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🎄 Carols for Conservation is back for its third year! Tickets via the link in bio ✨

Join us on Wednesday 2 December for an evening of traditional carols with a few unexpected twists, festive readings and some very special guests, all in support of locally-led nature projects in Sri Lanka and around the world.

📍 Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell
🕢 7:30pm

Confirmed Speakers:
~ @EdSkrein (actor known for his roles in Deadpool & Game of Thrones)
~ @kate_phillipsss actress known for her roles in The Crown & Peaky Blinders)
✨.....and some more star-studded names to come.

In 2025, over 300 of you joined us and raised nearly £20,000. Let’s make this year even bigger.

Proceeds support @conservationcollectiveorg and @lanka.environment.fund
#CarolsForConservation #Christmas #ChristmasConcert #Carols #London Conservation SriLanka

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One of the projects I documented with the Lanka Environment Fund (LEF) was the Responsible Seafood initiative, developed with Club Ceylon. And when I say Club Ceylon, I mean its founder and chef, the amazing, creative, tea addicted powerhouse that is Liz Norris.

I had never been to a fish market quite like this one. At the Lellama Market, so much is happening at once, fish coming in from the sea, people negotiating, sorting, selling and moving things around. Honestly, I could have spent days just watching all the moving parts and trying to make images.

But behind this chaotic scene is a pretty complex system. Fish is essential to Sri Lanka, both as a source of food and for the livelihoods of millions of people. With so many species, fishing communities and different stages between the sea and the plate, keeping fisheries sustainable is no small task.

That’s where the Responsible Seafood Guide comes in. It helps consumers, restaurants and seafood buyers make more informed choices, considering things like fish size, vulnerable species and more sustainable alternatives.

A fascinating project to document, and a very good excuse to spend time at a fish market. Not that I needed much convincing, ahahah.

@clubceylon @lanka.environment.fund @girlnorris

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Did you know that one of the biggest hurdles in preventing the industrialisation of water hyacinth, one of the world’s most invasive alien aquatic species, is an archaic administrative policy which dates back to colonial times?

The Water Hyacinth Ordinance of 1909 bans the importation, possession, transport, and cultivation of water hyacinth. While the Ordinance provided a legal basis for authorities to destroy and control water hyacinth in irrigation water bodies and wetlands, the species has continued to spread widely across the country’s waterways. However, if aquatic habitats such as reservoirs, villus, canals, and wetlands are to be restored, water hyacinth needs to be controlled.

As part of our on-going work with Hyacinthesis, we have been looking into making an amendment to the existing 1909 Ordinance with the aim of easing certain regulations listed in the ordinance, thereby, paving the way for the industrialisation of water hyacinth; potentially one of the only ways of controlling this highly invasive aquatic plant.

Not only would this amendment have a positive impact on the overall health of aquatic habitats, but it would also stimulate rural economies through the creation of jobs, while also saving the government institutions such as Irrigation Department and the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) millions of Rupees on an annual basis.

Last week, we hosted a workshop titled ‘Sustainable Utilisation of Water Hyacinth Multi-Stakeholder Consultation’ with the aim of mapping out the way forward to unlock the potential water hyacinth. It was extremely well attended by all relevant government stakeholders including members of the National Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Through facilitating a collaborative pragmatic approach to problem solving, we hope to restore our island’s aquatic ecosystems. Stay tuned for more updates on this critical step in the road to restoration.

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@silviorusmigo - Creating images that serve in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 ‘It is hard to put into words an experience like the one I had in Sri Lanka. I went there to photograph the work of the @lanka.environment.fund but the trip made me think deeply about what it means to create photographs that actually serve conservation, rather than simply making photographs because you are somewhere beautiful. I found myself deliberately putting the camera down. Questioning why I was making certain photographs. Thinking about the visual language we have created around “exotic” places, and the responsibility that comes with photographing people, animals and landscapes that are not our own. More than anything, I found a way of working that connects conservation with people, livelihoods, culture and nature. I left Sri Lanka with memory cards and memories of a lifetime (storinglight, for those who know). And, somehow, I also left feeling that I had helped. I wrote about the experience, the projects, the doubts and the people I met along the way.’

Read the full story: Sri Lanka, Creating Images That Serve via the link in bio 🔗

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On the 12th of August 2026, global communities celebrated World Elephant Day 2026, marked by education and awareness sessions, policy programmes and technological displays. Here in Sri Lanka, the National Ministry of Environment (MoE) announced the creation of floral enrichment zones within existing Protected Areas (PAs) along with the “Wanaspathi” National Initiative, the creation of new Regulatory Frameworks for Captive Elephants (including those utilised in religious events), the conversion of part of the Pinnawala Captive Animal Institution into a “Free Elephant Facility”, technological solutions to the current deaths of Wild Elephants due to railway lines built through Protected Areas (PAs) and the creation of a new National Action Plan for comprehensively addressing the scale of the existing Human-Elephant Conflict that takes place predominately in the island’s Dry Zone🐘

There was another announcement that caught everyone’s attention, specifically the declaration, demarcation and gazetting of three new Wild Elephant Corridors namely Wetahirakanda (already a Nature Reserve), Hadapanagala and Koholankala, all situated within the Uva and Southern Provinces respectively, and that additional identified and proposed Corridors were being cleared of anthropogenic encroachment within both the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts. Yet for all the significance of this announcement there are still many questions and historical misconceptions in the minds of the general public regarding these valuable Corridors🤓

