Striking a balance between development and environment vital

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Today's world is meticulously searching for eco-friendly technologies while heading towards a sustainably developed country. Happy people, lovely environment and elevated living standards have become the yardsticks of today's development. It is well understood in today's context that balance between environment conservation and achieving high developments, is not only a task of one group. It is always a collective approach.

The recent landslides in Badulla, Haldummulla areas is a clear sign how negligence in environment protection which results in massive losses. Sri Lanka being among the top levels of the world's first 25 biodiversity hot spots is facing a great problem to achieve this balance.

The ever increasing demand in infrastructure development and the consumer world Sri Lanka is facing an on-going fight to achieve both. The industrial sector need to put up more manufacturing companies with high value products has become an essential part in the steady economic development.

One of the key players involved in these actions is the Central Environment Authority. "With the new requirements the Central Environment Authority (CEA) has decided to strictly implement and strengthen the laws and regulations in preserving the environment while achieving the country's development goals," said CEA Chairman D. Wijeyawanthe Prathapasinghe.

Symposium

This requires the support and collective effort of professionals of various fields, said Prathapasinghe. CEA is responsible to ensure that there would be no harmful effects on the environment during the various operations carried out in an industry. "The existing system itself is tight enough to protect the environment," he added.

"The country is now in a peaceful situation and now is the time to catch up with the missed opportunities. So there is a major demand for development activities. In order to face this new situation we have moved into a new strategy," he said.

Wijayawanthe Prathapasinghe

M.A.A.N. Hemakumara

Ajith Gunawardena

In order to pool the knowledge of experts of all relevant fields at one stage the CEA has organised an international symposium to discuss an array of subjects to support sustainable development and environment protection. "As novel achievements and innovations of the globe in the field of environment is important for fulfilling the mandate entrusted to the CEA," said Prathapasinghe.

This is an interconnection between several ministries including the Economic Development Ministry, Environment Ministry, Disaster Management, Defence, Resettlement and Agriculture Ministries and several private stakeholders in collaboration with the CEA.

The international symposium on Environment Management and Planning will be held on the January 15 and 16, 2015 at "Water's Edge, Battaramulla. "This endeavour aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of environmental management and planning," said M.A.A.N. Hemakumara, Director of the Research and Development Unit of the CEA.

Discussion

"It will also provide the premier interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted in the field of environment," he added.

The Research and Development Unit of the CEA is responsible for the organising of the symposium.

The hot topic of today's world is mostly related to the environment be it climate change, global warming, bio hazards, desertification etc. Sri Lanka is no exception. We are strongly positioning ourselves in global discussions in mitigating the causes to these problems such as carbon emission. Considering this Sri Lankan contribution to carbon emission at global level is low. Polluters must pay for the pollution they cause. Since we are not a highly industrial country the burden on us is low, yet we get affected because of the pollution caused by many industrial countries.

Thus developing countries are insisting that to protect nature, industrial countries should pay their part. But all this is still under discussion. In Sri Lanka, we are trying to mainly address problems such as solid waste management, illegal land filling, waste and many pollutions environment is facing at the moment.

Certain trade agreements in the world today would strictly require industries to adhere to certain environment-friendly options. Otherwise trade agreements get cancelled. So it is important for the business community to adopt environment conserving mechanisms in their trades.

Crucial

Environment management and planning has become a crucial factor in economic development.

In support of this the Symposium will open the stage for six main topics - i.e. environment innovation, natural resources management, pollution control and management, geo-informatics applications in environmental management, environment and sustainable development and environmental education and awareness, said Ajith Gunawardena, Symposium Coordinator and the Assistant Director for Research and Development Unit of the Central Environmental Authority. It will be a place where researchers and scientists will submit their findings and revelations to support the Government's endeavour to achieve a steady development and a better country for the future to live in.