombo and Galle may experience surges due to swell waves.” (Colombo/May27/2024)

On the other, heightened geopolitical rivalries between competing nations, the USA and her allies, and China and her Belt and Road Initiative may well divide loyalties amongst the Bay’s littoral states impacting the smooth implementation of the project.

The Bay of Bengal (BoB), the largest in the world lays claim to 12 per cent of mangroves including the Sundarbans mangrove forest, 8 per cent of coral reefs and a huge expanse of seagrasses. Its coastline is home to nearly 1.4 billion people.

An important shipping route, its littorals include India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. As the Founder-Chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Research Dr D Dhanuraj described it at a web talk on Exploring Ecological Realities for Conservation in the Bay of Bengal Region “The Bay of Bengal is one of the most ecologically significant and biodiverse areas on the planet.”

He added that the BoB affects climate patterns worldwide, is critical to marine habitat, and is a global
biodiversity hotspot.

He further said that millions depend on this resource-rich Bay for livelihood, which is now threatened by habitat loss, altered land use, resource exploitation, salinity, accumulation of non-biodegradable matter, and population increase.

The web talk on May 22nd, organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, South Asia and moderated by Jishnu Ravindran of the Centre for Public Policy Research, included Sevvandi Jayakody, Chair Professor, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Retd.

Rear Admiral ASM A Awal, Former Ambassador & Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, Bangladesh, Thanda Ko Gyi, Founder, Myanmar Ocean Project and Akansha Tiwari, Filmmaker, Activist, and Marine Conservationist, India on the panel.

Jayakody says long-term use and abuse of its natural capital has resulted in the region facing multiple threats; rising sea levels brought on by climate change, excessive pollution owing to agricultural runoffs, industrial waste, coastal development and its resultant destruction of the habitat.

The situation is further impacted by emerging issues such as “increased marine disasters in the region, and overall, the areas without oxygen are expanding in the Indian Ocean.”

But, Jayakody points out, all is not lost. Within the BoB, the countries are working together on several initiatives to reverse the trend; more areas are being declared as marine protected, and there is a refocus on reforestation, restoration of the ecosystem, and science and evidence-based fishery management. More stakeholders are beginning to understand the need for corrective action.

Getting rid of single-use plastics is one such important step in the right direction, she states.

The key is to adopt an interdisciplinary approach which is scientifically sound, taking into account the needs and well-being of the people affected. ‘Decisions taken must be justifiable not only to the current but future generations.”

A paradigm shift is necessary, she says. “Do we need to kill to survive, she asks, pointing to a Caribbean example, where, shark harvesting was minimised by demonstrating their importance for tourism. Interaction between stakeholders rather than working within silos, will bring about sustainable outcomes she explains.

In Myanmar, says Thanda Ko Gyi, the road to marine conservation and research has been slow even before the COVID pandemic and the recent political instability. Thanda Ko Gyi who is using comic books to spread the word on the importance of conserving the ocean and marine mammals, explains that every community is different. The key is to listen to their needs and finding locally workable solutions instead of implementing policies that are made elsewhere.

Security and geographic issues have prevented a robust discussion on marine and coastal conservation says, Akansha Tiwari. However, local communities have an emotional connection to the environment and are sensitive to the issues. They understand and are open to conservation methods as long as there is “no direct threat from programmes and policies to their livelihoods.”

Communities have lived experiences, while policies and projects tend to tilt towards taking extreme sides.

There are incentives she explains to encourage the preservation of sea turtles, for example. But on days there is a poor catch, fishermen may capture sea turtles and bring them ashore, simply to be paid off by the authorities to release them back to the waters.

Geopolitical issues have plagued the Indian Ocean since time immemorial, but now, instead of finding amicable solutions, threats and use of force have become the first weapon of choice, says Retd. Rear Admiral ASM A Awal. Once mostly known for cyclones and atmospheric impacts on surrounding nations, the competition between regional powers, India and China brings a different focus to the region.

It’s an area that is interconnected through “culture, commerce and connectivity he points out, but security objectives are creating divisions and the littorals are caught up between them.” Geopolitical issues, he warns, could destroy any collaboration initiated to conserve the ecosystem.

The Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem project covers a 6.8 million square km area and impacts half a billion people. It requires administrative involvement to wade through the different legal systems of each participating country.

There is a need to prioritise marine sustainability and its implementation lies with the local authorities, he explains, adding that 66 per cent of the responsibility lies within national jurisdiction, while the international commitment covers 34 per cent which is the high seas.

To be successfully implemented, funding, collaboration, commitment and expertise are necessary, he states.

