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| Sunday, 9 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Reconstructing - the eco-friendly way by Shanika Sriyananda The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will take up the challenge of helping and guiding the government to re-build the tsunami hit areas in an environmental friendly manner. All its efforts will be directed towards providing technical expertise in town planning according to guidelines, which it says are more environmental friendly. Director General CEA Manel Jayamanne says that the CEA is ready to play a major role in the government's efforts to rehabilitate and reconstruct towns damaged and destroyed by the tsunami. "Better planning of new towns is the need of the hour and it should be done in an eco-friendly manner to avoid destruction", she says. The CEA is now co-ordinating with the Urban Development Authority in this task and according to CEA chief the most daunting task of future planing, is to prioritise environmental concerns. As the tsunami took into sea everything within a few seconds, the remaining debris from the destruction cannot be cleared within a few seconds. "Cleaning should also be done according to a manner which would cause less pollution to the environment. Otherwise, people have to suffer from the consequences again", says Jayamanne claiming that some organised groups and local authorities cleaning the debris hurriedly, were causing damage to the environment as well as to human beings. "During the weekend we had reports of mass scale burning of piles of timber from damaged properties, PVC, other plastic materials and other debris, which should not be burnt together with other garbage and in open places. The hazardous pollutants from the burning is cancer causing and will cause long term effects", she says. According to Jayamanne, plans implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development to clear the debris will commence from January 15. "We request those who intend helping to clean the debris to wait till January 15. They can collect the garbage separately and it will ease the damage to environment. We have instructed the people to collect PVC and plastic material separately as these materials need high temperature incineration and hence need to be sent to places like Puttlam Cement which has incinerators with 1100 c temperature", she adds. Natural resources were always a pride of Sri Lanka, but most of the natural wonders including lagoons in the tsunami hit areas have been seriously damaged. " Most of the lagoons in the country, have been destroyed while most of the other water bodies are polluted with debris and decomposing human and animal carcases", Jayamanne says. According to Jayamanne, inland water bodies have also been polluted due to the intrusion of sea water and dumping of tonnes of garbage and discharge of sewage from crowded refugee camps. Meanwhile, several teams comprising CEA officials have been sent to affected areas to take steps to prevent health and environmental hazards, and to especially educate the people in camps. While providing laboratory facilities to check the quality of drinking water, the CEA has also taken steps to clean wells. Over 40 wells in Matara have been chlorinated. Garbage bins, which are another vital component for clean environment to avoid diseases, have been distributed among camps. The CEA has also taken steps to collect used plastic water bottles from camps. As for the cost of damage caused to the environment and natural
resources, Jayamanne says, no price tag can be put on natural resources,
but adds that the CEA will assess and make a rough estimation of the
damage soon. Tsunami warnings and future disasters : Learning from past mistakes Aftermath Tsunami: A growing garbage problem in the coastal areas Increasing mounds of garbage in the refugee camps is becoming a serious menace, says Hemantha Withanage, Executive Director, Centre for Environmental Justice.
He says: "The tsunami destroyed many lives and properties. Inability to remove some bodies has created a health risk. A large number of people generate loads of human wastes, which is polluting the environment. This has already become a menace in camp sites. There are no adequate toilet facilities in any of these camps. On top of that, growing garbage problem has become totally unmanageable. "Therefore we urge all the authorities and the donors to stop sending unusable clothes, plastics and expired items to the people living in camps". by Shanika Sriyananda The nightmare is over. The mighty ocean has now gone back to being its usual self. The fifth strongest quake of the century and the resultant tsunami- 'born' near the Indonesian sea and spreading its strong wall of water all over the Indian Ocean has already made Sri Lanka a burial ground for thousands. While most of the dead even lost the dignity of having a decent burial, some are still missing in the sea and the survivors are trying hard to get back on their feet, despite the destruction and the agony. As is often the case, the national habit of looking for a scapegoat to blame for the disaster, which made over 2.5 million Lankans homeless has intensified. While the questions whether lives could have been saved with timely warning system remains pertinent, equally significant is the lessons that can be learnt from the destruction, the strength of which was stronger than a million atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during World War II, in order to avoid further calamities, whether natural or man-made, in future. According to informed sources, the 9.0 Richter scale quake that occurred in Sumatra at 6.58 am ( Sri Lankan time) had been recorded at the Pallekelle Seismology Station, which has modern equipment to record such activities. "The advanced technology at the station, which was set up in 1990s, has the facilities to transfer the records automatically to the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) in Colombo. But there was no officer at that time to send the warning