Rapid economic growth threatens eco system - Dr. Palitha Kohona

by Lalin Fernandopulle

Developed and developing countries seeking rapid economic growth in recent times have created a huge imbalance in the eco system and if this trend continues over 3.5 billion people will suffer from a severe shortage of water, air pollution and serious health hazards, said Secretary to the Foreign Ministry Dr. Palitha Kohona.

Dr. Kohona was addressing a seminar on Trade, Investment and Sustainable Development on Thursday organised by the Sri Lanka America Society.

He said humans have altered the world's eco system because of their greed for accumulation of resources and as a result of such callous negligence for nature the harmony and eco balance have been severely threatened.

Trade and environmental policies must be reconciled and coordinated. Trade agreements should not be done in isolation of environmental concerns.

Industrial development in the West and the US have totally neglected environmental issues that were highlighted in the Montreal and Kyoto protocols, Dr. Kohona said.

In the past though the US did not comply with the Kyoto protocol, environmental issues have today become a serious concern in the US. New policies have been formulated with regard to the emission of greenhouse gases and several other protective mechanisms to ensure a healthy environment.

From the late 70s in Sri Lanka there was a tremendous negative impact on the environment and very little was done to remedy the situation.

In the 80s and 90s there were large multi-national agreements which countries entered into and this resulted in the increase in the use of chemicals, wastage of water, affecting the ozone layer and many environmental issues.

Today with the growing threat to the ecological balance and the existence of humanity there is tremendous pressure on countries such as China and the US to make drastic reductions on the emission of carbon and other toxic substances which cause global warming.

Despite the major problem that Sri Lanka faces today it has shown great interest in minimising the damage to the environment by complying with international environmental standards.

He said developing countries should make use of the assistance offered by developed countries to improve environmental standards, Dr. Kohona said.

Dr. Kohona quoted Mahatma Gandhi who said 'the earth produces enough for everyone's needs but unfortunately not enough for everyone's greed".

[email protected]