Dr Hiranya Sudasinghe: Can Caring Deeply About a Species Still Lead Us to the Wrong Solution?

STORY 7 OF 10: Part of a series of short stories inspired by our conversation with Dr Hiranya Sudasinghe, sharing what years of experience have taught them to see.

The Asoka barb (Systomus asoka), a point-endemic flagship species. Photograph courtesy of Hiranya Sudasinghe.

The workshop was full.

The posters were beautiful. The photographs reached thousands of people. Everyone went home feeling that something important had been done.

Five years later, the species was still declining.

This is uncomfortable because effort feels as though it should count as success.

It does count as effort.

Success requires another measurement.

Hiranya believes Sri Lanka needs a stronger connection between conservation and scientific evidence.

Concern gives us a reason to act.

Evidence helps determine which action to choose and whether it worked.

Consider the Bandula Barb.

Its limited habitat has received formal protection.

That is important.

But the real test comes later.

Is the fish more abundant?

Is its habitat healthier?

Are local people more involved?

Are the original threats decreasing?

Would a researcher returning in 10 years find the population more secure than it is today?

Success should not be measured through fish numbers alone.

It should also include stronger concern, awareness and stewardship among the people living around the habitat.

The biological and social outcomes support one another.

A recovering population without local support may decline again.

Strong awareness without a recovering population may be well-intentioned failure.

Hiranya’s words that inspired this story

“In my opinion there is a huge gap between data-driven science and conservation.”

“We are trying to conserve with a very emotional point of view, without much data-driven science.”

“In 10 years, would the Bandula Barb be doing better than it is now? That’ll be a nice positive story.”

“If they publish that the abundance has increased, the people around there are more concerned… there’s more awareness… there’s more appreciation, and the Bandula Barb is doing really good.”

Why it matters

A conservation programme must distinguish between activity and outcome.

Activity	Outcome
A workshop was held	Understanding or behaviour changed
A reserve was declared	Habitat condition improved
A campaign reached thousands	A specific threat was reduced
Breeding began	The wild population became more secure
Community meetings were held	Local stewardship strengthened
A report was published	Management changed in response

What this changes

Support conservation willing to answer four questions:

1. What exactly is the problem?

2. What evidence suggests this action will address it?

3. How will success be measured?

4. What will change if it is not working?

   
   

Caring is where conservation begins.

Evidence is how we discover whether the species experienced our concern as help.

Next beneath the surface

Evidence-led conservation requires scientific tools and long-term research.

But how much of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity are researchers currently equipped to read?

Next: How Much of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Story Are We Still Unable to Read?

Previous: Can a Species Be Protected by Law and Still Be Left Unprotected?

Meet Dr Hiranya: Read He Chose the Fish