Reframing the debate: the state & disinformation in Sri Lanka

States often play a pervasive role in the creation and dissemination of disinformation. Disinformation is still the weapon of choice of authoritarian states, rather than just a societal phenomenon precipitated by social media users. Gehan Gunatilleke argues that in Sri Lanka, the true nature and extent of the problem of disinformation can only be understood if public discourse focuses on state-sponsored disinformation and the complicity of the private media

The World Bank Approach to Food Security Analysis

Summary In 1988, the Executive Directors of the World Bank agreed to a new food security initiative for Africa. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce over time Africa's pervasive hunger. To pave the way to do so, the Bank is working with other donors and African Governments to prepare Food security action plans for individual African states. The analytical elements to developing these action plans are: the macroeconomy; the microeconomy (households); food availability; food consumption; and market intermediation. Findings of the work so far include the following: 1) defining the food insecure is an effective way to map poverty; 2) food insecurity is more pervasive in Africa than anticipated; 3) increasing agricultural output in African remains an important goal; and 4) understanding the role of gender in household decsion?making is vital to improved food security

Forest Ecosystem Services and Human Well Being: A Sri Lankan Perspective

Having reached a critical minimum cover, Sri Lanka’s natural forests are presently under amoratorium, which has suspended any form of commercial timber extraction andmanagement for timber. Since 1989, these forests have been assigned primarily forconservation of their rich biodiversity that provides multiple benefits. Forests being a keycomponent of the island’s natural capital, they make a vital contribution to ecological serviceinfrastructure (conservation of biodiversity, water and soil, climate regulation through carbonsequestration and storage, provision of habitats for wildlife including wild germplasm,pollinators and predators of agricultural pests etc.) and in no small measure, to nature-basedtourism, for which Sri Lanka has already gained global recognition. In addition, these forestsharbour important non-wood forest products (NWFPs) that make a significant contribution tolocal economies and livelihoods, by provisioning traditional food, medicinal and/or healthcareresources, which lately are emerging even as export commodities.At a global scale, with the development of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, there is asignificant paradigm shift to include these ecosystem goods and environmental services in tonational accounting systems. The Rio+20 agreement and several international follow-upinitiatives advocate measures to value the contribution of ecosystems to human well-beingthrough economic-ecological and social (triple bottom line) accounting such as green GDP.Sri Lanka faces a challenge at this crucial phase of rapid development, set out in the NationalPhysical Plan 2011-2030, to engage in an emerging global initiative to drive towards agreener economy. Nonetheless, this seemingly portentous challengeopens up manyopportunities, both for research and development, to be aligned and repositioned with theevolving global scenarios in the forestry as well as other sectors, so that visionary planningnow would avoid costly remedial measures in the future. Sri Lanka is richly endowed with areligio-cultural heritage that is inextricably linked with its equally rich natural heritage. Tomove towards a greener economy, while learning from these past experiences and judiciouslyblending them with innovative thinking to suit modern situations, is indeed the task ahead ofall of us. We still have time-tested models entwined with traditional wisdom for appropriatelygreening the forestry as well as other related sectors and meeting our own sustainabledevelopment goals. The challenge now is to re-define the vision for Sri Lanka’s forests in thelight of emerging sustainable development goals, and to build the necessary in-countrycapacity to demonstrate its benefits to policymakers in our move towards a greener economy.

Pollination ecology and breeding system of Xylopia championii (Annonaceae): curculionid beetle pollination, promoted by floral scents and elevated floral temperatures

Data on the reproductive biology of the Annonaceae are rather fragmentary, particularly for paleotropical species. The pollination ecology and breeding system of the Sri Lankan endemic Xylopia championii (Annonaceae) are described in detail. The pollination ecology was investigated using a diverse range of approaches, including (1) observations of flower-level and population-level phenology, (2) assessments of floral visitors and effective pollinators, (3) monitoring of floral temperature in situ using a digital data logger, and (4) analysis of scent chemistry using solid-phase microextraction sampling and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identification of volatiles. The breeding system was evaluated using pollen/ovule ratios and field-based controlled-pollination experiments. Intrafloral dichogamy (protogyny) occurs over a 2-d period, with a reproductively inactive phase between the pistillate and staminate phases, although there is no evidence of interfloral dichogamy. The inner petals close to form a pollination chamber during the reproductively active phases. The flowers are pollinated by a species of Endaeus weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Floral chamber temperatures are elevated to 8°C above ambient levels. The floral scent contains a combination of volatiles that have previously been observed in fruits and other flowers and that possibly mimic insect pheromones. Xylopia championii has an essentially xenogamous breeding system, promoted by protogyny. Although X. championii possesses numerous clear adaptations for cantharophily, there is no evidence for a species-specific interaction. The beetles are attracted to the flowers by strong scents; rewards offered to the beetles include heat energy and protection from predators. Low levels of fruit set in natural conditions suggest that pollinator availability may be a limiting factor. © 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

ECOPHYSIOLOGY OF TWO LIANA SPECIES Calamus ovoideus AND Coscinium fenestratum UNDER DIFFERENT CANOPY REMOVAL TREATMENTS

