Sustainable development, ancient wisdom and Sri Lankan technology

Abstract

The world is facing many problems due to the improper exploitation of its resources and lopsided developments with total disregard to the environment during the last few centuries. To overcome these problems sustainable development is advocated and many concepts have been introduced recently. However the examination of the history and religions of the world reveals that many of these concepts were embedded in the wisdom of ancients, and they practised sustainable development for thousands of years. In Sri Lanka, Buddhism had a strong influence on the lives of people and ancient Sri Lankans developed a hydraulic civilization, in harmony with the environment, and achieved significant progress in engineering and technology. This paper deals with ancient Sri Lankan technologies related to irrigation and water management, architectural and structural engineering and metallurgy.