Global experts gather in Sri Lanka for historic first World Congress on Snakes

Sri Lanka will host the inaugural World Congress on Snakes in Kandy from October 1 to 4, 2026, drawing more than 400 delegates from 25 countries alongside 100 local researchers. The event is billed as the first international conference dedicated solely to snake biology, conservation and public health.

Organizers point to Sri Lanka's 112 snake species, more than 63 found nowhere else, as the reason for the host pick. A major track will address snakebite envenomation, which kills over 100,000 people annually and disables thousands more, with WHO-linked researchers discussing antivenom development.

The congress will run 12 themes from snake taxonomy to human-coexistence policy, plus field excursions into rainforests and dry zones. Organizers hope the gathering nudges public attitudes from folklore toward science, though that has been the stated goal of snake advocates for a very long time.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.