Calamus ovoideus Thw. and Coscinium fenestratum Colbr. are naturally growing economicallyimportant liana species, around the Sinharaja MAB reserve, Sri Lanka. Growth performance andphysiological attributes of these species were examined using plants established in 1991 underthree different canopy removal treatments ina Pinus caribaea plantation in the buffer zone ofSinharaja forest. They were 3 pine rows and 1 pi lie row removed, 3 pine rows under plantingand the Pinus underplanting control where the initial light intensities were 22, 10, 5 and 3mol/m21 day respectively.The results showed that height after 8 years and the annual height increments were significantlyhigher among the three canopy removal treatments compared to that in the closed canopy controlfor both species. In C. ovoideus greatest height was in the three-pine rows removal treatment andleast in the closed canopy under planting . .In contrast, Cifenestratum showed no significantheight difference among the three canopy removal treatments compared to the control. The meanroot collar diameter after 8 years and its increments in C. fenestratum were significantly higherin the canopy removal treatments compared to that of the control. In the physiological studies,both species showed significant differences in their net photosynthetic rate and stomatalconductance when grown under different light regimes. The higher photosynthetic rate of C.ovoideus was in the one pine removed treatment ar.d in C. fenestratum it was in the three pinerows removed treatment.After 8 years of establishment, for both study species the three and one pine rows removed andthree pine rows underplanting treatment were better than the Pinus underplanting (closedunderstorey) treatment. This study revealed that these liana species could be successfullyintroduced to the monocuIture Pinus caribaea plantations in the lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka.

Species-habitat associations in a Sri Lankan dipterocarp forest

Forest structure and species distribution patterns were examined among eight topographically defined habitats for the 205 species with stems ≥ 1 cm dbh inhabiting a 25-ha plot in the Sinharaja rain forest, Sri Lanka. The habitats were steep spurs, less-steep spurs, steep gullies and less-steep gullies, all at either lower or upper elevations. Mean stem density was significantly greater on the upper spurs than in the lower, less-steep gullies. Stem density was also higher on spurs than in gullies within each elevation category and in each upper-elevation habitat than in its corresponding lower-elevation habitat. Basal area varied less among habitats, but followed similar trends to stem density. Species richness and Fisher\u27s alpha were lower in the upper-elevation habitats than in the lower-elevation habitats. These differences appeared to be related to the abundances of the dominant species. Of the 125 species subjected to torus-translation tests, 99 species (abundant and less abundant and those in different strata) showed at least one positive or negative association to one or more of the habitats. Species associations were relatively more frequent with the lower-elevation gullies. These and the previous findings on seedling ecophysiology, morphology and anatomy of some of the habitat specialists suggest that edaphic and hydrological variation related to topography, accompanied by canopy disturbances of varying intensity, type and extent along the catenal landscape, plays a major role in habitat partitioning in this forest. Copyright © 2006 Cambridge University Press

bodies-cities:exploring embodied knowledge of urban sites through interactive virtual reality experiences

bodies-cities presents the multi-sensory complexity of embodied mapmaking as a layered, interactive virtual reality (VR) palimpsest. A palimpsest is a space that holds multiple layers of knowledge, and this research takes the urban public site of St James Town in downtown Toronto for its exploration. The research process exemplifies the entanglement of people, places, methodology, and methods to reflect the complex nature of embodied spatial knowledge. This entanglement is presented through the application of Karen Barad’s feminist new materialist theory and the apparatus of sensory ethnography for virtual reality. The virtual reality experience draws on the interactive affordances of VR and reconfigures film montage and architecture techniques to present the entangled elements of embodied knowledge emerging from residents’ relationship to the site

Altitudinal Variation of the Floristic Communities in Monaragala, an Isolated Hill in Eastern Sri Lanka

Compared to wet zonehills of Sri Lanka, the floristic communities of hills in drier regions ofits first peniplane has been poorly studied. This study investigatedthe floristic communitiesalong the altitudinal gradient in Monaragala, an isolated hill in the intermediate zone of theisland, by sampling trees and lianas >10 cm g bh, in 99 randomly located 10 m x10 m plots infour transects laid on different aspects of the hill.In the 9,900 m2 sampled in the study, 1,322 individuals were enumerated. They represented44 families, 103 genera and 149 species, among which 45 were endemic to Sri Lanka. Frommultivariate analysis of the plot data, one grassland / savanna and five forest communitiesseparated in relation to their variations in elevation and topography, disturbance level andphysiognomy of the vegetation. These communities were: two disturbed tall forests, onerestricted to low-elevation 210-780 m (LDT) and the other widespread at 540 – 620 m / 920 –950 m (WDT); three undisturbed tall forests, one at mid-elevation 600-880 m (MUT) and theother two on ridge slopes of Sirigala (RUT) and Maragala (IUT) at 880 -1100 m, and the lasta high-elevation disturbed grassland/savanna at 720 – 870 m (HDG).The five leading families in each of the six communities collectively represented 31 of the 44families identified in the study, reflecting familial diversity among the communities. Thedominant families were Sterculiaceae and Rutaceae in the lower elevation, while Lauraceae,Dipterocarpaceae, Myrtaceae, Bombacaceae and Apocynaceae were in mid - and upperelevations. Euphorbiaceae was common to all altitudinal ranges.Most species were restricted to a particular elevation range. At the lower range, Diospyrosebenum, Pterospermum suberifolium, Miliusa indica, Acronychia pedunculata, Alphonseasclerocarpa, Chlorocarpa pentaschista and Drypetes sepiaria. The mid- and higher rangeharboured endemic species and those common to wet zone rainforests, eg. Actinodaphneelegans, A. ambigua, Cullenia ceylanica, Cryptocarya wightiana, Hunteria zeylanica,Calophyllum tomentosum, Dipterocarpus zeylanicus.This study emphasizes that isolated hill forests located outside the wet zone, like Moneragala,harbour diverse and unique floral assemblages which need urgent conservation in a rapidlydeveloping era.