brand logo

Environmental Act to be amended

11 Oct 2020

By Sarah Hannan  The National Environmental Act of Sri Lanka is to undergo amendments in order to increase fines and terms of imprisonment against those who violate the Act, Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera revealed. “The fines and terms of imprisonment will be increased up to 10 times to curb the destruction that is caused to wildlife, forests, and the biodiversity of the country. We are looking to draft amendments to the existing Environmental Act and hopefully will be able to propose it to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval, after which it will be sent to the Attorney General (AG) for approval and enactment,” Amaraweera stated. He further reiterated that contrary to what many social media posts have been speculating, the amount of deforestation around the country within forest reserves were unfounded and only about four such protected areas were subjected to encroachment-related destruction. “Some social media outlets are spreading false propaganda that large-scale environmental damage is being done with the connivance of the Government. In the past, politicians and powerful people were freed, but now the common people are caught and punished for a small mistake. There is no room for that,” Amaraweera elaborated. He added that the law is to be enforced against the perpetrators regardless of their political affiliation or social position, as displayed by the law enforcement when a politician’s brother was arrested over the destruction that took place in the Anawilundawa Wetland Sanctuary. Given that there is an increase in environmental destruction activities, the Minister noted that through the District Co-ordinating Committees that meet once a month, a special unit to look into environmental matters will be appointed. “This will allow the District Committee to take decisions over development projects that are to be launched in their respective areas, and with the recommendations of the environmental unit, they would be able to take decisions that would not adversely impact the biodiversity of an area.” Amaraweera also noted that some of the events relating to environmental destruction that took place over the past months did not entirely take place in protected zones or areas that belonged to the Government. “When the mass felling of trees or torching of vegetation takes place in privately owned land, we cannot mediate. For instance, there were situations where the private landowner, after a lapse of two to three years, had decided to clear their land for cultivation using heavy machinery; even these activities had been documented and shared on social media,” he explained. Therefore, Amaraweera reiterated that even the provincial reporters and the public should first find out whether it is privately owned land or whether it is a government-owned land that is being cleared. If it is a private land, the Ministry of Environment will not be able to take legal action against the situation. However, these private landowners are supposed to get a permit to use heavy machinery within the land areas for clearing from the district/divisional secretariat and keep the area environmental authorities informed of such activities. Speaking further about the enforcement of law on perpetrators who destroy the environment, Amaraweera noted that he had recently noticed that law enforcement officers are at times showing reluctance to arrest certain individuals or take action against certain entities that are connected to such activities. “I urge the Police to take prompt action on such persons or institutions, regardless of their political or social positioning. I can assure that over a recent incident of environmental destruction, the Government is in no way influencing the Police from carrying out their duties. The Police is in fact being requested to arrest the politically connected figure immediately, but it is quite concerning as to why the Police is not acting accordingly,” Amaraweera said. Regarding the amendments to be made to the National Environmental Act, the Minister noted that further discussions are to take place with the participation of all concerned stakeholders, adding that the Ministry would give them an opportunity to share their recommendations on how penalties can be increased and how to fortify the regulations that are in place, so that strict action could be taken against the perpetrators without delay.


More News..