Wide spread on climate change and global warming has been immensely forced the nations to the sustainable development.
Environmental challenges in various bio diversity in balances has been wide spread more over the world. Improper Land Use Planning and Bio diversity in balances to the Conservation of Micro ecosystems is challenging to whole nations.
Sri Lankan challenges however have been land degradation due to Soil Erosion, depletion of Coastal Resources, Waste Disposal, Loss of Biodiversity and Inland water Pollution, from where Sri Lanka is poor on waste disposal as a matter of priority. Some LA’s, NGOs, the private sector have initiated waste treatment practices such as composting of waste at household level, recycling of waste materials, incineration and landfills.
International conventions protocols & treaties on environment has been keeping strength to conservation & prevention of the environment.
Role of government as the policy maker is crucial in the context of conservation & prevention of the environment.
In Sri Lanka post conflict era has been the Elysium for the sustainable development. Various naming programs & authority bodies urge to impose policies & practices on conservation & prevention of the environment.
While laws & policies imposed, Sri Lankan government is boosted on all the blooming programs.. However common conflicts on human & nature issues still and prevailing situation in most of the rural areas. Also government should consider on the international bodies come in the face of nature lover whether they have the genuine interest or other motives Most importantly, the government should be very careful whether it would affect the sovereignty of the country.
Many more responsibilities to be taken and practices to be monitored by the Sri Lankan government to ensure conservation and protection of the environment.
Introduction
Environmental conservation is the maintenance of the habitat, or preservation of the environment.
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and (or) humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized and governments began placing restraints on activities that caused environmental degradation
Global warming & climate change is in a whistle blowing topic in the present world. By decades passed by all the high powering technological movement has vastly blind the human nature and the future resources remain in the world. While men stepping in to the moon by one hand & on the other hand vastly destructing the natural environmental balance. Though all the regulation bodies trying to get into the one table to get on unite on the conservation & protection of environment, some the main world hasn’t been able to pull their genuine effort towards the reality, as an example British petroleum oil leakage is a significant moment where invaluable marine species has been polluted & destroyed due to the oil leakage.
Increasing human pressure on the environment increases the counteraction – the quest for designation of more land and sea areas for protection. The boosting trend of designating more sites of protection has been noticed in the last years in the world. The area that could be designated as protected to balance the economic pressures is becoming scarce.
Identified key challenges in this sector have been mainly broad down as follows.
Environmental Challenges
Today the challenges in this sector have been identified & materialize in all ends through out the world. Therefore number of environmental threats & challenges is on the air
Improper Land Use Planning Inappropriate planning of usage of Land
Depreciation of Forest Cover (Deforestation) Reduction of remaining forests
Land Deprivation ( Soil Erosion, River Sedimentation; Desertification,)
Insufficiency of Drinking Water to the humans
Environmental Pollution (Air, Water & Soil )
Loss of Biodiversity ( Degradation and loss of Natural Habitats )
Ozone Layer Reduction
Green House Gas Emission and Climate Change
Natural Disasters and Earth Slides
Lack of Responsibility towards Values & Accounting of Environment
Increasing risk to rare species
Unsound Management of Natural Resources
Unsustainable Development Activities (Unsuitable Agriculture Expansion and Settlements)
Misuse of sea coral reef and inland earth mining.
Uncontrolled Mining of Sand and other Minerals
Spread of Alien/ insidious Species
Introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms
Hard, unsafe and Industrial Waste generation
Health Hazards Related to Environment Pollution.
Wildlife reduction
In the context of the above unbeatable challenges human beings have been more & more victims of the nature. As an example Tsunami 2004, damaged mostly South Asian countries. Therefore it should be the one and only challenge where all nations fight for.
From from the Eighteenth century to the Twentieth globally known practices & regulations have been imposed. International conventions, protocols & treaties on environments have been powering bodies of this.
