In pursuit of profit:

Long term damage to natural resources - Justice Weeramantry

Disna MUDALIGE

People are causing long-term damage to natural recourses in the pursuit of profit and short-term gains, said Justice Dr. Christopher G. Weeramantry. He was delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of Improving Natural Resources Governance for Rural Poverty Reduction Global Learning Workshop held at the Taj Samudra Hotel yesterday.

He said that people are highly concerned about their rights of equal access to recourses but hardly thinking about the duties they have to protect nature.

"In the pursuit of national empowerment and dominance of wealth, human beings are harming the entire universe. This is a result of the detachment of people from their values and religion. In ancient times the values that upheld close ties with nature dominated the community. There is profound wisdom and moral base in every religion. But today nobody cares for it," he said.

Colombo University Law Faculty Dean Prof. N. Selvakkumaran said that, natural resource governance is critical in Sri Lanka because it links with poverty in the country. "Poor people mostly depend on livelihoods such as forestry, agriculture and fishery. All these areas need good management of natural resources. This fact affects the lives of people in general," he said.