Secretary:
Kusum Vyas

The First International Meeting of Campaign to Protect the Gulf of Mannar was successfully completed in London, United Kingdom. With approximately 200 participants from various countries, the meeting participants enjoyed extensive exchange of scientific and cultural expertise.

Over 200 people from different walks of life - scientists, movie producers, human rights groups, ecologists, environmentalists, legal experts, religious experts, government officials and plain ecology enthusiasts-congregated at the Linnean Society of London to partake in the unprecedented two-day event. Several representatives of the Sri Lankan government, international organizations, diplomatic community, local and foreign media attended the meeting. A distinguished panel of world-renowned scientists, lawyers and religious experts participated in the intensive and keen discussions at the meeting.

That the event was such a huge success was largely due to the pains-taking efforts put in by a number of people from the organizations involved, particularly by Kusum Vyas, Dr. Ranil Senanayake, Dr. Iyer, Maaike Handriks, Peter Bunyard and the local coordinators Venilal Vaghela and Prem Modgil. It also made a great difference that the ARC, Rainforest Concern, The Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) and the UK office of ICOMOS made detailed and focused presentations at the meeting. It would only be appropriate here to thank all of them.

The London Meeting was held at a time when the committee of Experts in India, headed by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri is considering alternative alignment for the proposed ship channel. Several presentations were made at the London Meeting on subjects ranging from Climate Change to ecology and sacred sites.

The proceedings will be available shortly. With pride, the Meeting received the following important contributions and upgraded them as keynote speakers:

On the first day of the conference the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), through its Secretary General Martin Palmer, announced that it would be seeking to have the Gulf of Mannar designated as one of the world's first internationally recognized 'Sacred Sites'. Following agreements reached at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona 'Sacred Site' is a now an international term of protection for sites that are spiritually, religiously, culturally and ecologically important.

Peter Bunyard is recognized internationally as an expert on climate change and a founding editor of The Ecologist magazine and a Fellow of the Linnean Society, spoke about the Gulf of Mannar as a region of our beautiful and beleaguered planet that is worthy of respect and therefore demands all our efforts to conserve it. "You all know the basic facts - that it has fabulous coral reefs, mangroves, an extraordinary range of sea grasses, including three species found only in the Gulf Mannar; that it provides a feeding ground for various species of turtles, not least the endangered Green Turtle, for the ever rarer Dugong, for the whales that come to breed there and for 25 different species of fish-feeding sea snakes. Add to that rich biological heritage the well known cultural aspects of Lord Rama and his building a bridge to span the gulf between India and Sri Lanka, so that he could rescue Sita, his wife and you have all the essential ingredients for protecting the region from any further despoliation and degradation. It is glaringly obvious that the dredging of a sea canal, the smashing of the subterranean limestone of the ocean floor, plus the passage of relatively large sea-going vessels, will wreak permanent damage on one of the world's last remaining marine reserves of life in all its richness and complexity".

Dr. Ranil Senanayake, Systems Ecologist, Marine Archaeologist, Ichthyologist and Herpetologist and Founder, Rainforest Rescue International presented key findings of the IUCN report which states that 'the (SSCP) project has been hasty, ill conceived and without any discussion with a neighboring county, Sri Lanka, who share the waters.' He pointed out that the gaps in the Environmental Impact Report submitted in support of this project shows the project as fatally flawed. He asked, "Can it embody the goals of Sustainable Development and of peace and thereby diminish the painful memories of war by creating a "Zone of Peace" as a model for a war weary world?"

Dr. Anantanand Rambachan, Professor and Chair, Religion Department at Saint Olaf College in USA provided an insight into the various traditions of Hinduism that offer an unmistakable emphasis on the sacredness of nature and unified by the divine. He said that Hinduism, on the whole, does not propose radical dichotomies between God, the world, human beings and other life forms - the divine is understood to exist equally in all life form.
"The Hindu call for the Gulf of Mannar to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site springs from its intimate connection with the living sacred tradition centered on the person of Rama and the value of religious geography that flows from this tradition. The call, however, is not limited to this source. Hindus are concerned also about a model of economic development that ignores human spiritual and ethical needs, violates the ethic of non-injury and which is recklessly destructive of multiple species and their habitat. This is a cause where Hindus can join with people everywhere who care about the precious gift of our earth and its fragile eco-systems".

Ritwick Dutta, a lawyer from India, provided an update of activities already taking place at the site of the Gulf of Mannar and the decisions of the Indian courts related to the construction of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel.

Christoph Schwarte of FIELD gave an overview on international environmental law and its potential relevance to the ship channel project. On the second day the FIELD intern William Francis of FIELD summarized the nomination process under the World Heritage Convention.

Susan Denyer of ICOMOS explained the process by which a state applies to have a particular site designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS-UK) advises the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on the cultural integrity of a prospective World Heritage site.

Romulus Whitaker is a herpetologist, wildlife conservationist and founder of the Madras Snake Park, The Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. In 2005 he was a winner of a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation. He is also the founder of the Rainforest Research Station at Agumbe in Karnataka, which is involved in the study of King Cobras. Romulus gave a detailed presentation about the "Snakes of Mannar" and the rich biodiversity of the region.

Richard Brock worked in the BBC Natural History Unit for 35 years producing, among others, the highly successful Life on Earth and Living Planet series. Concerned by the lack of willingness to address the real current state of the environment he left the BBC and started his own independent production company Living Planet Productions. Richard Brock talked about making short documentaries about the Gulf of Mannar and stressed the need to tailor the productions for specific audiences.

Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Arya Wedakarna, Prince of Dalem Benculuh Tegeh Kori, President, The Sukarno Center, Leader, the Mahendradata Foundation IGN representing 3.2 million Hindus of Bali & 15 million Hindus of Indonesia spoke about the significance of Ramayana in the Indonesian culture. On behalf of the Hindus of Bali, Dr. Arya expressed full support of the campaign to protect the Gulf of Mannar and its nomination as a World Heritage site. Following the London meeting, Dr. Arya returned to Bali and met Mrs. Pratibha Patil, India's President who was on an official visit to Bali. Dr. Arya delivered the Meeting Resolution to her on November 29th. Mrs. Patil promised to read the resolution.

Somduth Dolthuman, President, Mauritius Sanatan Dharma Temples Federation representing 270 Temples in Mauritius and 600,000 individual members and recipient of the award "Officer of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GOSK)' outlined a brief history of the arrival of Ramayana in Mauritius, its deep impact on the religious ethos of the Hindus of Mauritius.

Shalina Bhaboeti, Commissionaire External Affairs, Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) of Netherlands presented a review of the rights of the fisher folk in the region of Gulf of Mannar who would be adversely affected by the SSCP and resulting shipping lanes.

Ranjeev Gowri, Treasurer, Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) spoke was about the importance of Ramayana in Suriname, his birthplace. He said the Hindus of Suriname were devout followers of Ram and gave several examples of the presence of Ramayana in the daily lives of his people.

Gopal Siwakoti Chintan is an advocate and specialist in international human rights, humanitarian and environmental laws. He is serving as a legal advisor to Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organization (GAESO), Singapore Gurkha Pensioners' Association (SGPA), Water and Energy Users' Federation-Nepal (WAFED) and Himalayan and Peninsular Hydro-Ecological Network (HYPHEN). He spoke about large infrastructure projects such as the SSCP that threaten the ecology and human populations in the region.

Dr. Rajesh Parmar, Founder & Spiritual Leader, International Siddhashram Shakti Centre spoke about the need to respect nature and the need to protect the Gulf of Mannar as it is sacred due to its rich ecology and Ram Sethu.