Wiped out and it’s all our fault

Humans have wiped out so many animals that the planet is on the verge of the first ‘mass extinction’ since the age of the dinosaurs, conservationists have warned.

By the end of the decade, seven out of every ten of the world’s mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds will have been wiped out, according to the biggest ever report into extinction.

Some of the most threatened species include African elephants, tigers, mountain gorillas and giant pandas, said the report by the WWF and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Its grim findings were described as a wake-up call to help save Earth’s remaining animals – before it is too late.

The study assessed 14,152 populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

Numbers fell by 58 per cent between 1970 and 2012 – and are dropping by around 2 per cent every year, with no sign of any slowdown.

By 2020, populations of vertebrate species could have fallen by 67 per cent over the 50-year period unless action is taken to reverse the damaging impacts of mankind, the Living Planet report found.

These include poaching, farming, over-fishing, deforestation, climate change, the ditching of waste plastic, chemical and air pollution – behaviours that are affecting humans too.

Mike Barrett, director of science and policy at WWF-UK, said: ‘For the first time since the demise of the dinosaurs … we face a global mass extinction of wildlife.

‘We ignore the decline of other species at our peril – for they are the barometer that reveals our impact on the world that sustains us.

‘Humanity’s misuse of natural resources is threatening habitats, pushing irreplaceable species to the brink and threatening the stability of our climate.’

But he added: ‘We know how to stop this. It requires governments, businesses and citizens to rethink how we produce, consume, measure success and value the natural environment.’

The African elephant population has fallen by 111,000 in the past decade, mainly down to poaching, with just 415,000 left.

Other animals are even more rare. There are now just 3,900 tigers in the world and 1,864 giant pandas.

Shockingly the numbers of one of the most at risk species, the Amur leopard, are down to just 70.

Overall, terrestrial species have seen populations drop by 38 per cent between 1970 and 2012. Freshwater species fared even worse, falling by 81 per cent.

For marine creatures – based on 6,170 populations of 1,353 species of fish, birds, mammals and reptiles – the report found a 36 per cent decline.

The worst years were between 1970 and 1980, however the decline has been stabilised thanks to efforts to stop overfishing.

On a positive note, animal species living in African grasslands have increased slightly since 2004, thanks to conservation efforts.

The report also highlights the success of habitat protection and strict hunting controls in Europe.

Professor Ken Norris, director of science at ZSL, said: ‘Human behaviour continues to drive the decline of wildlife populations globally, with particular impact on freshwater habitats.

‘However, these are declines – they are not yet extinctions – and this should be a wake-up call to marshal efforts to promote the recovery of these populations.’

 

Source : 26/10/2016 Daily Mirror http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Wiped-out-and-it-s-all-our-fault-118191.html

President launches ‘National polythene, plastic and electronic waste prevention week’

President Maithripala Sirisena launched a ‘National polythene, plastic and electronic waste prevention week’ from October 24 to 30 at a ceremony at the Central Environmental Authority at Battaramulla yesterday.

He also launched the website www.wmd.cea.lk containing information about polythene, plastics and electronic waste.

Representatives of the Kaduwela, Anuradhapura and Kandy Municipal Councils and the Balangoda Urban Council which are successfully operating polythene and plastic recycling projects received special certificates from the President who also symbolically distributed tractors, trailers, polythene baling machines and polythene grinding machines among council representatives.

The National Crafts Council, U.G. Susantha, Kodituwakku, Mrs. Geethanjalee, Mr. Prajashantha, Mrs. Senaviratne and Siyam City Cement Lanka Ltd received certificates of appreciation for disposing polythene and plastic waste collected during the National Week in an environment friendly manner and introducing environment friendly containers as a substitute for polythene and plastic containers.

Source : 21/10/2016 Dailly News http://www.dailynews.lk/2016/10/21/local/96634

Sri Lanka prioritizes sustainable development with a strict policy against environmental degradation

Sustainable development is a priority for the government and development projects will be implemented adhering to a strict policy against environmental degradation, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena said.

President Sirisena said that not only Sri Lanka, but the whole world has to face the consequences of environmental pollution and further emphasized that the present government follows a very stern policy against the destruction of environment and depletion of natural resources.

Addressing a ceremony to launch “Sri Lanka NEXT – Blue Green Era” policy initiative, held at the BMICH, on Tuesday (18), the President emphasized that if any individual or institution take actions to harm the environment the Government will not hesitate to enforce the laws against the wrongdoers. He also said that as the Minister of Environment recently, he took strong decisions against several incidents of this type reported in various parts of the country.

The President said the state officials and the institutions responsible for the environmental conservation should act in a responsible manner, in this regard and said that he believed the relevant authorities will fulfill their respective responsibilities honorably by taking effective steps against the smugglers.

The year 2017 has been declared as a year of eradication of poverty in the country, the President said adding that all the initiatives in this regard will be implemented giving priority to the sustainable development, one of the main objectives of the Government.

“The Government has understood the importance of moving towards natural resources while resolving issues related to the energy field,” he added.

A series of programs for taking Sri Lanka towards a green era are being carried out from Oct. 17-19 at the BMICH. The Asia Pacific Conference on climate change simulations commenced yesterday with the participation of 500 foreign scientists.

International Research Seminar, film exhibition on environment, exhibition on environmental creations and productions, specialists’ dialog and a global youth society on climate change were held in parallel to this summit. Over 80 Presidential Awards were presented at the main ceremony held today.

The UN Resident Coordinator Una McCauley officially presented the Green Climate Fund’s assistance of USD 38.18 million to support dry zone communities to adapt to climate change to the President at the occasion.