International Conventions, Protocols & Treaties on Environment
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially As Waterfowl Habitat (]971)
Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
Convention on the conservation Of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS 1979)
United Nations Convention on The Law Of the Sea
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)
Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought And / Or Desertification, particularly In Africa (1994)
International Plant Protection Convention
International Convention for the Preservation of Pollution of the Sea by Oil
Convention on the Continental Shelf
Convention on the high seas
International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil pollution Damage
International Convention Relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollutions casualties
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from the ships (MARPOL)- 1973
Bio safety Protocol ( Cartagena)
Stockholm convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s)
Key Challenges for Sri Lanka
Land Deprivation Due to Soil Erosion
Agriculture the major contributor to the Sri Lankan GDP is affected by the degradation of land due to soil. From the total lands usable Land area is about 31% only . Production based on Land to GDP has declined to 18% compared to 26% in 1978, due to expand action of the economy. Many agricultural practices of past and present have reduced the productive capacity of soil and land in the country.
Some direct and indirect factors, that add to soil erosion, are :
Traditional cultivation Methods ( Chena cultivation)
Insecure land occupancy with alteration of cultivation methods also causes ruin of land because land is broken down to number of plots without considering the conservation measures.
The increasing rate of clearing forestry cover.
Some of the crops cultivation in the hill country such as potatoes, tobacco and vegetables has led to severe erosion.
Fast developments on infrastructure.
Reduction of Coastal Resources
Sri Lankan beaches are blessed by coastal resources where ecological processes of both land and maritime environments become interlinked and are influenced by human activities.
Minus impacts on the coastal resources include:
Erosion of coastal area (about 1 meter per year) due to river daming, sand mining, collection of coral rubble and removal of coastal vegetation)
Reduction of flood buffering capacity of mangroves, in lagoons.
Removal f coral reefs as a result of human activities and increased sea temperature.
Unplanned fishing practices.
Infrastructure construction.
Loss of Biodiversity
Loss of biodiversity is due to several pressures arising from the following activities:
Population increase and conversion to other land uses
Removal of materials/species from the wild
Competition between foreign species and native species
Lack of understanding of scientific management
Under-valuation of biodiversity
Inequity in ownership, & in balance distribution of benefits to community
Legal and institutional systems that promote activities detrimental to biodiversity conservation
Environmental interlinking system known as Bio diversity is mainly reduced due to ruining of natural eco system, loss of genetic species & material.
Waste Disposal
Number one conflict in Sri Lanka is today the waste management. Especially urban areas are flooded with waste. Lack of management of the authorizing bodies and also the human behavior and attitude towards the waste disposal is very poor in main city limits. This risk has cause major health issues where number of people has been killed by dengue recent months. Although many talks waste disposal is not only a government’s duty. Government can implement policies & formalize but the governing agencies has to over see the practical situations. Community has a major responsibility towards the solid disposals. Risk arises in the area where hospitals & industries located. Governing agencies has major issue on lack of resources to overcome tones of waste mountain management. On the other hand during the rainy days urban areas are flooded within seconds due to poor waste management methods & block of drainage system. This also causes pollution of ground water and natural habitats. Major issue is facilitating insect breeding such as mosquitoes
Inland water Pollution
Misuse of agro chemical fertilizers has polluted inland water ponds, reservoirs, streams and rivers. Sri Lanka is proud on having man made reservoirs where most international engineers are surprised by the ancient technology we owned. Development in the industrial sites & urban areas has caused water pollution in many ways.
Recent International Conventions, Protocols & Treaties on Environment
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)
Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought And / Or Desertification, particularly In Africa (1994)
International Plant Protection Convention
International Convention for the Preservation of Pollution of the Sea by Oil
Convention on the Continental Shelf
Convention on the high seas
International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil pollution Damage
International Convention Relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollutions casualties
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from the ships (MARPOL)- 1973
Bio safety Protocol ( Cartagena)
Stockholm convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s)
Role of government
By reasoning out the convention and protection of environmental issues it is the National governments who has important role in this context. Policy making to the powering agencies educating community & many more activities lies on them.Internationaly most of the developing countries has imposed rules on clean environment. National government can impose rules & policies while provincial authorities can practically implement the good environmental practices.International monitoring agencies also playing major role by funding environmentally sound projects. This has been the practice and it has been added to the accounting practices where feasibility reports are combine to a sustainability reporting. Environment protection is another important role where government’s responsibility is to codify laws regarding pollution, convention and sustainable uses of natural resources. As the funding agent for low enforcement there role is immensely crucial.