signals", sources said. While warning signals beeped at the Bureau, the officers, who are not on round- the- clock duty, were enjoying their weekend as other public servants. "It takes at least seven hours to give the massage to the public", Nalin de Silva, in-charge of the Pallekelle station said. According to him, the raw data received by the GSMB the Pallekelle Station and the Head Office in Colombo has to be sent to Hawaii for analysis and only then could the Bureau warn about the disaster. "It takes time", he pointed out. The angry ordinary people as well as the educated Sri Lankans including academics, environmentalists and scientists, ask why the GSMB, which has been warning about even minor tremors after the tsunami, was not able to warn the people early, as soon as it was triggered in the Indian Ocean at 6.58 in the morning? They also wonder why its officers who are so active after the destruction failed to make note of the quake and act on it. When contacted for comments and justification for their 'negligence' (the word that is used by many people to accuse the Bureau), Deputy Director S. M. A. T. B. Mudunkotuwa of the GSMB said that the Bureau was dissatisfied with the media reports on the Bureau's inability to sound an early warning and accused journalists of writing their own stories based on their imaginations. But he refused further clarification saying the officers were busy checking false complaints from the public on further tremors. However, the same blame - not sounding a warning has also been directed at the Geology Unit of the Peradeniya University, which had special seismology equipment to record any tremors and transmit them to the international warning systems. These equipment at Peradeniya University has a link with the Rajarata University, Eastern University, and the Ruhuna University. But, at the time the monstrous waves hit the country, the Rs. 30 million worth equipment granted by the JAICA, and which had a 24-hour recording on tremors, were gathering dust. "It was a minor repair and for the last two years, they were not used for recording and the special internet facility given for the unit is being misused by some officers to develop their personal contacts", claim informed sources. The destruction, suffering and blames are equally shared by the relevant authorities. But as all the international and local media has highlighted, the need of the hour is a system that could simply give a telephone call to the disaster prone countries beforehand to minimise the loss of lives. Meanwhile the GSMB had identified the Southern Coast of Sri Lanka as an earthquake active zone with the continental crust getting active. This is a wake up call to the responsible authorities about more natural disasters in the future, their readiness to warn the public early and to educate the public on preventive measures that can be taken to survive future calamities. There have been demands for a reliable link between the institutions that do predictions and research on natural disasters. Then one's failure to inform of the disaster early will be taken up by other institutions. Most importantly, the government has a task of making this kind of important services - which could save the country from massive destruction - an eventual round-the-clock service. Meanwhile, according to ecologists and environmentalists, the next severe man-made disaster in the 'offing' is the disappearance of small islands due to sea rise caused by global warming. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report very recently warned of the warming of the Northern ice cap at twice the global rate. " Sea level will rise greatly due to global warming in the Arctic ", the report said. The report further warned that the Arctic would lose 50 to 60 per cent of its ice distribution by 2100 and one of its prediction states that by 2070 the Arctic will be so warm and it will no longer have any ice in the summer. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that the sea level will rise between 10 and 90 centimetres this century and stresses the need to cut down Carbon dioxide emission soon. People living in developing countries, including small islands, are increasingly becoming environmental refugees due to natural disasters owing to climate change. According to International Red Cross (IRC), by the end of 1990s over 25 million environmental refugees had fled natural disasters but the IRC predicts that this will double to 50 million by 2010. This number exceeds those who are fleeing conflicts. Most countries including developing countries are already affected by severe droughts and floods due to global warming and these would be severe unless the world put a lid on greenhouse gas emission. The main culprits of greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen monoxide and fluoride gases - are the wealthy nations who suffer less for the crime they commit. The victims are mainly the people in the least developed countries who contribute less than one per cent of global greenhouse pollution. Environmental refugees are increasing in these countries. Meanwhile, the IPCC, which predicts more increasing violent weather patterns and increasing sea levels due to climate change warns that food production, export crops, tourism and drinking water supply in most countries are at greater risk. Over the last century the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has risen mainly due to usage of fossil fuels- oil and coal - used in power generation. Keeping the targets of Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gasses while delivering electricity in a sustainable way to provide energy to two billion people was debated widely at the 19th World Energy Congress held in Sydney, recently. According to statistics, 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation from fossil fuels. According to International Energy Agency, the global demand for energy is expected to rise by two-thirds until 2030 and experts strongly stress the need to keep the Kyoto Protocol targets set to cut greenhouse