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| Sunday, 25 December 2005 |
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Training on environmental concerns shortly by Jayampathy Jayasinghe Although Sri Lanka has not yet consented to article 10 of the Rio Declaration the Government should examine the possibility. The environmental issues were best handled by all concerned citizens with public participation, Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunewardena said at the launch of Access Initiative (AI) in Colombo last week. He said Public participation in the decision making process was seen as a good environmental governance. Citizens have to be involved when constructing a highway or a hydropower as they both have negative and positive impacts on communities and the economy. In modern societies this was seen as an essential attribute of democracy. Fortunately environmental legislation was passed in 1988 that contains provisions that guarantee the public participation and access to information regarding environmental decision making. However one aspect that was sadly missing in the draft laws were the participation of people and the NGOs in decision making. This represented a major gap in the law. However under the Mahinda Chintana it is quite clear, the commitment of the Government to sustainable development. The manifesto envisages a lasting development process that goes hand in hand with ecosystem that provides a green heritage for future generations. The Minister said he was happy that Sri Lanka was chosen as the venue for training South Asian and Australian NGO partners in the (AI) methods. He welcomed participants from India, Bangladesh and Australia and thanked the World Resources Institute, USA for playing an important role as the Global Secretariat for Access Initiative. The Access Initiative is a global civil society organisation that promotes principles enunciated in article 10 of the Rio Declaration. The organisation now operates in about 40 countries. Access Initiative -NGOs coalition and the World Resource Institute, USA launched the Access Initiative training program in Sri Lanka. The NGO coalition consist of the Public Interest Law Foundation, the Green Movement, the Marga Institute, the Centre for Environmental Justice, the Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Law and Society Trust. Partnership for Principle 10 (PP 10) Head Lalanath de Silva and environmental lawyer based in Washington Partnership for Principle 10 and senior Associate of the Partnership for principle 10 Nathalie Eddy also spoke. |
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