In his keynote address, Benno Boer, Chief of the Natural Sciences Unit, UNESCO, New Delhi Office reiterates that the Triple Planetary Crisis (TPC) is “not only because of biodiversity loss and climate change but exploitation of natural resources.”

Increasing populations will lead to further losses to biodiversity, and habitat fragmentation, negatively impact agriculture and cause more interior migration. By 2025 Bangladesh’s population will peak at 193 million and India will, by 2060 be at around 1.65 billion.

Green jobs and green entrepreneurship are the way forward he says, calling for a changed mindset, and questions the need for yearly “carbon-intensive, expensive conferences.”

Every school ground and building and all students must be good environmental stewards, to protect the “air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.”

It is also time to rethink who is appointed to decision-making bodies that oversee environmental issues; “Is it advisable that those with degrees in political science, law and journalism are in charge of environmental authorities?

Do we not urgently need key staff in key ministries with documented and certified knowledge and background in the areas related to the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere etc.?”

Human survival must be a top priority globally, not just in the Bay of Bengal, and “Sustainability must be the new normal,” Boer suggests, adding that if high-ranking decision-makers had the appropriate professional background they would understand the seriousness of the Triple Planetary Crisis.

In his message to the web talk, Member of the German Bundestag, and the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development, Muhanad Al-Halak pointed out that the effects and challenges to biodiversity do not stop at the borders, and therefore, require collaboration at all levels of government.

Cooperation and knowledge are key to finding sustainable use of ocean resources and economic growth.

Addressing the 10th World Water Forum, Wickremesinghe stated that the “Global North is willing to fund death and destruction in the Ukraine, but there is an unwillingness to fund measures to avoid death and destruction caused by climate change,” a statement by his media division said.

Wickremesinghe proposed that a 10 percent levy on the annual profits of global tax evasion assets deposited in tax havens be charged to help fund climate change. The annual profits are estimated at 1.4 trillion dollars per annum.

The President told a forum in Colombo this month that Sri Lanka will sit out the international climate summit, Conference of Parties, in future if there continues to be a lack of cohesion in solutions to tackle climate change among world leaders.

Related story
Sri Lanka to sit-out COP if there is no agreement, climate funding: President

COP28 sees new era for climate action with $57 bln pledge; Sri Lanka’s proposals need approval

The President has said that the funding that Sri Lanka was awaiting from the Conference of Parties held in Glasgow in 2021 was not received.

Sri Lanka has consistently been placed among the top ten countries at risk of extreme weather events by the Global Climate Risk Index. (Colombo/May20/2024)

“Disaster risk reduction is critical to building a strong community,” Defense Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne said speaking at the 67th National Disaster Management Coordinating Committee held on Thursday.

Sri Lanka is increasingly affected by extreme weather conditions. Warnings have been issued of adverse weather conditions in store for the island this week.

Foreign representatives, heads of United Nations agencies, managers and directors as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and a group of senior officers of the Armed Forces participated at the forum. (Colombo/May17/2024)

“We are already drafting a new law, which will deal with the environment and climate change.”

“How we can adapt to climate change, how we can combat climate change, is certainly a matter of importance for all of us. You know what it has been like in the last few days, walking around in the city. And this is just a sign of things to come.

Wickremesinghe was speaking at the inaugural session of the Sri Lanka Climate Summit, hosted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, on the theme “Climate Action for our Nation and the Planet.”

The summit aims to assess potential disruptions to critical sectors of the economy and deliberate on policy reforms necessary for transitioning towards a low-emission, climate-resilient economic framework.

“We can’t carry on with this economic model, which certainly hasn’t worked. We have to transform ourselves into an export-oriented economy and a highly competitive economy. For this purpose, the government will be introducing legislation in parliament, which will ensure that all government policies focus on the transformation to a highly competitive export-oriented economy. In fact, the bill will most probably be gazetted next week.

“One of the items in the bill is to ensure that we achieve net-zero by 2050.”

“So in making our policies, which are going to affect all of you, not merely a transformation of an economy into export orientation, but into an economy that is based on achieving net-zero. So that’s how we are going to work this out.”

Wickremesinghe said that some countries have different laws, but Sri Lanka would bring one law which will handle both environment and climate change.

“It retains the Central Environment Authority but will also bring in the Climate Change Centre. In the process of drafting, I’ve asked the officials, in doing so, let us as far as possible, follow the Climate Change Act of the UK, which I think is a good one and it puts the burden on the government and the minister to act on the advice of the Climate Change Committee and to table the regulations in Parliament.”

