Symposia & Conferences
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Item “Animal Cruelty and the Public Opinion on using Elephants for Perahara”: Special Reference to Mahanuwara Dalada Perahara(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Herath, O.; Liyanage, D.Acts of violence or neglect perpetrated against animals are viewed as animal cruelty. Animal cruelty laws vary according to the state, and violations may constitute a crime or an offense, depending on the jurisdiction. In Sri Lanka, according to the Ordinance, it has been cited that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance can be implemented if any person who shall (a)cruelly beat, ill-treat, over-drive, over-ride, abuse, or torture, or cause or procure to be cruelly beaten, ill-treated, over-driven, over-ridden, abused, or tortured, any animal; (b) by any act or omission cause unnecessary pain or suffering to any animal; or (c) convey or carry, or cause to be conveyed or carried, in any ship, boat, canoe, or in any vehicle, basket, box, or cage, or otherwise, any animal in such manner or position as to subject such animal to unnecessary pain or suffering. On the other hand, when considering the use of elephants in the perahara the question seems to arise as to whether elephants are subjected to cruelty. So our main objective was to understand the public opinion regarding the use of elephants in the perahera. This research has been done with special reference to the Mahanuwara Dalada Perahara. Both primary and secondary data including questionnaires were used for this research. Questionnaires were distributed among 100 people randomly who were watching Mahanuwara Dalada Perahara in 2015. In addition, books, web sites, online magazines were taken as secondary data. Since the collected date was quantitative, data analysis has been done quantitatively. According to the findings, the majority of the people like to use elephants for Perahera. They do not agree with the idea that elephants are subject to cruelty or inhumane treatment because of the Perahera and they believed that elephants must be continuously used in the Perahera.Item A Crisis between Humans and Elephants: A Study of Conflict Resolution Methods taken to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict with Special Reference to Gampola Village, Sri Lanka(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Herath, O.The human-elephant conflict is a serious problem that Sri Lanka has faced for many years. It has existed since people started invading the habitats of elephants causing them to attack villages and areas where people live. Elephants live in their own space but as for humans, they clear forests and protected areas for wild life to get more lands to settle down ignoring the fact that it will result in the change of elephant habitats. This has led to the elephants turning violent often destroying cultivated land and attacking people leading to disability and more frequently, death. There are some steps taken to mitigate the conflict, but the issue is at the same level resulting in the suffering of both elephants and humans. The research problem addresses the question as to whether any effective steps are taken by the relevant authorities. The major objective of this research is to identify the methods that have been taken to mitigate the human-elephant conflict. This research was conducted primarily in the Gampola village (a village which belongs to Giribawa provincial secretariat division in the Kurunegala district) as a case study. Primary and secondary data have been used for this research including interviews and observation which are used as the main data collection methods. Thirty families were interviewed and observed. In addition, books, web sites, online magazines were taken as secondary data. Since the collected date were qualitative, data analysis has been done qualitatively. According to the findings of the research the government and the relevant authorities have taken some steps to protect both parties. Electric fences have been the traditional solution to the problem, but other alternatives have been used such as beehives, palmyrah fences and spiky lime to keep elephants away from human settlements. However, these steps have shown limited success and to this year there has been an allocation of Rs 4,000 million for the environment sector for three years, to resolve the human-elephant conflict and preserve Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity. The Government is also seeking additional funds through a World Bank project interest-free loan of US$ 30 million; a large portion of the project’s funding is to initiate innovative programmes that would reduce human-wildlife conflict. Unfortunately, this issue hasn’t been adequately addressed by the authorities concerned due to several factors and according to the findings of the case study, the Gampola people are not satisfied with the steps taken because only an electric fence has been placed around the village and villagers continue to suffer with the issue.Item Role of Religious Leaders in Post -War Peacebuilding: An Analysis of John Pol Lederarch’s Peace Building Pyramid(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Herath, O.A post war period is the interval immediately following an end of a war. The end of a war is generally expected to be followed by an end to collective violence. However, post war societies often consist of certain generic features that trigger violence. Hence long lasting peace building efforts that address the root causes of the war should be implemented. Peacebuilding is known as the practical implementation of peaceful social change through socio-economic reconstruction and development and various subject experts have expressed their views on how peacebuilding should be done in a post war society. John Paul Lederach’s ideas are the most important among them because he has answered this question by using a diagram called “a peacebuilding pyramid” that describes the actors on social levels and what actions are best taken at each level. The levels are: top elite, the middle-range, and the grassroots. Religious leaders are included in middle level and the pyramid explores the role of religious leaders in peace building. The objective of the study is to understand the role of religion in a post war context. In order to achieve this objective the research has been conducted in two ways; analysing John Pol Lederach’s Peacebuilding Pyramid and collecting public opinions of a selected sample. In order to gather the data, a sample consisting of 20 religious leaders were chosen. A simple random sampling approach was used to select the sample. Both primary and secondary data were used in conducting the research. To collect the required primary data, the interview method was used and secondary data was collected using books, magazines and websites. Data has been analysed qualitatively. Among the conclusions that were derived, the major factors can be extracted accordingly; John Pol Lederach’s Peacebuilding pyramid has given better practical and effective community based interventions that can be recommended to rebuild strengths, adaptation, coping strategies and resilience and in that context religious leaders have an important role. The values contained in the teachings of great religious teachings are essential to eradicate root causes of conflicts. Additionally, attributes of religions including reliability as a trusted institution, a respected set of values, moral warrants for opposing injustice on the part of governments, unique leverage for promoting reconciliation among conflicting parties, a capacity to mobilize communities are important in promoting peace and reconciliation.