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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Eco-friendly
gem mining industry
by Don Asoka Wijewardena The Gem and Jewellery Research and Training Institute (GJRTI) has conducted comprehensive research to maintain the Gem Mining Industry as eco-friendly. GJRTI Chairman C. A. N. Perera told a media conference that the GJRTI in collaboration with the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) had been conducting several research programs on "environmental impact assessment" in Horana, Elahera, Bakamuna, Matale and the Kantale areas where potential gem mining could be improved. He said that unscientific and destructive methods used by miners had already caused considerable ecological damage which should have been prevented with the correct application of eco-friendly methods. "Minister of National Enterprise Development and Advanced Technology Rohitha Bogollagama has facilitated gem exports. A round-the-clock gem exporting centre has been set up at the Katunayake airport. We are certain gem exporters find it very easy to do their businesses," Perera said. Chairman Perera said that around 25,000 illegal gem miners were being caught red-handed annually in most gem mining areas in the country and added that the NGJA had already intensified its raids with the assistance of the Police. He also said that more educational as well as awareness programs would be introduced for the benefit of people in busy gem mining areas to eliminate illegal gem mining which had been causing widespread devastation to the environment, especially to the flora and fauna. NJRTI Director Tilak Dharmaratne said that the selected six-acre land in Kantale for auction had been a vast stretch of paddy land in which "illema" could be found by digging three to four feet whereas the "illema" could usually be found between 10 to 11 feet in other gem mining areas. He said arrangements had already been made to supply water from the Kantale tank without causing any ecological damage. Sri Lanka had a great potential to improve the gem industry and it was extremely important to prepare a gemmologically-oriented map which would identify each and every area with a special emphasis on the environment, he said. According to the NGJA, a Gem Identification program for the benefit of tourists will be introduced shortly in Colombo/Ratnapura and Kandy and it will be expanded islandwide. A state-of-the-art gem laboratory will also be set up to expedite various functions of immediate concern of the gem industry. |
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