“We have to have a green economy. So green financing, and the whole aspect, the commercial and economic aspects become important. That’s where the Chamber of Commerce has an important role to play. We will promote the green economy. We will give priority to promoting a green economy. We might as well be the first in the region to do so. We are small enough to do that. And, our development, I hope, all of you will focus on seeing how we can succeed in becoming a green economy.

“Part of this will depend on how we structure our new financial instruments. One reason for following the Climate Change Act of the UK is that it has been well accepted by the financial circle. So we will ensure that our green financing, the different options available, are certainly based on the same practices as the UK. The rest is how do we get these instruments together? What do we do?

“Well, that’s why I think the Chamber of Commerce, the Stock Exchange, our investment ministry all should come together. So that’s one area that will have to be developed once we announce the details of our policy on climate change. I would want it to cover every sector of the economy.

“We might as well start from the beginning. We need not be looking at different sectors and sequencing it. We are small enough, and where we are, we can start on all sectors together.” (Colombo/May8/2024)

“In the mornings, in the assembly, children faint. They get exposed to the heat,” Pathirana told reporters on Monday.

“There have been a few hospital admissions, mainly due to faintings, headaches and dehydration,” Pathirana said. “But thankfully there aren’t many cases as such.”

Sri Lanka’s Meteorological Department has indicated that the maximum temperature in the last 24 hours was 39.1 degrees Celsius in Anuradhapura.

Authorities are cautioning people to stay out of the sun, hydrate, wear light or white clothing, and restrict strenuous activity. The elderly, children and those who are ill, face higher risk in the current heatwave. (Colombo/May6/2024)

“As Sri Lanka stands at a critical juncture, with scientific consensus warning of the potentially devastating consequences of accelerating climate change, the three-day summit will serve as a platform for national dialogue on the impacts and opportunities of climate change for businesses,” the Chamber said in a statement.

“The event aims to explore the dual reality of climate risks and opportunities and specific climate threats facing Sri Lanka.

“It will also highlight potential disruptions to key economic sectors while exploring how climate action can translate to opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses.”

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will inaugurate the Summit.

A line-up of national and international experts in public and climate policy, industry veterans, and leading figures in climate action, will lead the discussions.

Sessions will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including understanding climate risks, risks to businesses, integrating climate action into business strategy, and decarbonisation.

The Summit will also examine industry-specific strategies to facilitate Sri Lanka’s journey towards becoming a sustainability center of excellence, as well as proactive policy measures to ensure that Sri Lankan businesses are well-positioned to thrive in a world increasingly focused on decarbonization.

The Summit’s closing session will consolidate key insights and takeaways into an implementable Climate Action Plan, the Chamber said.

This plan is envisioned to propel green growth and action in terms of both adaptation and mitigation of climate risks, and contribute towards Sri Lanka’s green economic transition.

For registration Niroshini at 0115588852 or niroshini@chamber.lk, or Shanuka at 0115588892 or events.division@chamber.lk can be contacted. People could also visit https://slcs.chamber.lk/.(Colombo/May04/2024)

“The cabinet approved the proposal to make the Mirissa marine zone a Blue Flag coastal zone and a marine wildlife sanctuary conforming to international standards,” Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday.

“This will increase by fivefold the southern province’s tourism-based economy.”

A blue flag denotes a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets the standards of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

FEE is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 77 member countries. (Colombo/Apr30/2024)

“These numbers already receive information from the public regarding various environmental damages such as mining for minerals, illegal mining along riverbanks, environmental damage caused by illegal factories and noise pollution,” the Police said in a statement after a discussion with the CEA.

The public were encouraged to report various environment harming issues including noise pollution, vehicles that emit excessive smoke or honk horns excessively, and the disposal of inorganic and organic waste and/or burning trash.

The CEA and the Police reached an agreement to carry out future raids and awareness campaigns related to environmental protection. (Colombo/Apr18/2024)

“As extreme hot weather may rise further today, tomorrow and the next day (Feb 28, 29 and March 1), avoid keeping school students outdoors in high temperatures,” the ministry said in a statement.

With temperatures expected to increase in the next few days, “students in any school in the island will not participate in outdoor sports training activities or sports events”. The Ministry of Education has advised all schools to refrain from engaging in any other external activity.

Instructions have been forwarded to the provincial and regional education authorities to inform principals, and “to proceed according to the series of instructions issued by the Ministry of Health”.

According to the Department of Meteorology forecast, the heat index, the temperature felt on the human body, is expected to increase up to the ‘Caution’ level at some places in the North-western, Western and Southern provinces and Ratnapura District.

