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Endorsement of buffer zones proposal

A recent United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report outlining guidelines for post-tsunami reconstruction in coastal areas, could be regarded as a strong vindication of the environmental safeguards the Government of Sri Lanka intends taking in tackling the crisis on its hands. Two of these are the 100 and 200 metre buffer zones for the Southern and North-East coasts, respectively.

Countries hit by the tidal waves of December should erect "natural buffer zones" along their coasts and "rebuild in less exposed areas" to guard against catastrophes of this kind, the UNEP report is quoted as saying. What prescriptions are more in accord with the practices and safeguards against future natural calamities the Government has in mind, one is compelled to ask.

The fact that the tidal waves swept almost 200 or 300 metres to the interior, along Lanka's coastal belt, causing untold destruction, is proof of the advisability of having a substantial buffer zone for rebuilding and other connected purposes, in our coastal areas.

This line of thinking is now being substantiated by even the UNEP and the Government could go right ahead and implement its intended regulations, confident in the knowledge that it is doing the right thing.

While all sensible sections are likely to back the Government on this issue, drawing added confidence from the UNEP pronouncement, the opposition UNP seems to think otherwise.

The Opposition Leader, for instance, is said to be traversing the coast, calling on particularly the fisher community and other coastal dwellers, who have been displaced, to stay put in their former habitats adjoining the sea, in complete defiance of Government policy on this issue.

Apparently, the Opposition Leader is trying to inculcate in the people a spirit of rebelliousness and mindless defiance, even in the face of commonsense and UN-sanctioned best practices. Thus is the opposition immersing itself headily in a Fool's Paradise, which we would caution the people to steer clear of.

The opposition is obviously angling for votes in stormy waters. In its zest for power it doesn't even seem to mind exposing the people to more natural catastrophes. So mindless is the zest for power. We hope wise counsel would prevail. Building close to the coast is in any case highly risky. Rough seas, storms and cyclones - which now could be considered calamities of lesser magnitude - are likely to continue to cause destruction on our coasts even if the possibility of another tsunami is remote. Even on this score a substantial buffer zone is best.

We need to also pay heed to UNEP advice on the need to replant our coasts with vegetation, such as Mangroves and coral reefs, which could withstand the onslaught of destructive waves. It could be said that man's greed has played a principal role in facilitating the tsunami. Will man listen even now?

Know your world

A good knowledge of the world we live in is a must for students. But studies show that the geographical knowledge of students is below par in most countries. There are many students here and elsewhere who will have trouble naming some of the countries and cities, even well-known ones.

The latest example comes from Japan, where nearly 25 per cent of the students could not name North Korea, which is very much in the news now. Above all else, North Korea could deny Japan a place in the soccer World Cup finals, but one in four Japanese high-school students could not place the country on a map.

Only 76 per cent of high school pupils in a survey by an academic body could locate the state, despite a daily bombardment of news about it in the Japanese media. As for Iraq, where Japan has some 550 soldiers, over 40 per cent of university students and high-school pupils could not find it.

"While students are interested in the news, they don't see it as important to know where the countries are," says Yumiko Takizawa, a geography professor at Teikyo University who ran the survey for the Association of Japanese Geographers. These words are indeed applicable to any country. Most of us watch the news, see the graphical maps showing countries and regions, but spend next to no time memorising their locations on a world map.

"Inter-dependence and links between countries are ever more important. It's clear that an education system that teaches a proper knowledge of the world is needed," says Takizawa.

He is 100 per cent right, as geography seems to have slipped off the curricula developers' radar. This knowledge must be imparted to children from a very young age - they must know about their country first, then the region and finally the whole world. It would be a shame if a Sri Lankan student does not know where Mullaitivu is or an Indian student does not know where Kanyakumari is. Likewise, they should know about at least the main cities, rivers, oceans, mountains around the world.

That said, the world map has changed a lot during the last decade. Many new countries have been created especially in Europe and even in Asia (East Timor). But most maps available for Sri Lankan schoolchildren have not included these changes. In other words, the maps are not upto date. Studying these could give a wrong idea to students.

Education authorities should ensure that all students receive an upto date knowledge of geography.

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