SINHARAJA------SRILANKA

                  Although this is one of the main objectives of conservation, very little use of the Forest was made for education and research until quite recently. However, today the North-Western area is being actively used for this purpose. It is important that this trend continues, and maximum use be made of the whole Forest as a natural resource laboratory. This will provide one of the main justifications for its protection.

                        The importance of educational and awareness-creating programmes cannot be over-emphasized particularly because of the role they play in fostering local support. Due to higher standards of literacy and education, the youth of these villages are especially receptive to conservation ideals and are capable of fully understanding conservation strategies and objectives.

                        In the past, forestry officials and administrators as well as research scientists have not taken any special interest in the problems of local people. This must be replaced by a more sympathetic attitude towards the villagers way of life and values, so that a dynamic and meaningful partnership could be established linking the technical expertise and scientific wisdom of the forester and researcher.

                        Research studies in Sinharaja, in the past, have examined the basic ecological characteristic of the flora and fauna. Applied research on plants of medical and commercial value, is currently in progress, yet there is a vast amount more that needs to be investigated. Systemic geological and geographical studies too need to be established and socioeconomic and demographic data relating to the local population must be collected. The work done in different fields must be integrated, and researchers encouraged to collaborate with one another. The work done in Sinharaja should be publicized regularly and made available to the scientist as well as to the interested non-scientist.

                         The research done in the past few years is the result of the determined and dedicated efforts of a few pioneer scientists. Their regular visits and enthusiastic activity have contributed much to the protection of the Sinharaja today. It is no secret that these pioneers worked in the face of very grate difficulties with no facilities at all. Although research facilities exist today, they are still very basic and are available only in the North-Western end of the Reserve. Provision therefore must be made for proper research facilities, and for setting-up research stations in other parts of the Reserve as well. This will reduce the one area available. At the same time it will contribute to better protection of the other areas as well.

                         As awareness spreads, the desire for more knowledge also grows. Dissemination of knowledge therefore and become a useful tool in helping to preserve the forest. Thus it is desirable that an Information Centre be set up. This could be regularly update as research brings new discoveries to light. The Centre could also include a herbarium and a museum and be the distribution office for literature on the forest. Such activities could begin in the North-Western part of the Reserve and be expanded to other parts as well. This will also provide employment opportunities to local youth as nature guides for expedition into the forests.

                          However well co-ordinated plants may be, nothing can succeed if funds are not available. Fortunately for the Sinharaja the activities carried out have received generous carried out have received generous funding from many international funding from many international organizations such as the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the International Foundation of Science (IFS) is Sweden, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. The current programmes executed by the IUCN are funded by the Norwegian Development C0-0peration (NORAD). The one local institution while ahs generously supported research activities in the past, and still continues to support them actively is the Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority (NARESA). The growing awareness of the need to conserve natural resources, both nationally and internationally, favours the granting of increased funding for work in places such as the Sinharaja Reserve.

       

Sigiriya

Sigiriya  is a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos) which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. It is also declared by UNESCO as the 8th Wonder of the World.

Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees of the Buddhist Sangha. According to the chronicles as Mahavamsa the entire complex was built by King Kashyapa (AD 477 – 495), and after the king's death, it was used as a Buddhist monastery until 14th century.

The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Cambridge, Sigiri Graffiti and also Story of Sigiriya.
fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the 

Tsunami
Tsunami (Japanese big wave in port), often incorrectly called a tidal wave, is a series of massive waves that occurs after an earthquake, seaquake, volcanic activity, slumps or meteorite impacts in or near the sea. Since the constant energy of the tsunami is defined by height and speed, its height increases once its speed is reduced when the wave approaches land. The waves travel at high speed, unnoticed while travelling through deep water, but raising to a height of 30 metres and more. Tsunamis can cause severe destruction on coasts and islands.

Many cities around the Pacific, notably in Japan, have warning systems and evacuation procedures in the event of a serious tsunami. Tsunami are often predicted by various seismologic institutes around the world and their progress monitored by satellites.

Evidence shows that megatsunamis, which are caused by whole islands collapsing into the ocean, are also possible.

cyclone

Redirected from Cyclone
In meteorology, a tropical cyclone is a type of low-pressure system which generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms, and a circulation of winds near the Earth's surface, which is clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere.

Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group whose name depends on the region. A tropical depression is an an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 metres a second (33 knot or 38 mph). A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 33 metres a second (34-63 knot or 39-73 mph). The term used to describe tropical cyclones with maximum sustained exceeding 33 metres a second, varies depending on region, as follows:

    * hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, and the South Pacific Ocean east of 160°E
    * typhoon in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline
    * severe tropical cyclone in the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160°E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90°E
    * severe cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean
    * tropical cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean


The definition of sustained winds recommended by the WMO is that of a ten-minute average, and that definition is adopted by most countries. However, a few countries use different definitions: the United States, for example, defines sustained winds based on a 1-minute average wind measured at about 10 metres (33 ft) above the surface.

The ingredients for a tropical cyclone include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods we associate with this phenomenon.

There is also a polar counterpart to the tropical cyclone, called an arctic 

Drought
A Drought is an extended period where water availability falls below thestatistical requirements for a region. Drought is not a purely physical phenomenon, but instead is an interplay between natural water availability and human demands for water supply.

The precise definition of drought is made complex due to political considerations, but there are generally three types of conditions that are referred to as drought.

Meteorological drought: Meteorological drought is brought about when there is a prolonged period with below average precipitation.

Agricultural drought: Agricultural drought is brought about when there is insufficient moisture for average crop or range production. This condition can arise, even in times of average precipitation, due to soil conditions or agricultural techniques.

Hydrologic drought: Hydrologic drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such as aquifers, lakes, and reservoirs falls below the statistical average. This condition can arise, even in times of average (or above average) precipitation, when increased usage of water diminishes the reserves.

When the word "drought" is used commonly, the most often intended definition is meteorological drought. However, when the word is used by urban planners, it is more frequently in the sense of hydrologic drought.

Periods of drought can have significant economic and social consequences. The most famous example of this was seen in the dustbowl[?] of the 1920s and 1930s, when entire districts of the American Great Plains were depopulated by a combination of drought and economic recession.

Drought can often be the precipitating factor that causes famine, in particular in countries without extensive economic resources.

See also :

    * Flood
    * Meteorological phenomenon
    * Trasvasement
    * Palmer Drought Index

Earthquake

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over large areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2011), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.[1]

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

lightning
Lightning flashes aren't all the same shape or size, and they don't all carry the same amount of electrical current. And two clouds that are about the same size may create very same size may create very different amounts of lightning. It depends on how much electrical charge the cloud has, and that depends on a lot of other things, like how fast air is moving in the cloud and how mny ice crystals have formed in the cloud.

Satellites looking down at the earth have shown that there are more than 3 million lightning flashes each day around the world. That works out to about 40 flashes each second. This includes flashes within or between clouds as well as the ones that strike the ground. It sounds like a lot, but it's less than scientists used to think there were.

In the United States, the state of Florida and the Rocky Mountain region get the most lightning. Worldwide, the countries near the equator get hit the most.