A ‘Caution’ level denotes ‘fatigue is possible with prolonged exposure and activity. Continuing activity could result in heat cramps.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children [or pets] unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
(Colombo/Feb28/2024)

“A comprehensive national disaster management plan for 2023-2030 has been formulated taking into account the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the sustainable development goals, and conventions on climate change, and working with relevant institutions,” Gunawardena said. “This will be tabled in parliament for approval.”

Gunawardena said that with the possibility of extreme weather conditions increasing, a broad national disaster action plan was important.

According to World Bank data, disasters such as floods, cyclones and landslides are most common in Sri Lanka, with 151,885 people being affected by floods in the year 2020.

“A rise in extreme events and natural disasters as a result of climate change is expected to pose considerable threat to Sri Lanka’s economy and human health,” the World Bank said. (Colombo/Feb6/2024)

Communities across Sri Lanka had taken part in the project titled Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO), the embassy said, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a partnership of nearly three years.

“The CCBO programme, launched in Sri Lanka in 2021, is USAID’s global flagship programme to address ocean plastic pollution. In Sri Lanka, demand for single-use plastics has grown while waste management systems have struggled to keep pace with only an estimated 20 percent of households having access to public waste collection services.  As a densely populated island nation, Sri Lanka faces unique challenges in managing its solid waste. 

Through CCBO, the United States partnered with local organisations to design and pilot innovative, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable solutions to address each step in the waste value chain, providing technical assistance and grants totaling more than 1.2 million US dollars (382.8 million rupees), the embassy said. As a result of these partnerships, it said, an additional 625,000 Sri Lankans benefitted from improved solid waste services, and communities around Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna have adopted sustainable practices that promote increased reuse and transformation of waste products into new items.

  “The United States is helping Sri Lanka improve management of its natural resources to build resilience and insulate the country from the harms of climate change,” Deputy Director of Economic Growth for USAID Sri Lanka and Maldives Dennis Wesner was quoted as saying. The US will continue to work together with Sri Lankan counterparts to find locally viable solutions and reduce ocean plastics, he said.

 “As we confront the escalating crisis of ocean plastic pollution, CCBO has been an exemplary partner in progressing their commitment to extended producer responsibility. This initiative exemplifies our commitment to environmental stewardship, showcasing the positive impact of strategic partnerships and community engagement on creating cleaner, healthier cities for our citizens,” Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Prabath Chandrakeerthi said.

 Globally CCBO’s goal is to reduce the estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic that flow into the ocean worldwide each year by targeting rapidly urbanizing areas of countries, a major source of ocean plastic pollution, the embassy said. (Colombo/Jan31/2024)

The Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program launched in Sri Lanka in 2021 sought to address ocean plastic pollution.

USAID “partnered with local organizations to design and pilot innovative, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable solutions to address each step in the waste value chain, providing technical assistance and grants totaling more than 1.2 million US dollars (Rs 382.8 million),” it said in a statement.

As a result of these partnerships, 625,000 Sri Lankans benefitted from improved solid waste services, and communities around Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna have adopted sustainable practices that promote increased reuse and transformation of waste products into new items, USAID said.

“The United States is helping Sri Lanka improve management of its natural resources to build resilience and insulate the country from the harms of climate change,” said Dennis Wesner, deputy director of Economic Growth for USAID Sri Lanka and Maldives. (Colombo/Jan30/2024)

Titled “Blue Curriculum for Life, Learning Journeys for Sustainability,” the manual is the outcome of a conference held in India in December 2023, for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), member countries. Both the conference and the training manual, which was launched virtually, during a Web Talk are joint initiatives of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom South Asia and the Centre for Civil Society, Delhi.

The activity-based manual provides examples and reflection on unsustainable practices which result in environmental destruction and aims to promote critical thinking among the young.

As Harshit, a student of Hari Vidya Bhavan explained, in his younger days, he did not understand the importance of nurturing something he loved; he told the audience that he plucked a flower, because he liked it, but now, older and wiser, he realises he should have left it on the tree and cared for it.

Explaining the concept following the launch, Dr Shriji Kurup, of the Centre for Environment Education said while the manual uses the ocean as an example, educators are free to adapt themes that relate to their localities and livelihoods of the community. It is meant to raise curiosity amongst the young, so they apply the concepts to their lives he said, adding it is to ‘empower everyone.’ This need not be taught by subject experts, as it is designed to be included under any topic being taught.

It is a tool that teachers and students can use in any way they like and will appeal to both the “formal and non-formal sector, and students can take the book home and interact with their parents as well.”

Kadambari Lohiya of the Directorate of Education, Delhi agreed, stating that while the Blue curriculum is already part of the syllabus of Delhi schools, the trick is for teachers to make it relevant to students.
While the inspiration for the manual comes from the Ocean, it helps to promote understanding of the interconnectivity of South Asian nations, pointed out the Founder of Karkhana, Nepal, Pavitra Bahadur Gautam.

