17 May 2023; Colombo – SriLankan Airlines and SriLankan Aviation College partnered with the Ministry of Environment‚ Lanka Environment Fund and Blue Resources Trust to run a free workshop on mapping seagrass meadows using drone imagery in the Gulf of Mannar to bridge a knowledge gap in seagrass sustainability. The workshop was conducted by scientific expert Dr. Milica Stankovic from the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and trained local scientists and professionals on using drones to map seagrass meadows.
“SriLankan Airlines is aiming for a positive change in seagrass conservation by advancing the scientific study of this vital natural resource. We hope our seminal work will also lead to accelerated progress in establishing Sri Lanka as a prominent South Asian research hub on blue carbon ecosystems‚” stated Richard Nuttall, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines.
Head of Marketing‚ Saminda Perera‚ said that “Sustainability has emerged to a prominent position in consumers’ conscience and authentically sustainable brands are making headway. The marketing department as the custodians of the SriLankan Airlines’ brand is committed to uphold the status of the national carrier as an ethically responsible brand.”
“SriLankan Aviation College is proud to play its part in facilitating national training in seagrass blue carbon ecosystems by creating knowledge to address learning gaps in the use of latest technology to monitor and conserve this indispensable natural resource‚” added Primal De Silva‚ General Manager‚ SriLankan Aviation College.
The workshop combined a classroom session on using Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software at the SriLankan Aviation College‚ with a practical session in the Gulf of Mannar where the participants were able to practically apply their learnings. SriLankan Airlines hopes to host further workshops to continue training for national capacity building for environmental and wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka.
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