To get sand, they’ll even burn down a forest

“They do this because when it rains after a fire, all the solid is washed down into the streams and rivers which makes it easier to collect sand,” Forest Conservation Department Director, Anura Sathurusinghe said.

“This causes water springs to dry up, injury and death to wild animals and completely destroys the natural processes of the environment,” he said.

Fires have been burning in Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, the Knuckles Range Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Badulla, and Mr. Sathurusinghe said most of them have been set alight by sand miners, poachers and cattle-owners razing forest land for pasture for their herds are mainly responsible for the forest fires.

Environmentalists say it may take more than many decades to restore the balance in the environment, following the destruction of the forests.

The arson has also had a severe impact on crops. Cinnamon crops and chena cultivations have been completely destroyed.

The fires were worsening the already-high air pollution over Sri Lanka, while also destroying forest ecosystems and affecting nesting birds and other animals, environmentalist, Lahiru Supun Prakash of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle said.

The burning down of trees, Mr. Prakash added, was also damaging the country’s ability to combat greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere, so the more trees that are burned the harder it becomes to combat climate change in the future.

“These fires are causing severe consequences to the environment. Important plants, waterways are destroyed. There is an increased risk of landslides, and they also have an adverse effect on weather patterns, causing droughts in the future,” Disaster Management Ministry Deputy Director, Sarath Lal Kumara said.

“We believe that the best way to tackle this problem is by creating awareness as many of the offenders go undetected while the police will not make any arrests without proof.”

But the thick smoke and remote and difficult, mountainous terrain were making the job difficult for  firefighters, army soldiers and forest guards deployed to battle the flames, Mr. Kumara said adding that, nearby villagers have been asked to stay on alert but none has yet been asked to evacuate.

Arsonists can be fined up to Rs. 50,000 or be given a two to five-year sentence, Mr. Sathurusinghe said,

Mr. Prakash said it was fortunate that many of the fires are either in grassland areas or plantations of eucalyptus or pine so that the impact native forests and biodiversity was some on what limited.

Source : October,2016 Sunday Times  http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161002/news/to-get-sand-theyll-even-burn-down-a-forest-211020.html

What price for Nature’s ‘greenbacks’ – the forests?

“Many people consider forest as a waste of land where utilising that terrain for other purposes can bring income, also contributing to the national economy. But forests provide other services such as delivering the fresh water we drink and the clean air we breathe whereas if we lose these services it will cost a lot of money to implement costly alternatives,” the Conservator-General of Forests, Anura Sathurusinghe said.

“It is often a big challenge to communicate this value to politicians and officials who mainly understand the value of everything in monetary terms and demand forest land for other development work,” Mr. Sathurusinghe said at a press conference organised by REDD+ Sri Lanka regarding the forthcoming International Research Symposium on Valuation of Forest Ecosystems and Their Services to be held in Colombo on October 18.

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is an effort to identify value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries.

“Tagging a value” for services provide by an ecosystem such as a forest is a modern concept. Ecosystem services are broadly divided into four categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. The concept aims at putting a price tag for these services which helps to convey their values in monetary terms. Hence the price that has to be paid by destroying that particular forest is highlighted.

“We know about ‘provisioning’ values of forests such as the value of timber, but other services are often taken for granted,” said forests expert Professor Nimal Gunathilake. He explained the aims of the research forum were to share the existing knowledge on forest ecosystem services valuation, identifying new methodologies and identifying the drawbacks.

(Conservator General of Forests Anura Sathurusinghe)

Ecosystem valuation can be difficult and controversial, and economists have often been criticised for trying to place a “price tag” on nature. At the forum, a question was raised whether communicating the value of individual forests to the general public is prudent as people could start exploiting natural resources such as in the case of illegally stripping forests of “walla patta” trees and smuggling the resin-rich wood overseas.

Mr.Sathurusinghe revealed that a recent review of forests showed degradation was a bigger concern than deforestation. Deforestation means conversion of forest to another land use type while degradation is deterioration of the standing vegetation in density, structure and species composition due to human activities and natural causes.

The four main causes of deforestation are encroachment, infrastructure development projects and private agriculture ventures while drivers for forest degradation include illicit felling of trees, cattle grazing, forest fires, gem-mining, quarrying, forest undergrowth cultivations such as cardamom and non-timber forest product gathering such as weniwel or walla patta. A REDD+ Sri Lanka report states Anuradhapura is the district with the highest levels of deforestation and forest degradation.

