'Cultivate healthy feeling for environment'

Priyanka Kurugala

Man distanced himself from the environment after the industrial revolution. From that day he taught of ways to destroy the environment as well as to protect the environment. These two concepts originated at that time, said Janasabha Authority Head and Colombo University Senior Political Science Lecturer Dhamma Dissanayake.

He was addressing a meeting of the Community Environmental Organization at the Central Environmental Authority yesterday.

"We are part of the environment. But the present generation does not have time to look at the sky or the earth," he said. "People have not cultivated a healthy feeling about the environment. As an example people feed dogs. They give pounds of meat to feed dogs. However they are ignorant that some other animals are slaughtered for this purpose," he said.

"When I was a little child my father did not allow me to throw hot water on the earth.

That is because small animals who live on the earth may be killed by that hot water. My parents did not allow me to kill insects like flies."

"Red Indian Chief Seattle also said that animals are our brothers and sisters. But the concept of Seattle culminated with the arrival of imperialism. Our people talk about Seattle but not about our native concepts and knowledge," Dissanayake said.

The duty of policy-makers and community environmental organizations is make to an impression in people minds about the environment. Only knowledge and technology is not enough to do this. Community environmental organizations should educate the people to build up their love for the environment. And they should create in them a deep feeling for the environment, he said.

Central Environment Authority Chairman Charitha Herath also spoke.