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| Sunday, 23 November 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Seaplane service under heavy fire by Vimukthi Fernando The seaplane service for inland water bodies have come under heavy criticism by the Green Movement of Sri Lanka (GMSL) which claims it violates the National Environment Act (NEA) as it had not received the approval of the Central Environment Authority (CEA) for the project. The seaplane service was launched recently by the SriLankan Airlines in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to attract more tourists to the island. GMSL, a non-government organisation involved in environment conservation said the seaplanes are a threat to the environment, especially when they land in internal water bodies. The impact of landing the seaplanes in the internal water bodies is a serious threat to the specific eco systems, said GMSL sources pointing out that sound waves, speed of the craft and oil spills were only a few ways how this damage could happen. Inland water bodies contain many an endemic plant and animal life sometimes surviving only in that location. Lake Gregory of Nuwara Eliya is one example, they said. Sources said an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) should have been conducted prior to launching such a project and claimed that the CEA was of the view that the information submitted by the CAA was insufficient to grant permission for the project. CEA is planning to collect information through a few experts on this subject prior to obtaining approval of the project. GMSL sources said the project proponents should be requested to submit a proper EIA as required under the NEA and submit it to public scrutiny before the final approval by the CEA. |
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