Sri Lanka has been in the forefront of wildlife conservation since the 3rd century, thanks to King Devanampiyatissa's acceptance of Buddhism. In his famous sermon to the king of Sri Lanka, Arahat Mahinda, son of King Dharmasoka of India and the bearer of the Dhamma, preached on the king's responsibility as the guardian of all birds and beasts, whom he said had equal rights to co-exist with the king and his people.

Sri Lanka as an Endemic Bird Area (EBA) and Signatory to International Conventions for Avian Protection and the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL)

According to the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), Sri Lanka is a signatory or party to several international conventions on avian conservation such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Ramsar Convention for the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance, and the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS/Bonn Convention).

The island, home to 227 resident bird species, including 26 endemics, plus a few hundreds of migrant and vagrant bird species, has a huge task of implementing these conventions, which call for the birds' protection. The government agency in charge of carrying out the conservation and protection of birds is the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance, No. 3 of 1937/1973 (FFPO).