There are ‘microplastics in the snow” he said which is a warning sign that the pristine environment of the Himalayas is under threat. When the farmer burns chaff in Indian Punjab,’ there’s fog in Katmandu, and when a student in Nepal pollutes the river outside their home, “they must realise it affects the farmers in Myanmar.

Environmentalist and Climate Advocate from Myanmar, Shar Thae Hoy says that bringing the idea of using sustainable resources to the 8–15-year age group is important.

The significance of the Blue curriculum is that it teaches even those who live far away from the ocean that it must be protected, she said. However, terms and concepts such as Blue economy are new she pointed out, adding the manual must also be available in languages other than English, with examples that would be more relevant to each of the BIMSTEC nations.

Keynote Speaker Shailendra Sharma, Principal Advisor to the Director of Education, Government of New Delhi, stated it is important that the young apply critical thinking in preparing for the challenges of the future. The manual is activity-based providing an opening for students to take ownership, and ‘how to live in harmony with nature’ understanding the role of land, water and humans. It points to the importance of sustainable development practices.

The manual was jointly launched by Mr Sharma, Dr Amit Chandra, CEO of the Centre for Civil Society, Delhi, and Dr Karsten Klein, Regional Director, FNF South Asia. Education Policy Consultant, Roshan Joshi, moderated the Web Talk.

“Some people make accusations that natural resources in this country are not taken advantage of,” Rambukwella was quoted as saying in a statement by the Department of Government Information.

The Minister was speaking with officials of the Ministry of Environment at a meeting on Thursday (11).

“70% of the 2024 budget for the Ministry of Environment is foreign financing and the remaining 30% is domestic support,” Rambukwella said, and told officials to make the best use of the foreign financial aid.

He said the projects implemented on foreign and domestic financial aid should be reviewed quarter by quarter.

After a forex crisis, Sri Lanka is now in a drive to increase exports. (Colombo/Jan12/20024)

A typical blue feeding dive is an athletic and physiological marvel. Strokes from huge tail flukes power her downward against her own buoyancy through the first 25 meters. As she descends, pressure from the water above forces her flexible rib cage inward, decreasing her volume and increasing her density so that her buoyancy dissipates and she begins to fall rapidly with gravity toward the sea bed. She turns and heaves herself upward in a strenuous lunge through krill balls, fighting not only gravity but also the hydrodynamic drag created by her own gaping jaws. She shudders to a halt, having gulped maybe 60 tons of seawater. With a gelatinous tongue the weight of an elephant, she spews the water out through her baleen—cartalaginous sieves that line her mouth—retaining countless krill then to swallow. She does this all again and again, upward toward the surface, holding her breath all the while of course. After gasping in the waves for several minutes, her tail goes up again in her next dive.

Lankan waters teem with organic nutrients washed from the rain-drenched land. They sink by the ton into cold deep waters just beyond the shelf. Winds sweep surface water away in mighty currents and this pulls oxygen-rich, nutrient-laden cold water up from the deep in a process called ‘upwelling.’ When sunlight hits this fertile slurry, photosynthesis goes crazy. Tiny plants called ‘phytoplankton’ grow and multiply by the billion. Micro-animals
(‘zooplankton) dine on this sumptuous buffet and likewise proliferate. Feeding on both, krill blooms turn the sea to orange.

That, in a nutshell, is why blues visit Lankan waters. Science is learning more and more about how these astonishing animals came to exist in the first place. Part I of this essay, published in the November, 2023 issue of ‘Echelon’ and re-posted on my LinkedIn page specified below, recounted the first five of eight key evolutionary stages. In this Part II, I recount the remaining three.

Six: Supersizing

Global cooling that began 15 mya accelerated sharply around five mya due to ocean current changes triggered by tectonic events, chiefly the volcanic rise of Central America, closing a sea passage between North and South America.

As cooling continued, non-tropical latitudes saw the onset of Ice Age glaciation. Glaciers scraped iron and other mineral nutrients from continental rock and released them into ocean during summertime meltbacks. These nutrients found their way into coastal pockets like shelves, bays, inlets and estuaries. There they met organic nutrients in oxygen-rich cold water upwellings where sunlight induced great blooms of photosynthesizing phytoplankton and concomitant zooplankton surges. Poo and decomposing lifeforms stoked blizzards of organic ‘marine snow’ falling into frigid depths, thereafter to surface again in organically-enriched upwellings.