Deforestation is taking place at a relatively higher rate in the dry zone due to the many development projects now occurring there. Experts cautioned that dry zone forests are as important as wet zone forests.

Source : October 2016 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161002/news/what-price-for-natures-greenbacks-the-forests-211050.html

Animal fossils thousands of years old found in Yala

They are parts of skeletons of elephants, tortoises, wild buffaloes, spotted deer, wild boar and other animals, say students of the Kelaniya University Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology who are studying the fossils.

The level of fossilisation indicates the animal bones are 1,000 to 5,000 years old, palaeobiodiversity expert Kelum Manamendra-arachchie said.

“Some of these bones could be older,” he added. With time, the organic materials inside bones are replaced by mineral substances and experts can estimate their age by observing the extent of this fossilisation process.

Fossilisation only happens in rare cases. Animal carcasses are usually eaten or bacteria can rots them away before fossilisation can occur.

Fossils are found when animals die in location where their carcasses – or parts of it – are protected from scavengers and the elements, such as when they are found on the seabed or a river bed and become buried in sand, soil or mud. Rock pools with beds of clayey mud are ideal, Mr. Manamendra-arachchie pointed out.

(Ther Thanamalwila rock pool)

The bones were found during efforts to find water sources for thirsty animals. Due to the drought, many of the Yala National Park’s waterholes have run dry. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) sent a crew with a backhoe to deepen a rock pool known as Wel-mal-kema in Yala Block I.

These rockpools are the lifeline of wild animals during droughts as many of them have water when other water sources run dry. It is believed animals became trapped in the mud of this rock pool when they came there for drinking water thousands of years ago.

Through analysis of the bones, Mr. Manamendra-arachchie is able to surmise that wild buffaloes were plentiful thousands of years ago in Yala. The national park has a population of wild buffaloes but these are mixed with domesticated buffaloes. Mr. Manamendra-arachchie says the base of the hobes are thicker in wild buffaloes and there were many such skulls among the excavated bones.

This Wel-mal-kema is 30 feet long and believed to be 30 ft deep. Only half of it has been excavated and it is possible that there could be much older fossils.

Yala has a number of such rock pools, so there could be many mysteries waiting to be unearthed. The Director-General of the DWC and the Minister for Wildlife has requested the Institute of Archaeology to continue with this study in Yala.

Mr. Manamendra-arachchie said he analysed a similar, but smaller rock pool in 2005 in Thanamalwila from which he collected four truckloads of bones that, he believes clearly accounted for more than 100 elephants, 150 wild buffaloes, 200 spotted deer, 150 wild boar and 50 sambhur deer. Most of them had almost become fossilised.

Source : October 2016-Sundaytimes ; http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161002/news/animal-fossils-thousands-of-years-old-found-in-yala-211131.html

Toyota’s environmental initiatives save 67mn tons of CO2 released to atmosphere

Source : 07-10-2016 Daily Mirror

Will they be avian deathtraps?

In July this year the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUSL) created serious concern among the public when it was announced that Sri Lanka is now moving towards a major power crisis if appropriate action is not taken by 2018. The PUSL warning the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had said that under drought conditions and even with planned plant additions, Sri Lanka is set to face energy capacity shortages in 2018 and beyond. ¨Due to drought conditions, the planned plant additions too may be inadequate and new options should be perused,¨ the PUSL had said.

The looming power crisis has increased the urgency for the CEB to find other sources of energy but reliability and environmental concerns plague their choices at hand; whether it be wind power, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or solar power.

Today, non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE)amounts to only 9.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s total power generation, according to the Central Bank and the government in its energy policy has set a target to generate 20 per cent of the country’s power needs through NCRE sources by 2020.

With the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) identifying the potential generation of wind power approximately 375 MW in the Mannar region, yet another wind farm has been commissioned to be built in Mannar with the Department of Coast Conservation recently giving the go-ahead and clearing the project of any potential negative environmental impact.

Despite requiring significant investment, wind power is, perhaps, one of the cleanest forms of energy produced, not requiring the burning of fossil fuels, and is renewable due to constant availability making it an ideal renewable energy option for Sri Lanka. According to the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change compared with other low carbon sources, wind turbines have the lowest global warming potential per unit of electricity generated.

