About
Consultants, Partners & Collaborators
- Professor Mangala De Silva
Professor Mangala de Silva is a Senior Professor of Zoology at the University of Peradeniya. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in the field of Developmental Biology. Professor De Silva teaches Developmental Biology, Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Conservation Biology, Wildlife Ecology and Management, and Environmental Biology. He is actively involved in the work of Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS) and is a member of its Board of Management. He is also the Chairman of the PGIS Board of Study in Environmental Science. In addition, Professor Mangala coordinates the M.Sc. programmes in Environmental Science and Biodiversity, Ecotourism and Environment Management at the PGIS. Professor Mangala has jointly organized the National Survey of Wild Elephants, which was carried out in 1993. Prior to the survey, he conducted jointly a field-based workshop to the Senior Field Staff of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) on the survey techniques of elephant populations. He was one of two authors responsible for drawing up the 1994, National Action Plan for the Conservation of Elephants in Sri Lanka. He has also studied all of the major faunal groups in the Yala Protected Area Complex, particularly the Ruhuna National park, from 1995-1996. He was the National Consultant for elephant conservation for the DWC under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project during the period 1997-1999. During this period he studied mainly the elephant populations of the North-Central and Southern Provinces. He jointly prepared for the DWC the reports on Resolving People-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka and Habitat Improvement for Elephants in Ruhuna National Park. During this period, he also conducted workshops on Wildlife Conservation and Management to the field staff of the Department of Wildlife conservation.- Professor Padma De Silva
Professor Padma de Silva is a Senior Professor of Zoology in the University of Peradeniya. She won a British Council Scholarship to read for her PhD in Freshwater Biology at the Institute of Freshwater Biology in Windermere, UK. She also teaches M.Sc. students in Environmental Science, Biodiversity, Ecotourism and Environment Management at the Postgraduate Institute of Science. Her research work is mainly in the fields of Limnology, Ecology and Conservation of Mammals, particularly the otter. Prof de Silva's research work has been published in several refereed international and national journals. She had also co-authored several books with her husband on the ecology and wildlife of Sri Lanka. From 1994-1998, Prof de Silva served as the Chairman of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. Since then at the request of its members, she is continuing as the Asian Coordinator of the Otter Specialist Group. Based on her research on freshwater fauna and particularly the Sri Lankan otter (Lutra lutra), Prof de Silva has conducted training workshops for otter researchers in Thailand, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia on survey methods of otters in the wild. Prof de Silva has been instrumental in bringing to international attention the endangered status and the importance of conserving the otter species of the world. In recognition of her dedicated work on otters, in 2001 the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) of U.K. appointed her as the Asian Coordinator for the IOSF. In 2002, she was appointed a member of the Advisory Research Board of the Department of Biology, Kuyangyam University, South Korea.- Mr. Edmund Wilson
After completing his General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) Examination in the Sciences, Edmund joined the Department of Wildlife Conservation of Sri Lanka in 1968 where he worked until 2008. During his distinguished career of 40 years at the Department, Edmund has served as a Range Wildlife Officer, Park Warden, Assistant Director, Acting Deputy Director, and Deputy Director. From 2003 onwards until his retirement Edmund served as the Deputy Director in charge of elephant conservation, and prior to that he served as the Acting Deputy Director in charge of Law Enforcement and Operations for 3 years. Among some of his many responsibilities were taking measures for the long term conservation of wild elephants, resolution of human elephant conflicts, allocating funds and monitoring expenditure in the Elephant Conservation Division, procuring electric fence equipment, thunder flash firecrackers, and other necessary equipment for elephant management, and the capture and removal of dangerous rogue elephants. Along with these duties Edmund had provided effective guidance to the department's field staff in law enforcement activities and coordinating with Attorney General's Department. Edmund was also a lecturer at the Giritale National Wildlife Training Center of the Department Wildlife Conservation on Human Elephant Conflict Management and Law Enforcement.- Zeenath Khalid
Zeenath completed her International Baccalaureate Certificate the equivalent of the American High School Diploma at the Overseas Children's School in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After which she attended Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan from 1993-1995 where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, Social Work and Philosophy. In 1998, Zeenath received a Master of Arts in Sociology from the Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan. Soon after she was accepted at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden where she received a Master of Science in Development Research Application and Theory (MADRAT) from the Department of Rural Development Studies. With an academic background in the fields of Sociology and Development Research, she started her professional career by working for 2 years on issues related to gender and water at the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka. From there she moved on to working with a grass root institution that focused on poverty eradication through community mobilization initiatives. She worked on their planning, monitoring, evaluation and research section for a year where her primary task was to monitor, supervise and evaluate the management and quality of 100 community run schools in 21 districts of Pakistan. Zeenath was also a member of their gender "think tank" to address the needs of women, both at the program and organizational level. After a 5 year stint with the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, in 2006, Zeenath joined the Brooke Organization in Lahore, Pakistan that works for the welfare of working equine animals by providing services to stakeholders by building their capacity in equine veterinary treatment and care. Zeenath currently works as their Partnerships and Program Development Manager.- Elizabeth Smith
Elizabeth is a doctoral candidate in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Rhode Island. She is also currently a NMFS/Sea Grant Fellow, with research focused on auction and market mechanisms for public goods, specifically, marine based ecosystem services. Her focus on market creation for public goods and development issues is highlighted through recent participation in the following workshops; "Environmental Justice in the Energy Age: Meeting Energy Demand with Equity" and "Measuring, Valuing and Creating Markets for Non-Extractive Ecosystem Services Associated with Bivalve Shellfish." Liz holds a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University, with a focus on conservation policy issues.- Phil Buccellato
After graduating from the NYU Tisch Film Program, Phil Buccellato founded Greener Media LLC, a multi-media production company specializing in non-fiction content, ranging from direct-to-web travel series to feature length documentaries. While Phil has years of experience working in the art department for a host of notable directors like Wes Anderson, Charlie Kaufman, and Mira Nair, his true passion is documentary. In September 2007, the feature documentary Calvin & Sweetpea, a portrait of a family faced with Alzheimer's which was directed by Jon Fletcher and shot by Phil Buccellato, won best documentary at the Boston Film Festival. Phil also recently shot and co-produced another award winning feature documentary entitled I Think We're Alone Now, a pop culture tragedy about obsession.