The first copy of the publication on climate change, prepared by the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment was presented to the President.

Source : Colombo Page  http://www.colombopage.com/archive_16B/Oct18_1476800804CH.php

 

Sri Lanka strives to fight climate change

Sri Lanka, one of the countries hardest-hit by climate change, said on Wednesday it will prepare its third national communication report on the matter while implementing integrated solutions to environment issues.

Sri Lanka ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1993. Under the Convention, UN member states should provide a communication report consisting of information on climate change and Sri Lanka had presented its second report in 2012.

President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Environment has now obtained cabinet approval to implement the project for preparing the third communication report with assistance of the Global Environment Facility of the United Nations Development Programme.

Sri Lanka is taking measures to address environment issues in the country and the UN office in Colombo announced this week the commencement of a new USD 38.1 million project under the Green Climate Fund.

The country is to implement integrated solutions to water management which will achieve higher levels of food, livelihood and water security for communities in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka.

Green Climate Fund resources will therefore be invested in improving the community irrigation water infrastructure and associated agricultural practices, scaling-up decentralized drinking water systems and strengthening Early Warning, forecasting and water management systems to enhance the livelihood and resilience of smallholder farmers, particularly women, from climate related impacts.

The UNDP will work with a number of government institutions to support the government of Sri Lanka to deliver this project, which will be implemented from 2017 to 2024.

 

Source ;Oct. 19,2016  (Xinhua) :http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-10/19/c_135766819.htm

Hazardous Badulla smog still hugs town

(Attempts to douse the emanating fumes. Pix by Palitha Ariyawansha)

Days after a blaze broke out in five acres of trash mounds in Badulla, the smoke billowing from the conflagration continues to be a health hazard with authorities shutting down eight schools and hospitals and government dispensaries witnessing a rise in the number of patients.

Garbage dumped here is often mixed waste, including paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans and at times electronic goods together with decomposable wastes from food, dead animals, construction debris and even industrial waste.

The thick smog from the garbage dump has spread across Badulla town.

At the Badulla Base Hospital alone about 30 people have been treated for smoke inhalation. A hospital official said because plastics and polythene had been incinerated in the fire, gases such as methane and other hydrocarbons are being released and that carcinogenic dioxins could also be released. He said that because Badulla lies in a basin it is taking a long time for the smoke to dissipate.

“If you have symptoms such as breathing difficulties, throat pain, eye irritation visit doctor immediately, do not treat yourselves at home,” the official said.

The Badulla Urban Council has urged residents to refrain from inhaling the smoke that is spewing out of the garbage dump. The garbage dump spread over five acres had dried up and caught fire.

The amount of garbage burned in remote villages and crowded megacities is rising as more people worldwide are consuming more goods.

“Air pollution across much of the globe is significantly underestimated because no one is tracking open-fire burning of trash,” Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka, R.W. Sumathipala said.

The pollutants from trash fires are all toxic to humans depending on their concentration, he said.

The Uva Provincial Department of Education has ordered the temporary closure of eight schools – Badulla Dharmadutha College, Uva Maha Vidyalaya, Viharamaha devi Girls’ School, Badulla Central College, Visakha Girls School, Sujatha Girls School, Al Adam College and Al Isman Primary School in Badulla until next week.

UDA considers waste-to-energy options as WP garbage mountains rise

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) has received eight proposals for the project “Waste-to-Energy” (WTE) and two proposals will be selected for the Karadiyana and Meethotamulla garbage dump site, a senior UDA official said.

Garbage collection and disposal has become a critical service in the country, especially in the Western Province where more than 1,000 tons of garbage collects every day. Mountains of garbage landfill in major cities such as Colombo, Kandy and Ratnapura are causing major environmental and health problems in the surrounding community.

“There is insufficient capital investment to carry out an effective waste management strategy”, said UDA Chairman Dr. Jagath Munasinghe.

He said the proposals received for dealing with waste at the Karadiyana and Meethotamulla dumps would be evaluated by a committee of university professors, ministers, solid waste sector committees and other experts.

Once selected, the projects should be initiated at once and be completed within two years, he said.

Experts point to a reluctance in creating and implementing laws and the lack of political commitment at all levels of government in dealing with garbage disposal, as well as an absence of accountability in service delivery and poor technical know-how.

Waste generation is increasing by 1-2 per cent per day and it is predicted that by 2050 waste generation in the Western Province will increase to up to 5,800 metric tonnes a day.

“This is the biggest challenge we have to face in the years to come and we are in the process of facing this challenge effectively by introducing short-term, medium-term and long-term programmes for waste management in the Western Province,” Dr. Munasinghe said.

By 2018, Western Province administrators hope to be turning at least 500 metric tonnes per day of perishable garbage into compost.

“Composting is the best way of using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as a resource as 30 per cent of the garbage collected by local government bodies in Sri Lanka consists of short term biodegradable waste which can be easily converted into compost,” an official said.

He pointed out that there was a “huge advantage” in having a composting facility at Karadiyana because that dumping site receives around 500 metric tonnes of MSW a day.