However, despite the form of energy generation being environmentally friendly, environmentalists in the country have now raised grave concerns regarding the proposed Mannar wind farm due to its location and its effect on the migrant bird population arriving in the island.

Location

The adverse connection between wind farms and birds is a common problem and perhaps the main criticism faced by wind farms the world over with large spinning turbines being called bird deathtraps, as they cut through the flying space of birds, turning at over 300 kilometres per hour resulting in a large number of bird deaths annually. While the actual numbers are a point of contention, it is believed bird mortality at wind energy facilities can vary, depending on the location, construction, and height, with some facilities reporting zero bird fatalities, and others as high as 9.33 birds per turbine per year according to one research report.

The location chosen by the CEB for the wind power plant lies on the southern shore of Mannar island between the Adam´s Bridge Marine National Park and the Vankalai Sanctuary, a declared International Ramsar Wetland. According to leading environmentalists, and the Ceylon Birds Club, Mannar Island is an internationally recognised Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), consisting of wetlands and nature reserves, home to over 190 species of birds, and therefore, constructing such a wind farm could contribute to a large number of avoidable avian fatalities.

According to the Ceylon Birds’ Club Joint Secretary Kithsiri Gunawardene the main issue is with the locality of the wind farm he says, adding that research and historical records of the club has proved this area is in fact where migratory birds first land during their long and arduous journey to escape the harsh winter of their home countries, from September to April.

Senior Lecturer of the Wayamba University Dr. Sevvandi Jayakody confirms this. ¨The proposed wind farm is obstructing a well known route taken by migratory birds,¨ she said.

According to experts, yearly, migratory birds take two main routes to the country, one being the route from Rameshwaram, India over the cluster of islands known as Adam’s Bridge to reach the Vankalai bird sanctuary in Mannar. This, according to environmentalists, has, therefore, contributed to the increase of bird population, with birds from countries such as Russia, Belarus, China and Mongolia using the route to migrate. While over one million birds enter the island through this route annually, environmentalists claim the proposed wind farm will be hazardous and claim many fatalities, if built on the proposed site.

Gunawardene says, Mannar is a sensitive and important site for seabirds such as, the Crab Plover, Flamingos, Bridled Tern and the Roseate Tern. Ornithologists say, many migratory birds to Urumalai in Mannar landfall during night time before going on to Vankalai. According to Gunawardene, Sri Lanka being the last point of travel for many migratory birds, the construction of such a farm, while obstructing the path of birds who are fatigued, having travelled thousands of kilometres to reach Sri Lanka, will cause disastrous consequences. “The proposed wind farm is along this landfall area,” he says.

Initial report

Environmentalists have also expressed their displeasure at the Initial Environment Examination (IEE) by a team led by Professor in Zoology Devaka Weerakoon, University of Colombo. According to Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust, the report is inadequate to understand the environmental situation in the area. “Much data is lacking from the report. All areas of concern have not been looked into,” he said.

“The birds landfall during the night and do this over several months of the year,” says Gunawardene. “The truth should not be suppressed as it can have unpleasant consequences. When the farm is built, it will not be commercially viable to dismantle it if found to adversely affect the animals,” he says.

According to Dr. Sevvandi Jayakody the issue also brings into perspective the scientific methodology and processes used in creating reports needed to give clearance to various projects. ¨Repeatedly we see that such erroneous reports are the main cause for serious environmental issues in the country” she said.

Legal Aspect

¨The IEE claims, 18 hours was spent at each of the six assigned vantage points to collect data,¨ she says questioning if this time is adequate to collect data despite the report taking over two years to be completed. While the report then claims that bird population during migration and other times remains the same, Dr. Jayakody says she is confused as to how this conclusion was arrived at when only a short time was spent at each point to collect the needed data. ¨The data collected by the Ceylon Bird Club proves otherwise and shows a large increase of birds in the area during migration periods,¨ she said.

Earlier, CEB Chairman Anura Wijepala assured that proper procedure will be adhered to during the project. “We chose Mannar as it is one of the best spots for wind power generation,” he said adding that Mannar along with several other sites have been chosen for proposed wind farms due to their suitability in a move to increase non-conventional renewable energy generation methods in the country.

