Moving towards an environmental friendly country

Special correspondent

Even the worst critic of the Government would agree that during the past four years, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources headed by Minister Champika Ranawaka under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done an excellent piece of job in meeting with Government aspirations. The ministry has framed key policies for adoption in management of environment and natural resources of the country. These policies are successfully implemented with the participation of stakeholders including the local bodies, government, agencies, NGO's and communities.

According to its Mission Statement, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Sri Lanka remains committed for the management of the environment and natural resources of the country, maintaining the equilibrium between the trends in rapid economic development and use of natural resource base.

The environmental challenges encountered by the Ministry are many and varied, ranging from improper land use planning to conservation of Micro ecosystems. However, the Ministry has identified some critical environmental issues that need special attention.

Those are, land degradation due to soil erosion, Depletion of Coastal Resources and Waste Disposal. 1. Land Degradation The Government has become greatly concerned by the degradation of land due to soil because of its consequences on agriculture. Since we are an agricultural nation such emphasis is a step in the right direction.

It is estimated that only one-third of our total land area is arable. The contribution from land based activities to GDP has declining during the past three decades. For example, it has come down from 26 percent in 1978 to 18% today. Many land use practices, past and present have reduced the productive capacity of soil and land in the country.

The Government has identified some direct and indirect factors that contribute to soil erosion. Among them, Chena cultivation (which is practiced in about 15 percent of the total land area), insecure land tenure, (with rotation of cultivation by plots and by season) and the increasing rate of deforestation, are the prime factors. In addition, two other factors also play a role: the cultivation of erosive crops such as potatoes, tobacco and vegetables, and sand and gem mining, construction of roads, housing projects and other infrastructure. 2. Depletion of Coastal Resources The term coastal resources refers to resources, both living and non-living, found in the coastal region. Several factors contribute to coastal resource depletion through pressures brought about by increased consumer needs. Diverse coastal resources are being subjected to extractive pressure (e.g. fish capture or sand mining) as well as non-extractive pressure (aesthetic enjoyment).

The Ministry has identified a number of adverse effects due to depletion of coastal resources: erosion of coastal area (which is about 1 meter per year) due to sand mining, collection of coral rubble and removal of coastal vegetation), salinisation of paddy land due to reduction of flood buffering capacity of mangroves and lagoons, degradation of coral reefs as a result of human activities.

3. Waste Disposal Management of solid and liquid waste are critical issues particularly in urban areas around industrial sites. Although Local Authorities are responsible for collection and disposal of waste, inadequate resource availability has hindered their work.

A large quantity of hazardous and non- hazardous waste materials is generated at industrial and hospital sites and it is estimated that waste generation would continue to increase at a growth rate 1.2%. The present method of solid waste disposal is mainly open dumping in low-lying lands. Lack of sites for use for waste disposal has been a major impediment in resolving the issue.

Numerous impacts of waste disposal that have been identified are: reduction in flood retention areas; pollution of wetland habitats, pollution of surface and ground water, creation of malodorous environments facilitating insect/mosquito breeding and other impacts on health.

The Government with the support of the Local Authorities, NGOs, and the private sector have initiated waste treatment practices such as composting of waste at household level, recycling of waste materials, incineration and landfills.

Activities The activities of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources during the past four years are wide and varied. This article attempts to study briefly a few of them.

* Pilisaru - The Pilisaru Waste Management project is aimed at building a garbage free country by the year 2012.

The Ministry managed to form 'Pilisaru' societies in every province so eventually it would help to reduce chemical fertilizer usage in farming and also save foreign exchange. Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that by the 'Pilisaru' project the Government hopes to persuade farmers to make carbonic fertilizers by using their produce waste. The 'Pilisaru' environment project commenced in April 2008 and is now operating at provincial level. The Central Environment Authority is assisting all the Pradeshiya Sabhas to ensure success this project.

Piyakaru Purawara - The Piyakaru Purawara (Green Cities Programm) and Haritha Gammana (Eco Village Program) were also introduced by the Ministry with the intention of protecting and preserving the country's environment resources for future generations.

Piyakaru Purawara concentrates on keeping the cities clean. This program is enriched with a number of vital components such as awareness creation, urban greenery, tree cover improvement and canal rehabilitation. All Local Authorities have joined this program and contributed towards the common objective to keep their cities clean. Haritha Gammana has been initiated to ensure environmental sustainability of village development programs, which is carried out by various agencies.

Minimizing environmental degradation, conserving village biodiversity, enhancing socio economic status of village communities and creating a pleasant village environment are the main objects of this program.

Ran Derana - This program has been initiated to identify alternatives for river sands, meet the sand requirements with the available sands as well as to give maximum value addition locally to the minerals that are being exported.

In order to meet these objectives Mineral Investigation Unit has been established and four types of minerals; Vein quartz, dimension stones, mica, Gaja Mithuro - This program aims to minimize the Human - Elephant Conflict. It envisages the construction of electric fences within three years to make all wildlife parks and direct all surrounding villages to eco friendly development approaches.

Wana Senasuna - A program titled Wana Senasuna has been launched by the Ministry to streamline and uplift Aranya (Forest hermitage). Under this program Bhikkhus residing in forest hermitages (Aranya Senasana) would be given a permit with legal responsibility to protect nature including fauna and flora and archaeological sites. Under the program identified forest areas with biodiversity values and cultural values are allocated to establish Aranyas. It integrates religious and cultural aspects into forest conservation to enhance the protection afforded to these areas. The presence of Buddhist Priests and the pilgrims who come to Aranyas for religious activities will help to prevent any illegal activities in the area.

Jeewa Jawaya -In 2007, the Forest Department initiated a research level pilot program called Jeewa Jawaya in two districts of Kandy and Polonnaruwa for production of bio-fuel by using Jatropha Curcus seeds. Under the program 40,000 Jatropha plants were raised with participation of the private sector. Research is on the way to evaluate whether bio-diesel can be taken as a substitute for or an additive to diesel fuel, which is derived from oils and fats of plants like Jatropha crucas. As a substitute for fast depleting fossil fuels, bio diesel has come to stage. In future it should also serve to reduce and maintain the price of automobile fuel. Our country is endowed with many such plants and Jatropha crucas is considered as one of the best option.

Dewa Jawaya - Dewa Jawaya, a project spanning from 2008 to 2012 consists of few long term objectives. The project will research on ways and means of increasing the production and competitiveness of furniture and other wood based projects and to maximize utilization of underutilized timber species

Helathuru Viyana - Through this program, the Ministry expects to convert Pinus plantations into native broadleaved species with an appropriate scientific methodology. The main objective of Helathuru Viyana is resting degraded forest ecosystems with native plant species Haritha Niyamu -This project aims at nurturing an environmental conscious society by sensitizing the school children on importance of the ecosystems, plants and animals by enrolling 200,000 as environmental pioneers island wide.

Better environment During the past four years, the Government has been at the forefront in conserving the environment and has developed policies that could reverse environment degradation. The government has understood that effective policies which encourage systematic and sustainable forestation are crucial for the country.

The challenges outlined above become more difficult against a backdrop of increasing regulation and reduced resources. However, pursuing a problem-solving approach involving an emphasis on risk assessment and prioritizing available resources will deliver intermediate and long-term outcomes for the environment. As such, this will be a key focus for environmental regulators.

Investment in collaborative approaches such as the Environmental Enforcement Network of state agencies, liaisons with licensees, business representative groups, NGOs and the general public should continue. This approach will help foster a common understanding of the problems and interventions necessary to meet the challenges ahead.

(Images with courtesy: Media Division of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources)