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Preventing pollution

The news that a ban on the use of polythene bags by the public on the revered Sri Pada mountain range has registered an eighty percent success rate is bound to draw accolades from civic-conscious sections of the public. The results follow close on the heels of an awareness campaign on the inadvisability of the use of these bags by mainly kiosk owners and pilgrims, conducted by sections of the media and the Upper Watershed Management Project of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

The effectiveness of the anti-polythene ban and the awareness-raising campaign could be gauged from the fact that thousands of pilgrims converge on Sri Pada every year. Given the fact that environmental awareness is not a strong point among the local populace, this could be considered a remarkable triumph. The success which has been achieved is clear proof that the public could be conscientized into caring for the environment, although the city of Colombo and major towns in the country leave very much to be desired from the cleanliness point of view in particular.

In the case of Sri Pada, it must be noted that the law enforcers too had done their duty in strictly enforcing the 'no-polythene' ban. We also see here the benefits of firm law-enforcement.

Another local public recreation location which has registered some progress from the environmental awareness viewpoint is Galle Face green. Here too firm law-enforcement and awareness-raising on pollution have produced some positive results in that the green is much more salubrious than it used to be. Here too pollution has almost been wiped out, although the green continues to be a crowd-puller. We are given to understand that even the dropping of cigarette butts on the green has been effectively banned. Apparently, police warnings on public misbehaviour at the location are also having a positive impact.

These heartening examples in eliminating environment pollution serve as reminders that the public could be conscientized into keeping their surroundings clean and in congenial conditions which promote public health and happiness. However, environment pollution will continue to be a national challenge when the scale and proportions of the problem are considered.

Local success stories, such as Sri Pada and Galle Face green, need to be steadily replicated over the length and breadth of the country. Keeping our environment clean wouldn't prove a daunting exercise if the average Lankan is taught his and her ABC, so to speak, in environment awareness at the very beginning of the educational process, that is from the Pre-School and Montessori. Concern for clean surroundings, in other words, should be part of the citizen's consciousness from cradle to grave. Besides, rules on cleanliness need to be stringently enforced by the authorities.

Unfortunately, public space is usually considered a veritable no man's land by some sections of the public. Thus, rivers and waterways are wantonly polluted by factory-owners, for instance, and public highways treated as dumping ground for rubbish by some citizens. True, the services rendered by the local government authorities may never reach our expectations but public facilities, such as roads, need to be considered public wealth that needs to be treasured by the general populace. We are lacking in this awareness and this needs to be inculcated in the people, once again, from cradle to grave.

In the environment field too, prevention is better than cure. Dredging rivers and canals, for instance, to rid them of pollutants heaped by humans, could prove far more expensive than educating the latter on ways of caring for his environment. Besides, the systems and arrangements should be in place to facilitate the task of keeping our surroundings clean. Garbage bins, for instance, should be numerous in public places. Here too, Lanka is found wanting. These are, however, inexpensive preventive measures which need to be introduced.

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