Biodiversity expert warns that Sri Lanka may end up like Argentina

There were many renowned aca- demics who addressed the 48th Convocation of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura recently at the BMICH in Colombo. But one caught the attention of many due to the relevance in the current context, even though the message he shared was a bit bleak for the passing out graduates.

Dr Rohan Pethiyagoda, one of the country’s biodiversity experts and a well-known taxonomist, said Sri Lanka’s economic crisis will not be like Zimbabwe’s as many argued, but the situation would be like Argentina which declared bankruptcy multiple times.

“It is not going to be bad as people say, that Sri Lanka is going to end up as Zimbabwe. I do not think it will. We have people like you in Sri Lanka but Zimbabwe does not. We might end up like Argentina. A 100 years ago Argentina was the 15th richest country in the world. On average, Argentinians were richer than Italians, French and Irish people. Today it is one of the poorest countries in the world. All because of a lack of common sense in political ideology. In 20 years, Argentina declared bankruptcy not once but nine times. We can also expect that

Sri Lanka can go bankrupt again and again in the years to come. Unfortunately, that is how the world works. Recovery from the crisis we face is not easy. It is not going to be over in a year or two. It might take ten or twenty years or a generation, and you are the generation that can drive the recovery,” he said.

The next part of the message hit home for the fresh graduates when Dr Pethiyagoda recalled that the Government temporarily stopped new appointments until further notice, therefore they cannot depend on state jobs or hold protests demanding jobs.