“The EIA has not been concluded. Once it is done, we will submit it to the public for their opinions and concerns,” he said in June this year.

“The CEB has no mandate to work against the law” Wijepala said adding that the CEB will at all times comply with the environmental laws of Sri Lanka.

However according to environmentalists despite assuring an EIA, the Coast Conservation Department has now approved the project based on the IEE done.

According to Environmentalist and Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena, rightfully such approval should be granted by the Department of Wildlife protection under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance if any development project is being constructed within a mile’s radius from a national park, and in this instance the Adamś Bridge marine National Park. ¨However despite this the Coast Conservation Department was named as the approving authority¨ he said adding that this created loopholes to get the project approved

Legally the Coast Conservation Department can approve a project after calling for an IEE or an Environment Impact Assessment EIA (EIA) under the Coast Conservation Act under the Coast Conservation Act. However, unlike under the Flora and Fauna Ordinance legally the Coast Conservation Act does not require the approving authority to seek public opinion on the matter allowing the project to be approved sans any opposition. According to Gunawardene as required the report has not been submitted to review by the Coast Conservation Advisory Board, a serious lapse on the part of the department.

Alternatives

While reiterating that they are in support of renewable energy projects, Gunawardene says their request is that the wind farm should be constructed in an area between Silawathurai and Arippu. “There is ample wind and no harm to the migratory patterns of birds in these areas,” he says adding that it would be the ideal win-win situation.

“Birds protect the equilibrium of the environment by keeping insects that multiply fast in control,” Gunawardene says adding that they are the cleansers of the environment.

Source : Sunday Observer http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2016/09/25/fea03.asp

Co-habitation between man and elephant the only answer to solve HEC

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

Conservation expert Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando says it is not the sole responsibility of DWC officers, appropriate stakeholders including the affected villagers have to play a role

(Affected villagers demand redress to the issue)

Co-existence is the one and only answer to the human-elephant conflict (HEC) and weaving this into the development plans of areas in the grip of HEC is the need of the hour.

This is the firm belief of the Chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR), Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando who has been conducting research on elephants for over 25 years.

The mitigation of the HEC is not the duty of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) alone, he tells the Sunday Times when we catch up with him in Galgamuwa.

Citing Wayamaba (North Western Province) as a ‘classic’ example, Dr. Fernando points out that there are a couple of million people, houses and home gardens, about 200,000 acres of paddy and around 2,000 elephants in an area of about 750,000 hectares. Everybody expects about 50 DWC officers in Wayamba to prevent the HEC. These officers are stretched and strained to their limits trying to “conserve people and their property” rather than doing their job of safeguarding and conserving wildlife including elephants.

“The HEC has to be handled by the appropriate stakeholders, with the people who suffer due to the HEC taking the primary measures to address the problem. A major role in mitigating the HEC has to be played by officials and agencies whose responsibility is the ‘people’s welfare’. They would include administrative officials such as the District Secretary, the Divisional Secretaries and their teams including the Grama Niladharis; the development agencies such as Mahaweli, Agriculture and Irrigation Departments; and also the Disaster Management authorities, as the HEC is a man-made disaster. Conservation agencies can and should only play a secondary role,” he says.

Dr. Fernando laments that unplanned development, which is encroaching more and more into the homes of wild elephants, is creating a crisis in the area. There are large-scale encroachments by influential Colombo people and companies who are acquiring land in the area and cultivating large extents. This takes away the limited elephant habitat and obstructs elephant movements. Consequently, there is confrontation and conflict. The moment someone gets killed there are protests against the DWC and a clamour for the elephants to be taken elsewhere.

But that is not the answer, the Sunday Timeslearns. These wild elephants have been in the area from time immemorial. It is almost impossible to remove them by force from their ‘traditional homes’ and incarcerate them in Protected Areas elsewhere. If that is done they do not survive. Like in other parts of the country, countless elephant drives have been carried out in Ehetuwewa and Galgamuwa areas annually. The DWC is forced to continue this activity although such drives are futile and, in fact, increase rather than mitigate the HEC.