Within these positive feedback loops, dramatic explosions in ocean productivity could appear and then vanish quickly in particular localities, driven by temperatures, winds, currents, upwellings and other vagaries. Rorquals supersized to exploit this new but evanescent cornucopia, yielding our modern blue whale among other giants.

Vast blooms of krill and other small animals augmented the advantages of lunge feeding. Increased food supply enabled increased size. Increased size fostered higher nutrition storage in blubber and allowed for longer migrations in search of blooms that might be separated by hundreds, even thousands, of kilometers. It also favored winter travel for calving and breeding in the tropics and reverse summer travel from tropics to cold water feeding grounds. Size, along with streamlining, allowed faster swimming for migration and pushed lunge-feeding efficiency upwards.

Supersizing fed upon itself, generating its own feedback loop. Upsized rorquals needed bigness to find food enough to be big. (Therein lay a hidden vulnerability, to be explored below.) By a couple million years ago, today’s blue whale emerged and proliferated with a diet featuring some of the tiniest crustaceans in the sea. Feeding low on the food chain, krill on the species level command huge energy budgets, giving them possibly the highest total body mass in the multicellular animal kingdom. Industrial-scale krill binges in turn furnish blues the huge energy they need to grow, forage, migrate and reproduce.

Seven: (Sub)-Species Fraternitas

Controversy could easily arise as to whether blues today constitute a single species or more than one. Currently classified into four or five sub-species, blues may someday with advancing knowledge get re-grouped as two or more separate species. Obviously, blues are very difficult to study. At present we do not know enough about their genes and habits to be sure about their population interrelationships.

There are numerous approaches as to what science should mean by a ‘species.’ A leading approach posits that it means a population of animals capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. Varying approaches apply as well to the question of what makes ‘speciation’—splitting of one species into two or more—happen in evolution.

Scientists understand ‘allopatric’ speciation to occur when breeding populations get separated by a geographic barrier—a mountain range perhaps—and cease to interbreed. Genetic drift and differing habits over a long time make it impossible to interbreed fruitfully. ‘Sympatric’ speciation occurs in the absence of geographic barriers when breeding populations occupy contrasting ecological niches and fail to interbreed long enough to make it impossible when they happen to encounter one another.

Either of these scenarios could potentially apply to blues. The recognized subspecies occupy by-and-large separate zones in the world’s oceans. Sheer distance is a form of separation and there may be invisible barriers to blue whale travel in the world’s seas. The rareness of crossing through the tropics between north and south may indicate one such barrier. Sharp frontiers between cold and warm or salty and less-salty water near Antarctica may represent additional ones. Already there are whispers of multiple species among orca, another charismatic cetacean found in Lankan waters. Long distances and differing diets may keep orca populations genetically separated.

The prevailing classification recognizes two blue subspecies operating heavily in Lankan seas: Pygmy Blues (‘pygmy’ being a relative term here) and North Indian Ocean Blues. Whalers noticed no difference between them and some scientists agree that there is none. Others, however, insist on a distinction, contending for example that they breed and calve with opposite seasonality.

Antarctic Blues graze in frigid southern waters except for dashes toward the Equator for calving and breeding. Some think they would have next to nothing to do with Lankan whales or possibly any other subspecies. Sharp divides in water temperature and salinity in southerly seas may keep Antarctic Blues isolated. Experts contend that Lankan blues never visit the Southern Ocean though bits of evidence suggest that they sometimes might.

So-called ‘Madagascar’ Pygmies live so far from ‘Australian/Indonesian’ Pygmies that encounters between them would be few and far between. ‘South Pacific’ or ‘Chilean’ Blues live far from any other subspecies except Antarctic Blues, with which they may not interact. Similarly, ‘Northern’ Blues in the Atlantic cannot be breeding with those in the Pacific. We’ll probably never know whether they could.

Also worth considering is that Earth’s blues belong to around a dozen different male song-style groups. Without getting into the weeds on how these mating song groups map onto the recognized subspecies, the point is this: if females fail to respond to songs that are wrong for them, would this not create breeding barriers? World blues may even turn out to represent a version of so-called ‘ring species,’ whereby population A can breed with B and B with C, but A and C cannot successfully interbreed. Would A and C still be one species or are they now two?

Complicating matters further, a phenomenon occurs quite opposite to possible speciation among blues. It turns out that blues sometimes breed with fellow-rorqual fin whales, resulting in hybrid offspring. One such offspring has been found carrying a fetus, which indicates fertility in the mommy. Do fins and blues now count as two subspecies within a single species?

