Protect the environment, says PM

Gampaha group corr

Evil activities adopted by man has destroyed the environment, Prime Minister D M Jayaratne said.

He made this observation addressing a seminar attended by schoolchildren at the Gampola Ambuluwawa Bio-diversity Complex concurrent to a tree planting campaign recently.

It was organised by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority to mark World Bio-Diversity Day.

The Prime Minister said if we were to protect the environment, we should protect the five fold features of nature-water, fire, air, earth and sky.

“The destruction of any of these factors would lead to the destruction of the environment and man himself,” he said.

The Prime Minister said even though we are a developed country in agriculture, the extent of paddy lands which was 1.8 million acres earlier had reduced to 600,000 acres.

“This greatly hindered our economy Environmental destruction had also disrupted the production process in the world threatening famine in the future,” he said.

Prime Minister Jayaratne said environment was an important topic which should be made a subject in school education.

“If we were to protect all beings on earth, the world at large should adopt a systematic programme to protect the environment,” he said.

National Zoological Gardens Director General Dr Cyril Wijesundera, Mahaweli Authority's Environment and Forest Conservation Director A M K B Attanayake and other officials were also present.