Annual Field Excursion – 2019
The Department of International Relations went on a field excursion with the 4th year IR special degree students on the 25th and 26th of November 2019 with the participation of 39 International Relations special degree students and the International Relations department staff.
The departmental field excursion was tied to the International Environmental Governance module (INR 4290). The focus was to practically gain insights into Environmental Impact Assessments by visiting the Hambantota Port Project. There, the students were given two lectures, one by the Human Resource Manager and the other by an Engineer working at the Hambantota Port Project. The lectures highlighted the different aspects that were taken into account when such projects were undertaken and issues that arose subsequently. The Q & A session was very lively.
The students also gained first-hand experience of the reintegration of orphaned and injured wild elephants to the wild having had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by a veterinarian at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe. They were subsequently taken by guides to the Udawalawe National Reserve in 7 vehicles where they learnt of the significance of parks that protect wild life, fauna and flora. The students were also grouped and using re-purposed newspapers, designed posters for a social media campaign on environmental protection.
