Sri Lankan environmental pioneer C Suriyakumaran has been selected by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to share the 1995 Sasakawa International Environment Prize, worth US $200,000 with two others. He is the first Sri Lankan to have received such a major international award.

The prize. announced late 1995, is awarded annually by the UNEP to individuals or institutions for their outstanding contributions to the protection and management of the environment.

Suriyakumaran, a renowned resource economist and environmental management specialist, is the chairman, Centre for Regional Development Studies in Sri Lanka, and visiting professor, London School of Economics.

The award announcement describes Suriyakumaran as "a pioneer in the environmental field for shaping the nature of our responses to environmental challenges."