(Elephant falls victim to the wrath of villagers)
Thereafter, some of these free-roaming elephants have been fenced in, limiting their range to the Inginimitiya reservoir and the teak plantation in Galgamuwa and preventing them from utilizing half their home range on the Ehetuwewa side. As a result the elephants have no recourse, but to break the fences or starve to death. In such situations, it is the problem-causing male elephants that break the fences and continue their depredations, but the innocent female herds and young which suffer.The CCR had facilitated the DWC to track a number of elephants using radio collars which clearly showed that the elephants refused to leave and/or kept returning to their ‘traditional homelands’ where they had lived all their lives, being born, eating, drinking, mating, producing babies, growing up and dying.

Making matters worse, the Sunday Times understands, is that in an elephant drive, there is severe confrontation. Elephants are confronted inside the forest where they are hiding during the day, they are hollered at, thousands of huge fire-crackers are lit and thrown at them and they are sprayed with shotgun pellets.

“The elephants face this intense conflict repeatedly and who is the perpetrator of their pain, agony and trauma? Humans! Then, when they do not leave, or return to their homeland, as they are wont to do and as scientific research has established beyond doubt, what would be the consequence? They go into the fields and when a farmer tries to chase them, the elephants simply see red. What else can be expected of wild animals,” asks Dr. Fernando.

This is why co-habitation between human and elephant must and should be woven into the development plan and measures taken to ensure this, he adds

Source : 26/09/2016 Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/co-habitation-between-man-and-elephant-the-only-answer-to-solve-hec-209067.html

Sinharaja’s slithering new beauty

Hidden from sight high in the tree canopy is a new and vividly-coloured snake now revealed by veteran herpetologist Mendis Wickramasinghe in an article published this week in the prestigious science journal, Zootaxa.

“The snake lives in the canopy of the forest and that could be the reason it eludes the eyes of researchers who frequent Sinharaja,” Mr. Wickramasinghe explained. He had first seen the snake as early as 2001 while conducting other research and had continued to search for this snake afterwards, managing to spot just six such specimens.

He has named the new snake the Sinharaja tree snake or Sinharaja bronze-backed snake.

The Sinharaja tree snake is a beautiful reptile with a unique colour pattern of prominent cross-bars in black and white and a red neck. It has a dark purple tongue. It has a slender body, rounded pupils, enlarged vertebral scales, and a head distinct from the body.

The live specimen Mr. Wickremasinghe photographed was recorded 15m high up in trees near Kudawa. “I was on top of a small cliff so the tree canopy was at eye level when I spotted the beauty,” he said, recalling his chance encounter.

The snake is active during the day and lives in the trees. Its large pupils give it very good eyesight, and Mr. Wickremasinghe believes sight, more than scent, is used to hunt prey. The snake could be feeding on geckos, lizards, skinks and could be laying its eggs in tree hollows.

The holotype or the single type specimen upon which the scientific description and name of a new species is based was unfortunately a member of the species run over on the road near Mederipitiya. Mr. Wickramasinghe preserved it in formalin and then began the painful scientific process of comparing it with specimens of other snakes to make sure it was not, in fact, already known to science.

Mr. Wickremasinghe assigned the snake to the genus Dendrelaphis and gave it the scientific name Dendrelaphis sinharajensis. In Sinhala, it is called Sinharaja haldanda and in Tamil, Sinharaja komberi.

The Dendrelaphis genus has 44 members around the world. There are six bronze-backed snakes in the country, three of them endemic. Although they share many common features, the colour pattern of Sinharaja tree snake makes it easily distinguishable from its close relatives.

The Sinharaja tree snake is rarely sighted, so it is likely to be rare, Mr. Wickramasinghe said, stressing the need for more research into the species.

Habitat loss and forest fragmentation could affect this species directly as it need trees to survive. But, sadly, the axe of destruction moves at the boundaries of the Sinharaja forest.

With the new discovery, Mendis Wickremasinghe has scientifically described 23 new species – two snakes, 11 amphibians, seven geckos and three skinks. He hinted that another discovery is on the way, so keep checking The Sunday Times for another new species very soon.

Source :25/09/2016 Sunday Times  http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/sinharajas-slithering-new-beauty-209050.html

Environmentalists, officials, trade insults over fires

The fires were reported from a number of areas including the Knuckles mountain range , Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Badulla, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) officials said.

Environmentalists claim the significant loss of animal and plant life was caused by lack of adequate action by the DMC, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Forest Department.

