'Action to enhance resilience of country needed'

Disna MUDALIGE

Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa stressed the need to take urgent action to enhance the resilience of the country and in the SAARC region to face climatic change challenges.

He pointed out that climatic change related incidents were a severe impact on various economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, tourism and fisheries, etc.

He observed that extreme weather patterns such as high intensity rainfalls followed by flash floods and landslides, which had extended dry periods resulting in water scarcity, have now become common occurrences in the country.

This had also made an impact on social welfare sectors such as health through frequent occurrences of vector borne diseases.

The minister was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the first meeting of the Inter-governmental Expert Group on Climate Change held at the Galadari Hotel last Wednesday.

Delegations from SAARC member countries also participated in the meeting.

The Minister pointed out that the climate change was now being universally recognized as the fundamental human development challenge of the 21st century.

Pointing to the adverse effects of the sea level rise due to the temperature rise and global warming, the Minister revealed that highly populated and urbanized coastal zones of the country had been subjected to long term damage with regard to coastal settlement, infrastructure and livelihoods. "The sea level rise would have an impact on human habitations, tourism infrastructure, livelihood, fisheries and agriculture through inundation of cultivable lands and increase the salinity of fresh water," he warned.

Addressing the occasion, SAARC Secretariat Director Pema L Dorji, stated that the meeting would focus on the status of implementation of the Thimpu Statement on Climate Change, adopted at the 16th SAARC Summit last year. It would also review the Dhaka Declaration and SAARC Action Plan on Climate Change.

Environment Ministry Secretary R H S Samaratunga and Climate Change Secretariat Director, R D S Jayatunga also spoke. The heads of the institutions under the Environment Ministry also participated.