In this Post, we attempt to understand what exactly a Wild Elephant Corridor is, the existing legal and regulatory framework directly applicable to such Corridors, their purpose, importance to and relationship with the existing Protected Area (PA) Network, the scientific justification and rational for the continued existence of such Corridors, as well as the ecological importance that such Corridors retain for generations of Wild Elephants (including present generations) as well as other examples of Biodiversity that have resided and thrived on this island for millennia!🇱🇰

Infographic: @danudles🎨
Research & Words: @tuskertrackingwithjohn🐘

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In this episode of *War on Nature*, conservation photojournalist Paul Hilton documents the escalating human-elephant conflict in and around Wasgamuwa National Park in Sri Lanka.

For generations, elephants have followed instinctive migration routes through the landscape. Today, local communities are attempting to alter these ancient movement patterns as they struggle to coexist with one of the world’s most iconic and threatened species. This episode offers a close look at the challenges facing both people and elephants as development, habitat pressure, and changing landscapes bring them into increasing conflict.

Hilton, one of the world’s leading conservation photojournalists, has spent years documenting the threats facing elephants and other endangered wildlife. His relationship with Global Conservation spans more than a decade. @lucia.san.tiago @lanka.environment.fund Link in bio.

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The Hyacinthesis Accelerator recently brought Cohort 1 together for a two-day exposure visit, creating space for businesses to learn from one another, exchange experiences, and explore practical approaches to growth and problem-solving. The visit offered smaller and emerging businesses firsthand insights from established enterprises in Kurunegala, while a visit to the Mahawewa water body introduced the cohort to a community-led approach to water hyacinth management. There, participants met local mechanic Shalila Heshan Dissanayake, who developed an innovative solution to efficiently clear water hyacinth, supported through community funding.

The experience brought the cohort closer to the realities of turning local challenges into practical solutions while creating opportunities to exchange ideas and learn from the people working on the ground.

As the Hyacinthesis journey continues, these shared experiences enable new perspectives and strengthen the connections that will carry the cohort forward. ✨

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This project is supported by @scottdunn_travel, @conservationcollectiveorg, and @lanka.environment.fund, and implemented by The Foundation For A Good Life, in partnership with Good Life X.
Photo Credits: @silviorusmigo

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Watch out 👀 War on Nature Sri Lanka is out now!

Journey into the heart of the Jewel Island, where breathtaking rainforests and extraordinary wildlife are facing mounting pressure from human activity.

🎥 Watch the full episode through the link in @globalconservation or my bio and discover both the beauty worth protecting and the threats unfolding on the ground

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WAR ON NATURE, SRI LANKA 🇱🇰

Next Tuesday, the 25th, War on Nature takes us to Sri Lanka.

Here, human-wildlife conflict and some of the most extraordinary wildlife on Earth collide at a crossroads.

Elephants, leopards and countless other species are struggling to survive in a landscape increasingly shared with people. But behind the conflict are stories of survival, resilience, and the urgent need to find a way for wildlife and communities to coexist.

This is more than a story about wildlife. It’s a story about our relationship with the natural world and the choices we make for its future.

War on Nature, Sri Lanka. Tuesday 25th.

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🌿Our Work in Wasgamuwa Continues💧

Our work in Wasgamuwa National Park continues under our Habitat Restoration Project, where FEO has been removing Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) from key water bodies within the Park since 2023. Our efforts focus on the removal of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) from four major water bodies within the Park: Yudhaganawa Ebey, Wavul Ebey, Kok Ebey, and Kadurupitiya Weva.

Through continuous clearing and maintenance, we are working to restore these water bodies and the habitats they support, ensuring that they continue to provide essential resources for the wildlife that depend on them. As a result of our ongoing efforts, FEO has observed encouraging signs of ecological recovery, including increased use of these water bodies by a variety of wildlife species. These observations indicate that the habitats are gradually recovering and continuing to support the Park’s biodiversity.

This work is made possible via Scott Dunn’s ‘Partnership for Nature’, facilitated via the Conservation Collective and the Lanka Environment Fund. The project is carried out with the support of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and local communities, whose dedicated field teams undertake the challenging and labour-intensive work of clearing and maintaining these water bodies. Their continued efforts have been integral to the success of this habitat restoration work.

#Wasgamuwa #HabitatRestoration #Conservation #InvasiveSpecies #Biodiversity

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The nurdles are back. And so is the plastic. 🌊

Tiny plastic pellets, known as nurdles, are once again washing up on our beaches alongside plastic fragments, packaging and other pollution.

Small in size, but enormous in impact, nurdles can be mistaken for food by marine life and can persist in our oceans and coastal ecosystems for years.

Our beaches should be home to seashells, sand and life – not plastic.

It’s time to stop treating plastic pollution as something that simply washes away. What reaches our shores today can remain in our environment for generations.

🌱 Protect our coasts. Reduce plastic. Keep our oceans alive.

#EcoFocusSriLanka #APassionToProtect #Nurdles #PlasticPollution #OceanPollution #MarineLife #CleanBeaches #SriLanka #PlasticFreeSeas #Conservation

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