It is learned that a private company has approached the UDA over using garbage waste to power two biogas power plants in Sri Lanka using up waste from animal and vegetable byproducts, household bio-waste, organic waste, sludge, industrial and commercial waste. A spokesman said with the planned 20MW plants in use only 4 per cent of the original municipal waste would be classified as hazardous ash

Source :19/10/2016 Sunday Times  http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161016/news/hazardous-badulla-smog-still-hugs-town-212729.html

Valuation of Forest Ecosystems and Their Services

Forest biodiversity and ecosystems provide a broad array of both tangible and intangible services and goods. They include the most obvious ones like the food we eat (mushrooms and wild fruits like Divul, Hal, Himbutu), fresh water we drink and clean air we breathe, essentially the primary life-support systems. Then we obtain plant materials such as fire-wood, medicinals (Weni wel, Kothala himbutu etc.) and aromatics (Walla patta of recent fame) and other forest raw materials for our domestic consumption and industries. Though less obvious, forests and other such green spaces sustain processes that purify air and water, breakdown waste products, sequester carbon, cycle nutrients and maintain soil fertility, all of which we take for granted and hardly pay any attention to their sustainability.

Forest biodiversity and ecosystems provide a broad array of both tangible and intangible services and goods. They include the most obvious ones like the food we eat (mushrooms and wild fruits like Divul, Hal, Himbutu), fresh water we drink and clean air we breathe, essentially the primary life-support systems. Then we obtain plant materials such as fire-wood, medicinals (Weni wel, Kothala himbutu etc.) and aromatics (Walla patta of recent fame) and other forest raw materials for our domestic consumption and industries. Though less obvious, forests and other such green spaces sustain processes that purify air and water, breakdown waste products, sequester carbon, cycle nutrients and maintain soil fertility, all of which we take for granted and hardly pay any attention to their sustainability.

Ecosystem services therefore, are the benefits provided by various ecosystems to human well-being which in common parlance is known as ‘health, wealth and happiness’. These are often bundled together as provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report prepared in 2005. However, there are other ecosystem values which have no known benefit to humans as yet, but are of intrinsic value to the web of life on earth.

In addition, forests also perform regulatory functions such as flood control, climate amelioration, air and water quality regulation, pest and disease control and supporting services such as pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling and primary production of foods mostly by fixing carbon dioxide that is available in the atmosphere. Likewise, they also provide invaluable cultural services such as spiritual, aesthetic, recreational and educational values for the wholesome well-being of humans and all other living organisms. Yet today, all these life-sustaining systems, collectively known as ecosystem services, provided by forests and other such landscapes are largely taken for granted and perceived as public benefits or ‘free lunches’ in modern society’s balance sheet. Despite being fundamental to the well-being of human societies, critical contribution of ecosystem services have hitherto been overlooked in public, corporate and individual decision making processes, primarily because they are public services rendered by Mother Nature free of charge.

The concept of ecosystem services gained world-wide recognition when the United Nations published its Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report in 2005 (MEA). It was prepared collectively by 1,300 scientists of global repute spending over a period of four years, primarily to draw the attention of the policy makers to the rapid decline in biodiversity and their functioning, leading to a global level impact on ecosystem services they render that are vital to human well-being, their livelihoods, health and very survival.

As a sequel to this global effort, a second international initiative was undertaken by the UN Environmental Programme between 2007 and 2010 called ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ (TEEB synthesis report, 2010) bringing ecosystem services, which had hitherto been in the exclusive domain of the ecological community, to the doorstep of the business world. At the same time it was heralded by mainstream mass media as a possible link to be explored between biodiversity and socioeconomic domains.

Making nature’s values more visible

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a global initiative focused on “making nature’s values more visible” in decision making. Its principal objective is to mainstream the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels from local to global. It aims to achieve this goal by following a structured or tiered approach to valuation that helps decision-makers recognise the wide range of benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity, demonstrate their values in economic terms and where appropriate, capture those values in decision-making.

The first step in this process is ‘Recognising’ the value in ecosystems, landscapes, species and other aspects of biodiversity which has been a feature of all human societies and communities at varying scales over a millennia. Setting aside protected areas, national parks and wilderness areas for provisioning aforesaid ecosystem services are good examples of giving due recognition to such valuable ecosystems, landscapes, riverscapes and seascapes. Sometimes, this level of recognition alone has been sufficient for ensuring conservation and sustainable management. However, both global and local trends are that this current level of recognition of ecosystem services rendered by natural ecosystems and landscapes including forests is woefully inadequate to stem the conversion of natural ecosystems in to other land uses ostensibly considered as more valuable to human well-being.

The second principle of TEEB approach is ‘Demonstrating’ ecosystem service value which has hitherto been the invisible value of nature in economic terms. An economic value is often useful for policy makers and businesses, in reaching decisions that consider the full (market and non-market) costs and benefits of a proposed use of an ecosystem.

Capturing value is the final tier of the economic approach, which involves the introduction of mechanisms that incorporate the values of ecosystems as demonstrated in economic terms in to decision making through incentives and price signals.

In moving towards valuation of natural biological assets which are the biodiversity and their ecosystem services, the concept of ‘natural capital’ – the constituents of nature – has been introduced to be on par with other types of capitals such as human capital (education, work skills, mental & physical health) and social capital (social cohesive networks) and manufactured capital (infrastructure, buildings, machines) in socio-economic parlance. The concept of ‘natural-capital’ refers to those constituents of nature that can be linked directly with human welfare. This includes all natural assets such as minerals, water, air, living organisms, ecosystems and their functioning. This natural capital need to be maintained at a level so that it can deliver its ‘interest’ in the form of ecological services for human well-being in a sustainable manner in to the distant future.

This widespread recognition of ecosystem services has contributed significantly to redefining hitherto invisible values of nature which had been taken for granted in relation to human interactions with them at different scales from shifting cultivation to large scale cash-crop plantations. The widespread neglect of the natural capital, leading to degradation of ecosystem services and biodiversity has now reached serious levels of social and economic costs. The ‘business as usual’ approach will only lead to further aggravation of environmental and socio-economic calamities at more frequent intervals.