Widespread evidence of such hybridization would tend to cancel my whole discussion of speciation and pose questions a new over what science should mean by ‘species.’ Experts recently contend that hybridization has played a major role in overall rorqual evolution. Fin whales recently moved off the ‘endangered’ list, re-classified as merely ‘vulnerable.’ Interbreeding with them may be a blue whale way of dodging imminent extinction. We obviously have much to learn about rorqual speciation.

Eight: Extinction?

Until the 20th century, blues largely evaded the harpoon. They swam too fast for the whaling craft and they don’t tend to cluster. But the 20th century brought faster ships and cannon-launched harpoons detonating upon impact. Blues then met with epic slaughter.

Blubber came into use for lamp and cooking oil, soap, candles, perfume, cosmetics and margarine. Baleen (so-called ‘whalebone’) made its way into corsets, umbrellas, handles of various kinds and brushes. Meat turned up in kitchens.

An estimated 350,000 blues succumbed to whaling in the 20th century’s first half. Antarctic blues suffered especially, losing perhaps 99% of their numbers. As they became harder to find, whalers zeroed in on the Arabian Sea, a key range for Lanka’s blues. By the early 1960s 80% of hunted blues were sexually immature. Earth’s blue population may have fallen below 5000 animals.

The worldwide whaling ban seems to have saved blues from prompt and total annihilation. Numbers have slowly rebounded, reaching an estimated 10 to 25 thousand today. Blues still hover on the brink of extinction, however, rated as ‘endangered’ (highly likely to fall extinct in the near future) under U.S. law and by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Endangerment begins with specialization in large size and lunge feeding on very specific prey. ‘Generalist’ species face less extinction risk than specialists do, because generalists can occupy a broader range of niches. Small animals, with lesser food and range requirements, face less extinction risk than big ones, which is why bird-like dinosaurs survived the extinction event tragically befalling their outsized cousins.

Ocean warming may threaten blues by reducing cold-water upwellings that bring krill blooms. Studies link warming with an 80% Southern Ocean krill decline over the past 40 years. Food supply may also suffer from commercial krill harvesting. Acidification that goes with ocean warming may also impact krill populations by hampering shell formation.

Reduced blue populations could yield demise from a single cataclysm, disease for example. Wide separation of populations could lead to inbreeding, inducing declines in genetic diversity and heightened vulnerability to disaster. Slow reproduction cycles (lasting at least three years) will retard population rebound. Plastics and toxins lodge in blubber and stomachs with consequences unfathomable. Cetaceans get entangled in fishing gear, hampering mobility.

Orca predation may pose a threat, not least in nearby seas. Orcas hunt blues in packs ranging from a few animals up to dozens. They bite and bleed their prey into exhaustion before ganging up to hold them underwater till they drown. They often swim into the mouths of their blue victims, eating only the fatty tongue, leaving the remaining carcass to others. All this has been verifiably observed in the Indian Ocean only recently. Orcas learn fast. If such predation grows commonplace, watch out. Some 25% of blues around Mexico’s Baja California bear scars from orca attacks. Orcas prey most heavily on young blues. Collapse of other prey populations (fish?) could lead to heavier orca predation on blues and other cetaceans.

Some observers suggest that blue populations sustain heavy damage from ship strike: fatal impact from heavy, fast-moving vessels. Blues cruising along Lanka’s southern continental shelf sometimes get killed by super-tankers steering through the same zone. It seems unlikely that ship strike sharply depletes worldwide blue numbers in the short term. More plausible is that it would deplete local populations in places like Sri Lanka, coastal California and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Short-term local depletion could lead to long-term sustainability failure. Sri Lanka is currently reviewing whether shipping lanes should be mandatorily moved further offshore to protect whales. This could bring revenue loss for Sri Lanka due to fewer stop-ins for refuelling and other services. In 2022, the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s largest container shipper, announced an offshore route shift and speed slow-down in southern Lankan waters.

Ocean noise poses perhaps the most insidious threat blues and other cetaceans may face. Sound is crucial to cetacean life, with roles in mating, rearing offspring, food-finding, navigation and group coordination. Ocean noise could disrupt these functions in complex ways. Harmful noise may stem from seismic surveys for sea-floor mapping, mining and hydrocarbon exploration. Low-frequency sound from ship propellers overlaps in range with blue whale mating calls. Blues flee from sonar, which may cause trauma (e.g. bleeding from ears and eyes), interfere with feeding and mating, and produce panic leading to strandings. Sonar may also cause overly-rapid surfacing with concomitant decompression sickness (due to nitrogen bubbling in bloodstreams, the ‘bends’). Decade by decade our seas grow noisier.

Extinction is the rule, not the exception. At some point, blues will inevitably fall extinct, as will we. Given our role in their demise, we surely should do what we can to prolong their run. Given their sheer magnificence, we should get out to see them while they’re still here.