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Though huge technical measures are been world spread on climate change & global warming individual countries can contribute on their own to reduce the impact. Alternate energy generation projects are the new industrial practices which add numerous values to the enviromental issues. Now developing countries urge to buy carbon credits from poor countries where new economical intangible market has been created. This has lead to huge cash generation project, where timber plantation & forestry cover of one acre would approximately generate US dollars 1000/ per year or so. Therefore ultimate governance lies on global interconnection of the countries.
Developing risk management strategies are the other responsibility to a government where major natural disasters can be overcome by minimum damage to the community. Earth slides, floods, volcanoes, hurricanes & other natural disasters can be estimated by professional bodies and necessary steps could be undertaken. As an example taking hurricanes : the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth’s climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere”.USA is harshly criticized by the nations on emission of green house gases in the atmosphere. Common example is USA failed to respond to the Katrina Hurricane wrought on New Orleans: poor management plan for the natural disaster also illustrates the risk management strategies are very poor.
Considering Sri Lanka though there were many issues facing and transforming after Tsunami disaster is some what appealing to the western world. By proper strategies imposed on natural disaster Sri Lanka too can win this unbeatable challenges within few years. Though we are blessed with the tropical climate our responsibility towards the environment is not linear. As an example compare to other countries we have comprehensive legal system on coastal zone management laws alone, to safe guard coastal resources. But the appreciable improvement has not bought due to lack of political will on taking effective mechanisms required for implementing and monitoring such laws.
Sustainable Way Forward
On the challenges Sri Lanks is facing through out there have been various community programs & social activities going forward. While been a friend to the environment nation can be build in economically viable too. In the context of these ideas following programs has been imposed by the ministry of Environment.
“Pilisaru” Waste Management programme
“Piyakaru Purawara” Green Cities Programme
Ran Derana” Programme
“Gaja Mithuro” Programme
Wana Senasuna” Programme
Haritha Gammana” Eco Village Programme
“Jeewa Jawaya” Programme
Dewa Jawaya” Programme
“Haritha Niyamu” Programme
Hela Thuru Viyana” Programme
Major Policies Developed by the Ministry
While urging towards the programs Sri Lankan government has imposed practical national policies aiming sustainability
National Environment Policy – 2003
This aims to promote sound management of Sri Lanka’s environment balancing the needs for social and economic development and environment reliability. It also aims to manage the environment by combining together the activities, interests and perspectives of stakeholders and to assure environmental accountability.
National Forestry Policy – 1995
This gives the clear direction to protect remaining natural forests of the country in order to conserve biodiversity, soil and water resources. The forests under the law enforcement of the Forest Department is being reclassified and placed under four management systems ranging from strict conservation, non-extractive use, management of multiple use forests for sustainable production of wood and management of forests with community participation.
The National Policy on Wild Life Conservation – 2000
The policy urge the commitment of the government to conserve wildlife resources through promoting conservation, maintaining ecological processes and life sustaining systems, managing genetic diversity and ensuring sustainable utilization and sharing of equitable benefits arising from biodiversity. It emphasis the need for effective protected area management with the participation of local communities.
National Air Quality Management Policy – 2000
The purpose of this policy is to maintain good air quality to reduce morbidity due to air pollution and in turn reduce national health expenditures.
National Watershed Management Policy – 2004
Policy aims to conserve, protect, rehabilitate, sustainably use and man­age the watersheds while managing their environment characteristics with the involvement of people.
Cleaner Production Policy – 2004
The objective of this policy is to incorporate the cleaner production concept and practices into all development sectors of the country. To implement the policy sectoral policies were developed for health and tourism in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism.
National Biosafety Policy – 2005
The policy on biosafety set the overall framework in which adequate safety measures will be developed and put into force to minimize possible risks to human health and the environment while extracting maximum benifits from any potential that modern bio technology may offer.
National Air Quality Management Policy – 2000
The purpose of this policy is to maintain good air quality to reduce morbidity due to air pollution and in turn reduce national health expenditures.
National Policy on Wetlands – 2005
This policy seeks to give effect to National Environment Policy and other relevant national policies, while respecting national commitments towards relevant international conventions, protocols, treaties and agreements to which Sri Lanka is a party.