Value of natural capital

Although the valuation of natural capital and its interest is implicit in decision making, it is often hidden from public view due to lack of comparable methods for valuation as for other capitals such as manufactured or built capital. This is often seen in instances where natural forests are alienated for large scale agricultural, industrial or infrastructure developmental ventures without taking a stock of the valuable ecosystem services rendered may be invisible to many, by the forested ecosystem. A classic example is the ‘Sinharaja logging project’ of the 1970s which was launched to meet the growing timber demand for making peeler-wood chests for packaging tea for export and hardwoods for domestic use. At that time, the overriding value of provisioning timber was considered as the primary good as opposed to other bundles competing ecosystem service values such as conservation of biodiversity, regulation of soil and water, aesthetic, educational and recreational value etc. which were not considered adequately as the economic values of the latter services were hidden from policy makers due to lack of comparable methods for their valuation. However, today the tables have turned in Sinharaja, where regulatory service values and cultural values are in the forefront in both economic and ecological estimations even without a proper demonstration of its economic value. This could be attributed primarily to public awareness of the ecosystem service values of Sinharaja forest.

This novel way of looking at nature as the ‘natural capital’ which so freely offer its interest in the form of goods and services, is expected to play a key role in building a sustainable and durable future for humanity. Evaluating and communicating economic values using a monetary metric can draw the attention of policy makers and also lay people, about the magnitude of these services relative to others provided by human-built capital (conversion of a forest to urban development or to agricultural expansion). Improved transparency about valuation of ecosystem services in order to make nature more visible, (while recognizing the uncertainties and limitations of methodologies) can only help to make more informed decisions.

Most natural capital assets such as clean air, clean water, soils, biological diversity etc. are not traded in the market place at present and as such, non-market valuation methods have to be used for assigning monetary values to them. However, this becomes even more difficult when dealing with more complex services such as regulating, supporting or cultural services. Provision of water for consumption and agriculture from natural springs in forested watersheds has been revered and protected by indigenous cultures of many civilizations. The current ‘business as usual’ approach of converting forests and other ecosystems for cash-crop agriculture in our central highlands will only lead to further aggravation of environmental and socio-economic calamities in the future at more frequent intervals than experienced at present.

Although the valuation of natural capital and its interest is implicit in decision making, it is often hidden from public view due to lack of comparable methods for valuation as for other capitals such as manufactured or built capital. This is often seen in instances where natural forests are alienated for large scale agricultural or infrastructure developmental ventures without taking a stock of the valuable ecosystem services rendered may be invisibly to many, by the forested ecosystem.

Most ecosystem services such as climate regulation, clean water and clean air are common pool ‘public resource’ services and conventional market strategies could not be applied for their valuation. Nonetheless, awareness of the value of ecosystem services be it cultural, supporting or regulatory, is indeed helpful for their efficient management. In such instances, introduction of economic incentives such as a payment for maintaining these services can bring about desired outcomes. A number of successful case studies of payments for ecosystem services are now available in many countries.

‘Commodification’ of nature

This utilitarian concept of valuation of nature is viewed by some critiques as ‘commodification’ of nature. However, proponents of the ecosystem valuation concept stress the fact that expressing the value of ecosystem services in monetary units does not mean that they should be treated as private commodities that should always be traded in private markets. Many ecosystem services are public goods or the product of common assets that cannot (and should not) be privatised. As an example, services rendered by mangrove ecosystems are common assets that should not be privatised. Their value in monetary terms is an estimate of their benefits to society expressed in units that communicate to a wider audience.This in turn could assist in raising awareness of the value of ecosystem services to society. It will then serve as a powerful and essential communication tool to inform better, more balanced decisions regarding trade-offs with policies that enhance GDP but damage ecosystem services, the cost of which is often conveniently externalized by the developer.

Taking all these recent developments in valuation of forest ecosystems and their services to consideration, the UN-REDD Programme in Sri Lanka together with the Forest Department of Sri Lanka is organizing an international research symposium on ‘Valuation of Forest Ecosystems and their Services’ on October 18, 2016 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall as an integral part of ‘Sri Lanka Next Blue-Green Era Convention and Exhibition which was held from October 17-19 (see the web site – http://reddpluslk.com/Research_Symposium2/programme-agenda/).

 

This research symposium intends to bring together an impressive range of presentations by both Sri Lankan and International researchers on recognising, demonstrating and capturing ecosystem service values in line with The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity methodology. This we hope would pave the way for developing a suitable mechanism to make Sri Lanka’s nature and its ecological services more visible in economic terms when making policy decisions impacting forest ecosystems.

Source :19/10/2016 ; Daily News  http://epaper.dailynews.lk/?id=10&tday=2016/10/19

Should we put a “price-tag” on nature?: Shifting from values to value

Would we care more if there was a price attached to it? Conventional logic dictates that people assign more value to things when they need to pay for it. And it is this very logic that scientists and the government now plan to use this to save our dwindling forest resources.

On October 18, the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, together with the Sri Lanak UN-REDD Programme and Forest Department, will for the first time in Sri Lanka organise the ‘International Research Symposium on Valuation of Forest Ecosystems’ to understand the concept of such a model and to come up with a set of policies the government can later adopt.

The symposium to be held at BMICH, is part of the Sri Lanka NEXT: ‘A Blue-Green Era’ Conference and Exhibition.

Our ‘free lunch’

According to a World Bank Survey of forests done in 2011, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 hectares of forests per year between 1990 and 2000. These losses were silent, unnoticed and un-valued.