“The Knuckles range, which is also a World Heritage Site, is known for harbouring endemic animals that can only be found at that area. This fire is more than enough to wipe out several species from existence,” environmental researcher Gayan Wijetunga said.

He explained forest fires were caused by carelessness such as through people throwing cigarette butts onto the ground or when – mostly during the dry season – poachers and farmers set fire to the undergrowth to attract deer afterwards to newly-sprouting plants or to clear land for farming.

Endemic frogs, small mammals, lizards, snakes, tortoises and even big animals are burnt alive during such fires, which spread fast with winds.

Another environmentalist, Supun Lahiru Prakash of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, also said the DMC, DWC and the Forest Department were slow to respond to forest fires, especially when there were no houses in the area or threat to human life.

He said that when forest undergrowth disappears in fires invasive plant species take over while providing no edible food for the wildlife.

Forest fires, he added, can be a prelude to other disasters such as the drying-up of water springs and landslides.

The use of fires is forbidden in any protected reserves. Use of fire and arsonists can be penalised under the Fauna and Flora Act and the Wildlife Act, but even when villagers captured the culprits the police and the DWC did not pursue charges, Mr Prakash said.

Rangers of the Forest and Wildlife departments should be given equipment to fight fires and training to stop fires, he said.

The DWC Director of Operations, W.S.K. Pathiratna, insisted his department had assisted the Forest Department to manage the fire.

“Prevention is the best way to stop forest fires,” he added. “During hot periods we trim the savannah forests and create fire belts (removal of undergrowth to a length of five metres to prevent fire from reaching other areas). We also have to maintain that,” he said.

He said poachers were now setting fire to parks during droughts to hunt bigger animals, burning and allowing regrowth to attract more animals to the area.

Mr. Pathiratna said anyone who lit a fire in a wildlife reserve would be taken to court and could be fined Rs. 30,000-100,000 but the chances of catching culprits was difficult.

DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said Air Force helicopters had to make more than 50 flights to help firefighting efforts in the Knuckles ranges, and fuel for a single trip cost Rs. 50,000.

“Officials of the three forces and the police, district DMC officials, the Forest Department and the Wildlife Department joined forces when the Knuckles fire broke out and fought it for days to stop the fire from spreading,” he said, rejecting claims that not enough effort had been made to control the conflagration.

“Environmentalists and NGOs claim that we did nothing but actually they are the ones who stay at home and just provide comments,” he retorted.

Police Superintendent Ruwan Gunasekara said Ududumbara police officials were the first to respond to the fire and alerted other police posts as well as governmental departments.

“We are still unaware whether the fire was a result of human activity. If culprits are found they will be punished under the Penal Code under the offence of Mischief by Arson,” he said.

“Investigations of forest fires are difficult but if a culprit is found legal action would be taken against,” he said.

Source : 25/09/2016 Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/environmentalists-officials-trade-insults-over-fires-209045.html

National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week in Galle

The main event of the National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week and Coastal Cleanup Programme organised by the Marin Environment Protection Authority and Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management was held in Galle under the patronage of Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijayalal de Silva on Friday.

The programme initiated following the Blue Green concept of President Maitripala Sirisena and Mahaweli Development and Environment was also attended by Marine Environment Protection Authority chairman Rear Admiral (Rtd) Rohana Perera and Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department director general B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi.

Schoolchildren and teachers, officials of the Galle district office, Galle Four Gravets Divisional Secretariat office, Southern Provincial Environment Ministry and representatives of environment organisations participated.

A cleaning programme along the beach at Devata, Galle followed the inauguration of the National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week.

Source: 26/09/2016 Daily  News http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/09/26/local/94040

CLIMATE CHANGE: There are no options

Climate change is inevitable, but disaster and catastrophe are not

Sadly Sri Lanka has not contributed greatly to the current situation but, as global citizens, we share the responsibility to ensure that Sri Lanka and indeed this world is left in a condition in which future generations can prosper By implementing them sooner than later, it places us in a win-win scenario. For example, by harvesting and storing rainwater during higher rainfall seasons, we can increase our climate resistance whilst also addressing our current developmental objectives.

Source: 23/09/2016 Daily Mirror ,http://www.dailymirror.lk/116274/Climate-change-There-are-no-options