(Writer, lawyer and former law professor, MarkHager lives with his family in Pelawatte.mark.hager@gmail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahager/)

Further Reading

• Small, The Blue Whale
• Zimmer, Fish With Fingers, Whales With Legs
• Rice, Marine Mammals of the World
• Berta, Return to the Sea
• Whitehead & Rendell, The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins
• Mann, Deep Thinkers
• Pyenson, Spying on Whales
• Martenstyn, Out of the Blue

Organizations and Resources

• Centre for Research on Indian Ocean Marine Mammals (CRIOMM) (Sri Lanka)
• Sri Lanka’s Amazing Maritime (SLAM) (Sri Lanka)
• Oceanswell (Sri Lanka)
• NOAA Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (USA)
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) (UK)
• Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University (USA)
• Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (Sri Lanka)
• Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (Sri Lanka)
• Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka)

Whale Watching

• Borderlands, Weligama
• Mirissa Water Sports, Mirissa
• Raja and the Whales, Mirissa
• Royal Tours, Mirissa

EcoSort, from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, won the competition with their ‘smart dustbin’ for waste segregation.

MiswaLanka from the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka won 1st Runner up for their biodegradable natural toothbrush.

And CollectorLK from the University of Peradeniya won 2nd Runner up for their waste management mobile application.

Other notable entries included a Styrofoam alternative for product packaging (by team CompoCell), eco-friendly floor mats made from discarded shoes (by team SoloCycle), and sustainable clothes hangers made from cashew shells (by team Eco Harvest).

Selected participants received mentoring, and gained technical expertise and soft skills to transform their innovations from concepts or basic prototypes into marketable products and services.

The competition brought together undergraduate students from institutions across Sri Lanka, and was organized by the European Union, Dilmah Tea and the Dilmah Genesis Centre.

Dr Johann Hesse, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives commended the participants for taking action against environmental problems.

“The ‘Sustain-able’ Challenge emphasized the obligation to harness young talent for positive change,” Dilhan C Fernando, Chairman of Dilmah Tea said.

The competition was part of the European Union’s “Let’s Go Green” campaign which aimed to raise awareness and advocate for responsible green behavior, focusing on plastic usage, waste reduction, and energy conservation among Sri Lanka’s youth, consumers, and businesses. (Colombo/Jan4/2024)

“The governments of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are leading in terms of Ocean Health,” Cabinet Spokesperson, Bandula Gunawardena said.

The Blue Planet Fund has been allocated 500 million Sterling Pounds according to the British Government.

The cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment and Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sri Lanka is to get support under the Fund’s Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP).

“The OCPP will support countries to be equipped with the skills and expertise needed to tackle, reduce and mitigate marine pollution through the development of science-led policy,” according its website.

“By improving our understanding of the impacts of pollution, as well as identifying and supporting effective responses, we will make sure that communities are better equipped to prevent and manage marine pollution. This will improve health and livelihoods.”

“Amendments will be made to the Local Government Act to prevent unauthorized construction,” State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government Janaka Wakkambura said.

“This will remove existing barriers to taking immediate action to prevent unauthorized constructions,” Wakkambura was quoted as saying in a Department of Government Information statement.

“Illegal constructions take place even as government agencies are corresponding on how to deter them, and by the time consensus is reached there are entire families occupying these dwellings, which makes eviction impossible.”

Wakkambura pointed out that one only need to consider how often Akurana is submerged after rains to see where the fault lies.

The minister was speaking at a program to launch online payments for local government bodies, including assessment taxes, in the Akurana local council.

Sri Lanka has seen unusually heavy rains this year and resultant flooding. Critics have pointed out that the filling of wetlands and unauthorized construction was partly to blame for the catastrophe.

Some illegal constructions belong to politically powerful individuals directly or indirectly connected to local authorities. (Colombo/Dec27/2023)

This system will fortify the existing mechanism, ensuring the safety and well-being of Sri Lankan citizens amidst various disasters, including those caused by weather and climate changes, statement by the President’s Media Division said.

“Focusing on tsunami disasters, the system targets 60,000 mobile and landline numbers in 14 districts identified as high-risk areas. It is designed to issue an early warning in the form of a distinctive Ring Tone notification accompanied by a siren sound,” the PMD statement said.

This is a collaborative effort involving the Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and major telephone service providers including SLT Mobitel, Hutch, Dialog and Airtel.

Scheduled for a public rollout on ‘National Security Day’ on December 26, the system’s scope is anticipated to expand in the future, evolving into a comprehensive multi-disaster early warning mechanism to include landslides and floods. (Colombo/Dec20/2023)