This matters, as University of Peradeniya Emeritus Professor Nimal Gunatilleke in his research pointed out, “Global forests as a whole are estimated to contribute around US$ 468 billion or 1 percent to the World’s GDP.” The question now is how much does it contribute to our own GDP?

Our lack of knowledge on the subject is explained by Prof. Gunatilleke as the concept of a ‘free lunch’. “People having been benefiting from our forests without paying for it,” he said, addressing a media briefing last week at the Department of Forests.

“Indigenous people valued forests and certain forests were protected in ancient times. They might not have had a monetary value to it but they knew of its importance. But today we do not value it as much, given the pressures of development,” further explained Prof. Gunatilleke.

Hence to move away from the ‘free lunch’ mentality, it was important to understand that forests are not only biodiversity hotspots but they also provide us with important support services that are needed, for the very functioning of our civilization.

Forests perform the four main functions of: “Supply of provisions (goods like timber, food, etc..), act as Regulators (help in stopping flash floods, soil erosion, etc..), Supporting services (pollination, recycling of nutrients, etc..) and Cultural (aesthetic, historic, etc..),” said Prof. Gunatilleke.

The destruction of our forest ecosystems are thus closely interconnected to our own food chain and well-being. Much of our agricultural and other food produce is pollinated by bees and if the bees along with our ecosystems were to disappear, research shows that humans as a species would disappear in a matter of four years!

In Sri Lanka, the Conservator General of Forests, Anura Sathurusinghe explained that this year alone, approximately 4,300 acres of forests were destroyed by forest fires, “Three occurred in forest plantations and thus we had a method to add some value to it but the environmental value, the number of animals killed, erosion and loss of other services have not been incorporated into our losses, as we don’t have a proper method to calculate it,” he said.

Why a forest is more valuable than a golf course?

Apart from forest fires, one of the biggest threats to forests comes from development and it is here that forest valuations can be used to fight off developers.

“If an area with forest ecosystems are to be used for development, in this new system, we would add a value to that forest they propose to destroy. It would then be similar to any cost incurred due to the project. Thus one can argue whether the forest is of higher value standing or cut down?” explained Prof Gunatilleke.

Saving money and forests courtesy biggerpicture

Civil Society Representative, Hemantha Withanage who also spoke at the briefing has been fighting the ‘Environmental Cause’ for many decades and he pointed out that arguments for conservation can become stronger when we have economics to back it up with.

“Private property has always been given a monetary value but this has not been applied in the same way for common property,” explained Withanage.

“Many conservation projects face the challenge of how worth the conserving of a particular area is compared to the development benefits of a project. For example, is it worth cutting down a forest to put up a golf course or a mini hydro project?” he asked.

According to Withanage, close to 143 waterfalls have been destroyed so far in Sri Lanka as conservationists were not armed with the knowledge of its many hidden benefits and monetary value. “People kept saying that this development project would bring in so much of money and jobs, compared to the natural resource which in itself was not making them money,” he added.

Prof. Gunatilleke added to it saying, “During the time of the British, Singharaja was being cut to make tea boxes. Luckily we stopped that and we have seen that we have got more out of having that forest around than it being cut down to make tea boxes.”

He also explained that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) only looked at forests being impacted in terms of endemic and threatened species and did very little to capture its full worth in terms of services.

Not for sale

The valuation of forests however, have not been welcome in all quarters. Prof. Gunatilleke explained that many who oppose it point out that it would not only commercialise our environment but also a developer could offer to pay the total value accounted for a forest and thereafter continue his development.

The other argument put forward by critics is that relating value of a forest to its biodiversity could mean that areas with lower biodiversity are easily cut down. This would be especially apparent between dry zone and wet zone forests where the latter has a greater biodiversity than the former.

“Research done in 85 forests in Sri Lanka however, has shown that there is a direct correlation between biodiversity and forest services. So if we take into account forest services into our accounting system, we cannot say that biodiversity would be less impacted,” said Prof. Gunatilleke.

Cutting down forests

“There are also 10 forest services which have been identified as most important to protect biodiversity in a forest,” he added.

When it comes to deciding between dry zone and wet zone forests, former Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya, Dr. Siril Wijesundara explained that each forest regardless of the area they are situated, play an important role in regulating the ecosystem in the area and thus cannot be compared. “The services they offer are equally important,” said Dr. Wijesundara.

How do we add value?

The method of adding a dollar or rupee value to our forests however, is not that simple as there are many services which cannot be valued. For example, the sacredness of a forest is hard to define. Thus it is here that the Symposium seeks to shed light into the process by bringing in ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB, 2010) methodology to the forefront.

TEEB is a global initiative focused on “making nature’s values visible”. Its principal objective is to mainstream the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels. It aims to achieve this goal by following a structured approach to valuation that helps decision-makers recognise the wide range of benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity, demonstrate their values in economic terms and, where appropriate, capture those values in decision-making.

To start off with, Prof. Gunatilleke explained that the Sri Lankan government would need to look into three main aspects; as quoted in his research:

“(1)Develop institutional arrangements to strengthen the implementation of natural capital accounting, (2)Develop science-based methodologies on an experimental basis for ecosystem accounting as a complement to GDP and (3) pilot and demonstrate the economic, social and environmental aspects of scaled up and integrated approaches to natural capital accounting.”

The panel at the briefing admitted that these models would take many years to implement in Sri Lanka and that the Symposium was a first step towards it.

Withanage meanwhile noted that any valuation methodology should also be adopted into legislation and government policy with laws amended for it be fully implemented.

“Adopting it to the legal and political decision making process however, may take years,” he said.

