How the Central Environment Authority fights eco damage

SPEECH BY TILAK Ranaviraja, Chairman/CEA, at the President's Environmental Awards Ceremony, Oct. 21, at President's House, Colombo

TODAY we are launching the first ever President's Environmental Awards presentations, which will be an annual event in years to come.

The objective behind this programme is to broaden the social debate on environment conservation through active participation of stakeholders of different sectors or fields for environment conservation and to build up a new environment friendly culture within the nation who are amenable and sensitive to the issues of environment.

These awards are granted to individuals, institutes, fields or sectors of environment and industries who have made significant contribution towards the environment conservation and protection.

The other objectives of this programme are to raise an environment sensitive nation, convert the potential abilities of the people towards an environment friendly thinking process and production programmes, help environment friendly industries for the production of goods and services and organisation of efficient industrial and official premises through productive resource mobilisation, time management and appropriate management of waste disposal.

Three decades back the global community realised the gravity of environment degradation we experienced today and awoke to the reality that we are using the planets resources far in excess of sustainable levels.

Renewable resources were used at rates well in excess of their capacity to renew and replenish. The world realised the fact that there are limits to the self-cleansing capacity of the planet's biosphere and was exceeded in many areas.

The atmosphere was being irretrievably damaged by the discharge of green-house gases, ozone depleting substances and acid forming gases.

In 1970s it was discovered that anthropogenic chemicals such as Chlorofluorocarbons, Halons, Methyl Bromide, Carbon Tetra Chloride, Methyl Chloroform etc. deplete the ozone layer.

Further researches revealed that depletion of this protective layer led to increase of eye cataracts, skin cancer, suppression of human immune system, reduction in plant yield, damaged to the ecological system and climate change.

Much of the development activities of the mankind has now become unsustainable as such will lead to grave environment damage that will halt the development process and leave to posterity a seriously flawed environment.

Therefore, several internationally agreed protocols, treaties, commissions and conventions signed by developed and developing countries and we are also a signatory for many of them.

Some of the important ones are Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention, Vienna Convention, Montreal Protocol and Brundtland Commission just to mention a few.

Sri Lanka was also facing a crisis situation in environmental degradation in almost all sectors: land degradation, depletion of water resources and its pollution, air pollution, improper disposal of solid waste, depletion of bio-diversity and sound pollution, etc are few to name.

The CEA was established on August 12, 1981 under National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980 to look into the grave problem and take suitable remedial measures.

In 1988 the amended Act No. 56 was passed by Parliament and wide powers were given to CEA for the formulation of regulations and their implementation in relation to environmental protection and management.

Three divisions of the CEA namely, Pollution Control Division, Natural Resource Management and Assessment Division and Environmental Education and Awareness Division were assigned the task of implementing those regulations.

Developments that took place since then, as for example the keen interest and enthusiasm shown by the civil society on environment related issues have created a need for more comprehensive action plans.

This is the reason for the comprehensive new National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) prepared in 1991. Though there were several obstacles on the way of its implementation, one cannot deny that there was general consensus regarding the urgent need of safeguarding the environment.

As new issues demanding priority attention began emerging constantly, plans had to be accordingly revised and the latest Action Plan developed by the Government of Sri Lanka is termed as 'Caring for Environment 2003-2007, Path to Sustainable Development'.

Environmental issues are many and varied. Due to constraints of time, I shall deal with a few major ones only.

The environment degradation in Sri Lanka started with the depletion of forest cover in the central highland, which was the water buffer zone for 103 river basins in the country. This started under the British colonial system when forests were felled to introduce commercial crops and to export timber.

This caused the soil erosion and depleted water conservation in the central highland resulting in several degradation processes such as depletion of water resources in 103 river basins, some of which were having seasonal water flow.

Today this is causing much concern because of depletion of water table in plateau areas, drying up of wetlands and lower collection of run-off water in reservoirs for agriculture purposes.

Depleted forest cover at present stands at 21 per cent of the total land area, as against more than 80 per cent in early 19th century. It has been estimated that an average of 35,000 ha of forests has been lost annually between 1990 and 2000.

The depletion in last three decades was mainly due to indiscriminate forest felling, land clearing for commercial and domestic agriculture, human settlements and hydropower development. This condition has been severely aggravated by illegal forest felling.

Another reason for the degradation of environment in the recent time is the industrialisation of the economy without paying proper attention to the environment pollution control.

Much of the industries established three to four decades back do not have treatment facilities for waste and waste-water. For instance, Ekala Industrial City site has about 70 high polluting industries.

Most of them are without treatment facilities. These discharge effluents directly into open land, road-side drains and these effluents finally enter the Ja-ela Oya which flows in to the Negombo Lagoon, creating grave environment problems.

Solid waste disposal has become an ever increasing problem in many Urban and Municipal Councils of Sri Lanka. Dumping of the wastes along road sides, in water bodies has become a common practice among the people. This is leading to severe environment pollution.

The lifestyle of a new clan of urban consumer groups under the open economic policy has aggravated this situation. A gravely harmful impact on environment has been caused by the use of non-degradable materials such as plastics, packaging materials and polythene.