National Policy on Sand as a Resource for the Construction Industry – 2006
This policy statement reflects Sri Lanka’s constitutional, international and national obligations, including the Mines and Minerals Act No. 33 of 1992, the National Environmental Act of 1980, the Coast Conservation Act of 1981 and other relevant legislation, regulations and policy statements. This dignifies the effectively manage sand resource on the construction and keeping a better reserve for future generations.
National Policy on Elephant Conservation – 2006
Widely knowing conflict of elephants enforced the government to implement this policy. This natural creature interconnected with Sri Lanka’s history, culture, religions, and even politics that it would be difficult to imagine the island without it. Therefore the present policy was developed to ensure the long-term survival of the elephant in the wild in Sri Lanka through the easing of the human-elephant conflict.
National Policy on Solid Waste Management
To handle the serious issue of solid waste management ministry recognized the need for a national approach to handle this. Therefore National policy on Solid Waste Management has been prepared to ensure economically feasible environmentally sound solid waste management for the country through provincial and local authorities.
This policy focuses on areas to ensure environmental accountability and social responsibility of all waste generators, waste managers and service providers, to actively involve individuals and all institutions for sound solid waste management practices, to maximize resource recovery with a view to minimize the amount of waste for disposal and to minimize adverse environmental impacts due to waste disposal to ensure health and well being of the people and on ecosystems.
Sri Lankan Implementing Agencies
Department of Forest Conservation
The Forest Department (FD) was established in 1887. Over the years many initiatives have been taken to minimize the rate of deforestation by effective application of the provisions in the Forest Ordinance.
Department of Wildlife Conservation
The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) was established in 1949 and entrusted with the overall conservation of fauna and flora of the country and the maintenance of its diversity.
Central Environmental Authority
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) was established in August 1981 under the provisions of the National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980, which was later amended in 1988 and 2000.
Marine Pollution Prevention Authority
Marine Pollution Prevention Authority contribute to protect the marine environment from ship based and shore based maritime related activity, to comply with International and national obligations by promulgation of laws and regulations.
Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB)
Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) was established in 1993. It is mainly involved in promoting the conservation and management of the mineral resources of the country. It seeks to ensure that the mineral potential is realized for the benefit of the country and the minerals are extracted in an efficient, safe and environmentally sound way.
State Timber Corporation
The State Timber Corporation was incorporated in 1968 under the provisions of State Industrial Corporation Act No. 49 of 1957 for the purpose of extracting timber from the forests, conversion of such timber into sawn timber and finished products, sale of logs, construction of forest roads, operation of timber and firewood sales depots, and manufacture and marketing of any by-products from timber.
Sri Lanka Wildlife Trust (WT)
The Wildlife Trust of Sri Lanka (WT) is registered as a charitable Trust, in 1991 under the Trust Ordinance No. 1552 and the Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979.
Conclusion
While laws & policies imposed, Sri Lankan government is boosted on all the blooming programs. However common conflicts on human & nature issues still and prevailing situation in most of the rural areas. What we can think after all the authorites & acts imposed?
Some of the other issues created by the Convention & Protection of Natural forests in Sri Lanka due to poor fund requirements. Therefore government should please the international bodies & agencies to gain aid for the environmentally sound projects. Normally it is a norm that Sri Lankan government will not enforce forest conservation if it didn’t come under a condition of a grant. But Non government agencies also impact some of our natural genetic resources by way of many projects & developments. Some countries are strict on most of there genetic materials and keep the biodiversity sites under military support. As an example The killing of two Indonesian tribals who tried to enter to COMODO National Park is a popular story to show how they treat the people in biologically valuable sites. But some of the their approach of removing people from the forest and buffer zones are not an applicable option for Sri Lanka.
In they recent past it has been noticeable while the laws & regulations there people will act on the same manner where there need filled. Governement t therefore can be a practical partner in all ends & take part on the conservation & protection the environment where immensely keep pressure on the authoriting agencies to inject the attitude to the people.
As a country we have to have policies and laws to protect the alienation of forest resources to stop pirating the genetic material, plant serum, plant species or the traditional knowledge. Therefore government should ensure above main objectives before entering into any agreement.
Sri Lanka has many more way towards a clean nation. By overcoming spreading challenges on environments Sri Lanka is no sooner be the South Asian Miracle.