Implementation of various laws and regulations remain the biggest challenge facing many environmental government agencies and thus the practicality and usefulness of this accounting system would depend on how proactive our government agencies are.

“When the Coke factory polluted the Kelaniya River with an oil spill, they only had to pay for new water filters. No one took into account the damage they caused to our environment, our river and drinking water supply. If we have a system to account for all that, they would have had to pay much more and thus would be more careful in future,” said Withanage, adding that “We need bargaining power, at a time when development has been given top priority.”

Source: Daily News http://dailynews.lk/2016/10/14/features/95874

Former Customs official charges delay in CITES listing of endangered reptiles

Mr. Samantha Gunasekara, the founder of the Customs’ Biodiversity Protection Unit (BPU) told the Sunday Times that he provided the DWC a Scholarly Document requesting rare engendered reptile species be added to CITES ensuring that action could be taken internationally against those smuggling these species.

However, he said though he provided the document well ahead of time, the DWC provided the document to the Foreign Ministry only two days before the closing date.

Therefore the proposal could not be included before the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES held at Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5. A delegation from Sri Lanka too participated in the convention and proposed the inclusion of Thresher Shark in the CITES list.

However, DWC Acting Director General W.S.K.Pathiratna said though he was unaware of any document being provided on proposing endangered Sri Lankan lizard species to be included in CITES, yet support for anyone who submits such a document would be given.

However, Mr. Gunasekara said the document was submitted through the Ministry to the Department, but the officials had taken up the position that there was no necessity to submit the document.

Mr. Gunasekara claimed at first a foreign scientist had provided the document to the DWC but due to lack of response it was forwarded to him.

Thereafter he had informed the minister in-charge of Wildlife Conservation and appointed a committee of foreign and local scientists who were willing to send a proposal to CITES free of charge.

“Meanwhile I investigated and learned that several organised groups were engaged in smuggling Sri Lankan endangered reptile species” he said.

He explained that he was unable to identify individuals but was able trace how the highly organised smugglers operated their multi-billion rupee business of capturing and exporting endangered and newly found rare species avoiding international detection by exporting reptiles not included in the CITES.

Mr. Gunasekara explained that many Sri Lankan gecko species, lizards and snakes are endemic and make rare exotic pets for which there is a high demand.

The trade is carried out in a process where experts pinpoint where the reptiles are found and inform a separate capture team to go to the selected region of the forest. Then they provide the transport to fly the animals abroad.

The CITES is an international document which covers endangered species in captivity and therefore is stronger than the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance which does not cover animals bred in captivity.

“The CITES protected species is an animal which has to be exported with a CITES document from the DWC and when the animal is internationally recognised as an endangered specimen Interpol, Customs and foreign countries can ban or place restrictions, or take legal action against the smugglers,” he said .

Fined for keeping endangered lizards

A businessman who was arrested during a raid by Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) officials for keeping 18 endangered Horned and Leaf-nosed Lizards was released on  bail of Rs. 200,000 after being produced before the Negombo Additional Magistrate Kapila Dushayantha Epitawela.

He pleaded guilty to four offences including removing an animal from its natural environment and keeping animals illegally. The man was fined Rs. 50,000 for each offence

The man identified as Suren Cooray (41) was arrested at Kanuwana in the Ja Ela area by the DWC flying squad on a tip-off.

DWC Acting Director General W.S.K.Pathiratna said the man was engaged in the reptile smuggling racket and providing reptiles to foreign dealers.

“According the Wild Life Act it is illegal to capture, exhibit or rear wild life specimens mentioned in the Protected List. Even the remains of a dead specimen cannot be kept in custody,” he said.

Source : Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161009/news/former-customs-official-charges-delay-in-cites-listing-of-endangered-reptiles-211920.html

Climate change and its effect on agriculture

According to Disaster Management Centre data over 200,000 people have been affected by the recent drought. Among those who experience water shortage due to the drought are 69,678 people in Eastern Province, 8,600 people in Northern Province, 8,422 people in North Western Province, over 10,000 people in Sabaragamuwa Province and 110,350 people from 23,000 families in the North Central Province.

Kirama Oya and Kattakaduwa tanks in the southern part of Sri Lanka have almost run dry and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board is working to resolve the issue of salt water intrusion into the Kalu Ganga River.

Although the Water Board assures that water supply to Colombo will not be affected, those affected in the Northern Province, North Central Province, North Western Province and Sabaragamuwa Province will have to be provided with water bowsers.

Freak weather is an indicator of climate change. In fact, climate change is characterized by the rise in temperature, rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, cyclones, landslides and issues such as salt water intrusion.
The global temperature is expected to rise 1.8 to 40 C by the end of the 21st Century.

Developing nations are considered more susceptible to climate change effects as economic constrains make it difficult for them to deal with the damages caused by climate change. They are also technologically less advanced and therefore lack access to adaptive technology.

Being a natural resource dependent production process, agriculture is the most vulnerable to climate change. For example farmers island-wide complain of the reduction in crops due to the prevailing drought. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) North Western Provincial Councillor and the National Organizer of the All Ceylon Peasants Federation, Namal Karunaratne said that farmers of vegetables such as radish, kohlrabi, chillies, beetroot and capsicum chillies – all of which require water twice a day – big onions, potato (solanum tuberosum), corn, cow pea, green gram, orid (undu), cucumber (pipigngna and kekiri), soya and fruits including water melon, banana and coconut were the worst affected.

Karunaratne noted that the cost of production is high owing to the fact that fertilizer and seeds are expensive while farmers must also bring in water from elsewhere.

