A Green Sri Lanka- President's vision Disna MUDALIGE A healthy and pleasant environment for all Even though Sri Lanka is an island of no great size, it is blessed with an extraordinary biodiversity and a greater number of natural resources. The leader of this paradise isle invariably has an immense responsibility in conserving and managing these natural assets for a brighter future of the country. With reminiscence over the past few years, it is undoubtedly seen that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been highly successful in handling this task more than any other leader of the country in the recent past. Being a true nature lover, President Mahinda Rajapksa directs the country in the path for a green and clean environment. With an understanding of his duty as the guardian of this Nation, he provides leadership to manage the environment and natural resources in order to ensure national commitment for sustainable development for the benefit of the present and future generations. His wish is to see Sri Lanka outshining in the world as one of the most beautiful and attractive nations. Achieving sustainable development As a person who leads a simple life bound with nature, he admires natural beauty and maintains the policy that all development activities should go hand in hand with the nature. Today the country is making a rapid progress in every sphere after the defeat of brutal terrorism which hampered the growth and development for more than three decades. Balancing development and environment becomes very crucial at this point. President Rajapaksa has shown great wisdom in undertaking this major task with a lot of patience and sensitivity. He has emphasized the necessity of keeping with environmental norms and standards when embarking on massive development projects. His immediate and direct intervention was seen over the past years to solve controversial issues with regard to environment and development to avoid clashing points. Today, everybody has free access to the Northern and Eastern Provinces after liberating them from terrorist clutches with the steady and brave leadership of President Rajapaksa. Those areas, which were marginalized and neglected under the LTTE reign, have now entered into a fast track of development giving new rays of hope for the communities living in them. This piece of land also comprises untouched thick forest lands and natural resources. Soon after the battle was over, steps have now been taken under the direction of the President to identify these invaluable natural assets and to monitor activities taking place in them. Greening the island 'The Mahinda Chinthana- Vision for the Future' policy framework set forth by the President has provided the necessary guidance for a healthy and pleasant environment for the well being of the people and economy. One of its top priorities is greening the island. The Environment Ministry with the collaboration of its affiliated institutions has achieved tremendous progress in accomplishing this goal. During the period from 2005 to 2011, the Forest Conservation Department with the guidance of the Ministry has begun reforestation in over 2,750 hectares and has restored over 1,600 hectares of forest cover. In addition it supports and encourages forest cultivation while promoting private sector involvement in this endeavour. A special project to establish and conserve forest covers in central hills also commenced last year and hill tops above 1,200 metres from the sea level have been selected for this project. One of the pioneering projects initiated by the Ministry with the consultation of the President is the "Deyata Sevana" National Tree Planting Campaign which was able to receive the full cooperation of the general public throughout the country. This programme was organized to coincide with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's birthday and assumption of duties in his second term in office. Last year around 2.1million saplings were planted at the auspicious time throughout the country exceeding the set target to plant 1.1million saplings. This programme was conducted for the second consecutive year on November 15 and over 1.5million saplings were planted on that day. This kind of programmes helps to show the world the national commitment of Sri Lanka towards a green environment. Strict Environmental Laws and Regulations The status of legislation in Sri Lanka pertaining to the environment has always been applauded by local and foreign experts in the field. Understanding this fact President Rajapaksa has instructed relevant authorities to practically implement these laws and regulations while finding remedies to existing loop holes in them. The Central Environmental Authority which comes under the purview of the Environment Ministry has an important role to play in this regard. It issues Environmental Protection Licences for industries and conducts Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) on proposed projects. During this year it has conducted EIAs for six large scale projects. It continuously monitors the impact of various development activities on environment and provides recommendations when necessary for better results. President Rajapaksa has extended his full cooperation towards this process. Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa with the assistance of the President has also come forward to revise certain sections in the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance to suit the new challenges and requirements in the environment field in the present era. Moreover new regulations have been added to the National Environment Act and Marine Pollution Prevention Act over the past few years. These revisions have further strengthened environmental laws and regulations in the country. Garbage Free Cities Lack of a national approach to solid waste management had brought about numerous negative environmental consequences over the past decades. The 'Pilisaru' Waste Management Project was initiated in harmony with the Mahinda Chinthana concept of minimizing urban waste, at a time when the country severely felt the need for an integrated solid waste management programme. Under the 'Pilisaru' programme steps have been taken to facilitate mobilization of financial resources to local authorities for solid waste management activities and to provide technical guidance through the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). Moreover, activities are in progress to establish the country's first ever sanitary landfill site in Dompe and another four in selected areas with foreign aids. Parallel to this programme, the National Post Consumer Plastic Waste Management Project is also continuing over the country to ensure proper disposal of plastic waste in a manner which will not be harmful to the environment. Another milestone during President Rajapaksa's reign was the launching of National E-waste Management Programme. This is a highly commendable programme that was inaugurated under the far sighted vision of the President to help prevent serious health hazards and water and soil pollution due to improper disposal of E-waste. The CEA launched this venture with the collaboration of 14 private companies. Over 2,000 tons of E-waste had been collected under this scheme which commenced last year. Pearl of the Indian Ocean With the dawn of peace Sri Lanka has become a magnet of attraction and the number of tourist arrivals has been sharply increasing. The country's scenic beauty and unique biodiversity have contributed immensely towards the promotion of tourist industry, which is flourishing in the island day by day, bringing in a lot of foreign currency into the country. The present government led by President Rajapaksa has placed prominent attention to incorporate this sector into the development agenda, understanding its true capacity. Therefore the conservation and promotion of country's tourist attractions and beautification of cities have acquired high priority. Sri Lanka had also been an active member in global forums held recent past which voiced out the environmental concerns such as global warming and climate change, deforestation and desertification. Sri Lanka has been standing ahead many of the developed countries with regard to environmental friendly practices. It is with overwhelming pride that the President announces the world over the country's green initiatives and their steady progress lifting the country as a model example for the rest of the world to follow. "O, King, you are not the ruler of this land, but the custodian", preached Arahant Mahinda, upon arrival in this country to King Devanampiyatissa. Had we acted according to that advice in the past, the world would not have probably faced the scarcity of resources, environmental pollution, and the resultant droughts, floods and natural disasters. My aim is to promote sustainable development in close liaison with the land, fauna and flora, and to bestow our natural heritage to our future generations. Our bio diversity is among the world's heritages. I will not let it be alienated. The State ownership of our oceanic resources, water, aquatic life, forests and natural resources will be ensured" - Mahinda Chinthana