Stamping on Science: Dr. Anslem de Silva and team expose global philatelic fraud featuring Sri Lankan snake art

In an unexpected twist that links science, conservation, and global fraud, Sri Lanka's leading herpetologist Dr. Anslem de Silva has found himself confronting a unique kind of biological piracy—this time, not in the jungles, but on postage stamps.

- BY IFHAM NIZAM

A world authority on reptiles and amphibians, Dr. de Silva, along with Malaysian biodiversity expert Prof. Indraneil Das and wildlife artist Jayantha Jinasena, has uncovered a series of counterfeit Rwandan stamps illegally showcasing hand-drawn illustrations of snakes endemic to Sri Lanka.

Published as a scientific note, the team's exposé titled “Illegal Philatelic Issues in the Name of the Republic of Rwanda, Depicting Sri Lankan Snake Images” documents how a probable Eastern European agency falsely issued philatelic materials under Rwanda's name. These unauthorized “stamps” bear not only the likenesses of rare Sri Lankan reptiles but also plagiarized images painted by Jinasena, originally published with scientific accuracy and artistic sensitivity.

"This was not just a violation of copyright," said Dr. Anslem de Silva in an exclusive interview with The Island. "It was an assault on science, conservation, and our national biodiversity identity."

Dr. Anslem de Silva, recipient of numerous national and international awards including the Presidential Award for Science, is known as the "father of herpetology in Sri Lanka." Based in Gampola, he has authored over 400 scientific papers and numerous books, most notably Snakes of Sri Lanka: A Coloured Atlas (2009), a seminal reference on the island's serpentine diversity.

He collaborated on this investigation with Professor Indraneil Das, a leading Malaysian herpetologist and academic at the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Prof. Das is globally respected for his work on reptiles and amphibians across Asia and has published over a dozen scholarly books.