“The cost of vegetables on the other hand has gone down”, he explained. “In the wells they have built to procure water for farming purposes, the water levels are low. In others, the mud and silt must be removed. Then, there are others who have dug wells near tanks and because they do not have electricity, they must use kerosene or diesel to power the motors of the water pumps. The cost of fuel is high. This still does not compensate for natural rain. These are additional costs they have to incur. This is unfair for the farmers”.
Sixty-six per cent of Sri Lankan cropland is rain-fed, making them most vulnerable to drought. Paddy, tea, spices and vegetable cultivation are affected by drought and delayed monsoonal rains.

Paddy specifically depends on water for most of its lifecycle. According to an exploratory study on adapting to climate change in coastal areas of Sri Lanka by Shanila Athulathmudali, et al, nearly 70 per cent of the paddy cultivated is in the dry zone which has an average annual rainfall of less than 1750 mm. Consequently, adaptive measures are vital when climate goes haywire.

On the other hand excess rainfall has an equally detrimental effect. For example 50 per cent of the cropland in four agricultural districts was inundated due to the January 2011 floods. Sea level rise does not only affect fisheries, it also affects agricultural practices in the interior as salt water intrudes into internal water bodies on which cultivations depend for irrigation. Whichever climatic extreme prevails, agricultural productivity suffers.
Smallholder farmers of developing nations will, thus, have to bear the brunt of climate change effects. Smallholder farmers are especially at risk as income generated through agriculture is their only source of sustenance. Climate change effects heighten poverty levels in the rural agriculture sector, which will further impede climate adaptation measures making them increasingly vulnerable to climate variability, which in turn further reduces agricultural productivity, further increasing poverty. This is a vicious cycle. Consequently climate change adaptation is vital for the protection of those engaged in agriculture as well as for food security in general.

Adaptation strategies
According to IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 2007, adaptation is the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

Research such as Agricultural adaptation to climate change: insights from a farming community in Sri Lanka by Esham Mohamed and Chris Garforth have identified different types of adaptation. Introducing improved crop varieties, micro irrigation, reduction of irrigation depth and crop diversification are among the major adaptation strategies. Adopted  measures at farm scale are crop, land, irrigation management and income diversification (Mohamed and Garforth, 2013). Crop management techniques such as changing crop variety, using mulches, changing planting time to suit rainfall variability, changing crop type to suit prevailing climate, shortening of growing season, planting shade trees and crop rotation are autonomous adaptive techniques employed at farm level in Sri Lanka.

The objective of adaptation strategies such as changing planting time, shortening of growing season, changing crop type and crop rotation is to ensure that critical growth periods do not overlap with dry spells. In fact, Mohamed and Garforth note that most Sri Lankan farmers opt for short-term paddy to overcome water shortage due to delayed monsoons. Farmers employ water and soil conservation techniques such as using crop residue as mulches and planting shade trees to reduce soil moisture loss. Mohamed and Garforth have observed that more farmers are reverting to traditional farming practices such as direct seeding to minimize water usage. Cultivation of alternate crops during dry spells has become the norm.

Water   management adaptive systems include; increased use of supplementary irrigation, water conservation, rain water harvesting and using ground water. Adaptive land management techniques include soil conservation techniques, reduced tillage and deep ploughing and shifting cultivation. Income diversification techniques include off-farm employment. In an exploratory study on adapting to climate change in coastal areas of Sri Lanka, Shanila Athulathmudali observes that current adaptive practices are undertaken as a supplementary income. For example, saline resistant crops are grown on degraded land and sold at premium prices in niche markets. This is an additional income to their traditional paddy cultivation.

Genetically refined seed varieties developed by the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI) are a prime example for planned adaptation. Athulathmudali points out that genetically modified rice varieties that could tolerate unfavourable and problematic soil conditions such as iron toxicity, salinity, acid sulphate, low temperature, flood and drought situations could help increase productivity.

“The total cultivation area under these conditions is estimated to be around 30 per cent of the total rice lands in the country and their present yield levels range between 2 to 2.5t/ha,” Athulathmudali has noted.

Government institutions are responsible for the development and dissemination of new agriculture technology. Alleviating the pressure of climate change by rehabilitating minor tanks and providing fertilizer is another essential aspect of climate adaptation, according to Athulathmudali.

A sustainable agricultural policy is an essential climate change adaptation strategy. The Sri Lankan agricultural policy acknowledges and promotes the need to address sustainable principles as; increasing productivity of water and land by enhancing crop production through the application of sustainable cultivation practices; cultivating crops based on agro-climatic conditions and promoting agro-based industries; promoting production and utilization of organic and bio-fertilizers to gradually reduce the use of chemical fertilizers through Integrated Plant Nutrition Systems (IPNS); encouraging the use of efficient water management and moisture retention techniques to achieve high productivity in agriculture; conserving existing water resources for sustainable agricultural development; improving efficiency of rain-fed agriculture through water harvesting, mulching; promoting participatory irrigation management in maintaining and improving irrigation and drainage systems;     promoting conservation of rain water and ground water; increasing water-use efficiency and promoting modern and intensive irrigation technologies for water conservation; promoting land conservation within watershed areas; strengthening rural credit institutions connected with farmers’ investments, savings and risk management and introducing appropriate agricultural insurance schemes to protect the farmers from the risks associated with natural calamities. (Source: Ministry of Agriculture 2009-2010, online.)

Obstacles to adaptation
Achieving afore-mentioned policy objectives is easier said than done. For example promoting production and utilization of organic and bio-fertilizers to gradually reduce the use of chemical fertilizers through Integrated Plant Nutrition Systems (IPNS), is difficult to achieve when the government is forced to subsidize fertilizer, just because scrapping the subsidy would be political suicide. Farmers are not inclined to switch to organic and bio-fertilizers when chemical fertilizer is low cost and easy to use.