Waste collection by local authorities today has reached 2,694 mt./day. A comprehensive set of technical guidelines for the management of solid wastes has already been prepared by the CEA and made available for the end-users and decision makers.

Further, a sound waste disposal system with an aerobic digestion plant with a sanitary land-fill is being constructed at Thamankaduwa where it was observed that the solid waste dump at road-side had been turned into killer feeding grounds of wild elephants.

Transport sector in Sri Lanka is the biggest culprit in air pollution through vehicular emissions. Due to open market economy, the active vehicular stock which stood in 1970 at 109,520 vehicles, increased to 1,438,910 in the year 2005 without concurrent improvement of road network.

This has led to road congestion and severe air pollution. Further, the number of vehicles entering the Colombo City was 80,000 per day in the year 1980 and today it has risen to 362,000 per day, making Colombo the most polluted city in Sri Lanka.

Air pollution was further aggravated due to the use of low quality fuels, a large number of diesel fuel vehicles, as well as due to poor management of automobile engines and importation of reconditioned vehicles.

It has been found that the annual average concentration of particulate pollutant in Colombo remains around 75 and 80 microgram per cubic meter, which considers to pose a health risk.

The cost of environment damage caused by forest and land degradation and coastal damage has been estimated as Rs. 5,518 million, while that of urban and industrial pollution, water pollution and waste disposal was Rs. 2,865 million and the total cost amounts to Rs. 10,201 Million, which is really the 2.4% of the country's Gross National Production.

Let me know focus on the activities launched by the present directorate of the CEA during last year or so. The first or foremost task was to maintain an environment friendly area around the CEA where garbage dumping along the road-side was widely prevalent.

Action was taken to prevent this practice and posters, banners, billboards were displayed along the road-side making people aware of the harmful effects caused by their acts.

Apart from taking steps to bring about awareness among people, the CEA took prompt action to prevent construction of unauthorized structures and the operation of unauthorized activities near CEA and also along the Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha.

Three hectares of wetland area was also planted with perennial trees and maintained successfully as a measure of inspiration and encouragement for others.

Next was to identify, protect and manage the Environment Sensitive Areas (ESA) in a transparent and sustainable manner.

In these endeavour 135 sites covering the entire Island were identified and 50 of them were selected for improvement and sustainable management during the year 2005 and this project is in progress.

Colombo-Katunayake Main Road is the gateway to Sri Lanka. Many steps have been taken to enhance and improve the environmental condition along it.

Avenue planting along the roads has been initiated; lighting system has been improved and traffic flow streamlined; unauthorized structures and activities curbed. All these have brought about a marked improvement in the overall picturesqueness of the surrounding environment.

Even though the CEA is empowered to formulate and implement environment regulations, the implementation is not that easy.

Therefore, a law enforcement unit, headed by an A.S.P, was established consisting of Inspector of Police, several policemen and Home Guards. This unit has been empowered to co-ordinate with all the police stations islandwide to take appropriate action to prevent all sorts of activities causing environmental pollution.

It was reported to the CEA that garbage dumping along the Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa Road near Gallella in the Tamankaduwa Local Authority area has caused several environment hazards. One such very unfortunate hazards is the consumption of polythene mixed garbage by the wild animal including elephants.

This is fatal for animals and might even bring about the total extinction of already threatened species. The CEA, therefore, has taken action to introduce an environmentally sound solid waste disposal system with an aerobic digestion plant with a sanitary land-fill.

The CEA Directorate also decided to publish an Environment Atlas with a view to create awareness among professionals and general public about the gravity of the situation and for the decision-makers and policy-makers to obtain background information in order to avoid conflict situation.

Further, once in two months, an Environment Forum, with the participation of more than 100 persons who are experienced and interested in environment, is convened to discuss and formulate appropriate policies and programmes since September 2004. At these fora one or several professional guest lecturers are invited to lecture and conduct discussions.

Another activity aimed at awareness creation among all levels of stakeholders was the launching of Environment Magazine "Eco-Sri Lanka" the first issue of which will be launched today. Further, an Exhibition Unit and National Environmental Information Centre to collect-

* Critical environment issues highlighted in daily newspapers

* Information on historical trees and to

* Update environment expertise directory in order to identify local talents for future activities, was also established within the CEA head office premises.

Another important activity undertaken by the CEA is the Declaration of Protected Areas with a view to prevent spread of industrial, residential and agricultural activities into the conservation areas and to harmonize between buffer zone development and management of the conservation zone.

Last not least, I wish to state that the extent of environment damage to the country as of today is immense.

The environment degeneration process has got escalated during the last three decades and urgent corrective action is needed in order to prevent them deteriorating further to a point of no return and to preserve the environment in a sustainable manner for the use of the posterity.

In this endeavour the role and commitment of the CEA as the umbrella organization is immeasurable.

Support from the decision: makers and the general public is equally important and I have no doubt that this Presentation Ceremony of President's Awards will carry this message to a wider circle brightly kindling their interest and enthusiasm.