gasses. Therefore, the challenges faced by both governments and the global energy industry is the providing efficient, sustainable and environmentally acceptable energy supplies in the future. Most of the experts agreed on the need to develop the renewable energy sector to cut down the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere which led to global climatic changes and to prevent the destruction of local eco-systems due to fossil fuel combustion. As the greenhouse debate heat up, some experts blame the Australian government and the USA for not ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile, the World Wide Fund (WWF) requested the governments to reject applications to build most polluting types of power stations to prevent the dangerous consequences due to climate change. For example temperatures in Australia, which heavily depend on coal power generation, could increase by upto 6 C by the end of this century. Rainfall is likely to drop for much of Southern Australia and there will be more extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and fire in Australia. If the present trend of emitting greenhouse gas continues, global
temperature could rise by further one to four degrees by the end of the
21st century, the World Energy Congress (WEC) warned. A means to tackle disaster Like the new kid in the block, 'tsunami' is the new word in the Sri Lankan glossary. The tsunami occurred at 9.02 am on Unduwap Poya Day. But what about other natural disasters - cyclones, landslides, droughts, forest fires and thunderstorms - that could affect Sri Lanka. Are we alert to these dangers or are we aware of any methods of escape from them. In the absence of a 'very ... very' reliable authority and data, how many people ran for their lives due to the false alarms of a second tsunami, hitting the shores, last Thursday? In this instance, a reliable communication system is vital for countries that confront natural disasters frequently. The Sunday Observer met an environmentalist who has been clamouring for a well established 'Disaster Communication Strategy' and a 'Natural Disaster Relief Fund' since 2001. Sunil Sarath Perera, the former Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Forestry and Environment had personally written to the United Nations and also through the then Minister of Environment, took part in the UN Agenda 21st Environmental Summit. But, until that fateful day, anything on disaster communication system was unheard of. "The earthquake in the Gujarat State showed that the developing countries, which never think of facing disasters with such magnitudes, should prepare before hand to face natural calamities", he says. "Now we are talking about the tsunami. But were we prepared to face the destruction due to floods, earthquakes, plagues and droughts earlier", Perera asks, adding that an early warning system is essential as these natural disasters are on the increase. According to Perera, false alarms and fraudulent news stories on the government's relief measures give a 'painted' picture about the true situation. " This kind of activities are destroying the image of the government and also depriving the people who are in real need. This is mainly due to the absence of a reliable disaster communication strategy, which will give the true situation", he adds. "Proper co-ordination between all the agencies involved in natural disasters is essential in this sphere", he says stressing the need of a disaster relief fund. "Poor countries need a huge financial aid to stand on their own after these massive destructions. A separate fund for natural disasters will help immensely", he says. -SS Search and rescue in Yala Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne CEO Jetwing Eco Holidays Wildlife and Luxury Travel who visited Yala shortly after the tsunami, writes about the devastation, the search and rescue operation and the will of the people to get things back on track. The Yala-Tissa-Kirinda area experienced a heavy loss of life, with the Yala Safari Game Lodge being totally destroyed with staff and guests losing lives. The total death toll could be as high as sixty. I went with senior colleagues as soon as we heard of the devastation and spent four days working with search teams. We are still engaged in tracing survivors and relief is being provided to staff who are affected. The time spent recovering bodies of the dead, were the worst days of my life. By the fourth day, many of the dead had been buried and the thoughts of the local communities turned to their future. They don't want to live off relief aid. Many people from park staff to jeep drivers to wayside kiosk owners asked me to re-start business as soon as possible. They repeatedly said that the best way we can help is to bring tourists back and re-start the local economy. We need a week or two to come to terms with the human tragedy and to ensure that humanitarian efforts are fully supported. The Yala Village hotel is virtually undamaged. All the hotels in Tissamaharama are intact. In my search for survivors, I visited many of the properties and also reassured them that we will bring visitors as soon as possible. The staff of many of these properties have also suffered the death of friends or relatives and are also very anxious about their livelihoods. They want the dignity and security of employment. Many people in Sri Lanka depend on tourism for a livelihood, directly and indirectly. Over 70 per cent of the tourism infrastructure in terms of room nights is intact and all of the hotels away from the coast are fully operational. One of the best ways for overseas nationals to support the local communities is to resume travelling to the island, after allowing Sri Lanka a couple of weeks to re-group. |
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In a press release, he says that these camps receive loads of plastics
(shopping bags, plastic containers, plastic and polythene wrappers,
plastic water bottles) and unusable clothes, spoiled foods and expired
medicines, which ended up in the garbage dumps.