Likewise promoting land conservation within watershed areas is difficult when such areas are denuded for agriculture itself. Take for example potato cultivation in the hill country that had not only removed tree cover but had also affected the soil quality. Introducing insurance schemes to protect the farmers from climate change related risks has proven difficult due to lack of enthusiasm of farmers. Crop insurance lacks wide acceptance among farmers in Sri Lanka, according to Mohamed and Garforth.

Farmers’ decisions to adapt depend on the constraints to adapt and their perceptions of climate change and applicability of adaptation methods at farm level. Understanding this is vital to developing adaptation strategies.

According to Mohamed and Garforth, inability of natural systems to adapt to the rate and magnitude of climate change and external factors such as economic constraints and technological backwardness are major obstacles to implementing climate change adaptation. In the Sri Lankan setting, lack of understanding on climate change, behavioural, social and cultural constraints are also barriers to introducing adaptive methodology. Lack of conducive socio-economic conditions such as assets, wealth and livelihood security, vital for decision-making can be major obstacles for climate change adaptation.

Most Sri Lankan farmers lack the financial means to engage in rainwater harvesting although such an adaptive method could have helped them to become more resilient to climate change. Traditional Sri Lankan farmers are often reluctant to change their traditional farming techniques and are often pessimistic about the effectiveness of adaptive techniques. The reason maybe lack of access to climate information such as weather forecasts and technological backwardness.

This goes to show that all these obstacles are inter-related and should be dealt with in parallel, in order to encourage adaptive techniques. Lack of policy intervention and lack of enthusiasm on the part of farmers to abide by sustainable policy is another impediment. But grassroots level adaptation can only go so far. Lack of governance structures, existing structures de-prioritizing climate change issues and not integrating climate change into development planning and implementation impedes climate change adaptation at institutional level.

Source :08/10/2016 The Nation http://nation.lk/online/2016/10/08/climate-change-and-its-effect-on-agriculture.html

How humans burn Nature

The forest fires that heated the country recently has caused severe impacts on the irrigation system.

Aranda Edirisuriya President of Elahera Farmers’ Association said, even if a small part of the Knuckles Mountain range is set on fire, it could impact on the irrigation system in the Polonnaruwa District.

Agriculture industry, directly depending on the irrigation system, in Minneriya, Elahera, Girithale, and Kanthale areas are heavily affected when the water level reduces due to fires in the hill country.

“The moment the springs dry up in the Knuckles, the water level reduces, and farmers are forced to rely on the Mahaweli River for irrigation, which is not the usual practice, as it is difficult to manoeuver water to paddy fields.

Water for daily use has become a problem as well,” Edirisuriya said, adding that not only paddy fields, other cultivations too require constant watering.

Meanwhile, Conservator General of Forests Anura Sathurusinghe estimated that up to now 4,300 acres of forests have been destroyed due to forest fires, all of which are man-made. It is a much higher figure compared to last year, which was around 3,000 acres. “The higher damage could be attributed to the unusually dry weather this year, while the dry atmosphere, dry wind and dry trees act as fuel to the fires,” he said.

(Massive fl ame with a single match, a heavy toll on the Knuckles forest)

Illegal activities

Sathurusinghe claimed that most of the fires originated due to illegal activities, such as hunting and illegal breweries amid forests, than the clearing of forests for chena cultivation.

He admitted that the only preventive method available is to raise awareness among the public, and increase community participation in protecting the environment and keeping the forest department officials informed of any illegal activities.

“The public should be aware that a simple action such as throwing away a match without putting out the fire, could cause massive fires,” he said.

Admitting that these fires are a common occurrence during the dry season, Herath M. Dissanayake, former government servant and a farmer in Polonnaruwa said, there isn’t any awareness program on fire prevention.

“It’s of no use conducting awareness programs after a fire has happened. Ideally, awareness programs should be held twice a year or so, before the droughts, to inform the people of the risks of throwing cigarette butts in the forest, or matches which are lit. At present, no awareness or a sense of security is being discussed at community level”, he explained.

Young men

These are not organized crimes, or, as portrayed often, hunters setting fire to the forest to chase away animals to make the hunt easy for them, he said, adding that they have witnessed groups of young men who go to the forest for a smoke or a drink, and after getting drunk, set the forest on fire.

“We’ve seen them rushing out of the forest, after setting fire, high on their own laughter.

They have no empathy or sympathy. These young men go to the forest in their cars or cycles. The older people hardly get involved in setting forests on fire. The dry climate and the dry wind spreads the fires fast, adding more fuel to the problem,” he said.

“The damage, environmental and otherwise, caused by these fire cannot be estimated,” Deputy Director of the Disaster Management Centre Pradeep Kodippili said. Once a fire has started to spread putting it out becomes a mission that involves the military as well.

“The army has been deployed to assist in putting out these fires for the past 4-5 years, and the air force is given the location of the fires to use helicopters to spray water on the affected areas,” he explained.

To hire a helicopter for an hour, the DMC has to pay Rs.2-3 laks, and in most cases, they focus on spraying water in nearby areas to stop the fire from spreading, rather than trying to stop the fire itself.

“It is difficult to get the assistance of the air force helicopters for every fire. So, whenever we get their assistance, we focus on minimizing damage to lives and property, as opposed to trying to put out the fire, while it spreads.”

Source: 09/10/2016: Sunday Observer; http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2016/10/09/fea07.asp