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Developing nations are considered more susceptible to the effects of extreme weather events as economic constraints make it difficult for them to deal with the damages caused by such events. They are also technologically less advanced and therefore lack access to adaptive technology. Being a natural resource-dependent production process, agriculture is the most vulnerable to such events as floods and droughts. Consequently, agricultural activities of developing nations are particularly vulnerable. In fact, 66 percent of Sri Lankan cropland is rain-fed, making them most vulnerable to drought. Paddy, tea, spices and vegetable cultivation are affected by drought and delayed monsoonal rains. Extreme weather events heighten poverty levels in the rural agriculture sector, which will further impede adaptation measures, making them increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which in turn further reduces agricultural productivity, exacerbating poverty. This is a vicious cycle. Consequen...

A bun can get disqualified just because a sesame seed is in the wrong place Robinhood army at work Each year more than 30 percent of the world’s food production, weighing about three billion tonnes, is wasted, while 13.1 percent of the world population (6.8 billion) go hungry. According to UN Food and Agricultural Organization estimates, the waste is enough to feed three billion people. An outfit called The Robin Hood Army is doing its bit to curb food waste in Sri Lanka by literally taking from the rich and giving to the poor. "We accept food that cannot be sold due to minor quality issues from hotels and restaurants and give it to the less fortunate," said Robin Hood Army, Lead Volunteer, Hanzala Abdurrahman. The Robin Hood Army was founded on August 26, 2014, by Neel Ghose and Anand Sinha and registered as a charitable trust in India. It is active in 12 countries including Sri Lanka. Hanzala explained that, due to high quality standards, often perfectly edible food is disp...

Foremost authority on frog watching reveals in his new book 'The Peeping Frogs of Nuwara Eliya' Frogs cannot be fun. They are slimy, ugly creatures with bulging eyes and sticky tongues. Plus they fornicate externally. Heck, it takes all the fun out of sex! But Naturalist at Jetwing St. Andrew’s Ishanda Senevirathna would beg to differ, not the part about external fertilization, but about frogs being boring, slimy and ugly creatures. The foremost authority on frog watching, yes there is such a thing, recently released a book titled 'The Peeping Frogs of Nuwara Eliya'. In this up close and personal account Senevirathna draws attention to a frog's life cycle, the difference between frogs and toads, frog language, breeding habits, threats and most importantly frog watching. It was inaudible at first but one gradually became aware of the multitude of throaty croaks that made for the frog call music of the evening. True to the book's title, the auditorium of Jetwing C...

Sampath Rambukkanage campaigns from behind the wheel of Enosol’s battery-powered car Unlike candidates who flaunt coexistence like a banner, Sampath Rambukkanage, Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) candidate for Panmankada (East), Colombo Municipal Council, walks the talk. He married a Tamil woman. Of course, his political ideology about coexistence and equality had little to do with him falling head over heels for Nirmala. In fact, the racial difference didn't bother him. Despite parental disapproval on both sides, they tied the knot in 2000 when the war was at its height and negative sentiments among the Sinhala people against the Tamil minority was most pronounced. “Our community is made up of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil people. And we had to face a lot of hardships during the war,” says Rambukkanage. Rambukkanage embarked on his political career in 1997. He was elected a municipal council member on two terms under the preferential voting system. “I couldn’t win the next election bec...

Banana leaf bio wrappers best substitute for polythene lunch sheets File photo The polythene ban will come into effect from September 1. While little can be done about the woes of polythene manufacturers and recyclers, a new banana leaf bio wrapper, introduced by Senior Lecturer of Weligaththa Rural Technical Institute, Hambantota, Dr. Sujatha Weerasinghe, may just save you a lot of lunch related trouble. Weerasinghe spoke to The Nation on how to use banana leaves as a potential substitute for lunch sheets. Banana leaves have been used by Sri Lankans for many years to wrap food. Food wrapped in banana leaf is infused with an appetizing aroma and an earthy, leafy taste that is the signature of the banana leaf. Unfortunately, the raw banana leaf is rigid around the stem and tends to tear. Besides, not many have a steady supply of banana leaves. But this new method extends the shelf life of banana leaf wrappers by many weeks if properly prepared and stored at low temperature. The treated...